Bach B minor Mass

Monumental
There’s no avoiding the fact that Bach’s B-minor Mass is a beast of a work. About two hours of
choral singing, arias, duets and orchestral wonders. It makes for a monumental edifice that isn’t
for the faint-hearted. Last Saturday evening at Kings School (2nd December) the ever-resourceful
Amici Choir, supported by The Bristol Ensemble and vocal soloists, conducted by Gareth Dayus-
Jones, demonstrated their ambition, musicality, vocal dexterity and endurance. It was an
impressive performance but also exhausting. These days professional choirs tend to opt for a
lightweight approach, smaller forces, agile without too much heft. Dayus-Jones, however, chose
the more traditional approach favoured by the big choirs of old with slower tempi and a grandeur
of vision. The risk is for the work to drag and for a performance to feel interminable. Bach never
heard the work performed and one wonders whether he might have edited much had he done so.
So did it drag and linger? The answer is yes, in places.
Amici is without doubt one of the best choirs in the south-west and they were on good form
throughout the performance to the extent that they had plenty of voice left for the final Dona
nobis pace chorus which was simply wonderful. Throughout there was some exceptionally good
singing from all sections of the choir with great articulation in the more florid passages yet plenty
of heft and power when called upon. The basses’ performance in the Et iterum venturus was a
revelation. They had terrific focus and presence and clearly enjoyed their moment.
Elsewhere, some of the speeds tended to be on the slow side which risked things becoming a bit
wooly but generally this was avoided. There are dangers too when a large choir moves at speed.
The Confiteor chorus is complex and a dangerous moment both rhythmically and pitch-wise in
ways that momentarily seem to look ahead to Beethoven, but thankfully on this occasion,
everyone and the music emerged unscathed. Within the mix of vast choruses there were
luminous contributions from five soloists. Soprano Philippa Hyde was elegant in her Laudamus
aria and she was joined by Amici alto Clara Wood who sang beautifully in their opening duet.
Counter-tenor William Purefoy gave us two arias with excellent diction although with the addition
of some wayward top-notes. Tenor Nicholas Madden sang with grace and clarity whilst baritone
Andrew Rupp was on first-class form. He has an even tone throughout his register and both of his
arias were highlights.
Alongside the vocal forces was the excellent Bristol Ensemble. The orchestra acts as both a
support and a musical counterbalance to things going on in the choir. Alas, the chapel acoustics
are notoriously tricky and favour lower sounding instruments leaving the violins and violas fighting
for audibility. The bright Baroque trumpets (three of them) were at times a little too bright and
dominating…but it was an exciting and celebratory sound. Although achieving a good balance is
important in any context, with little rehearsal time available, it is perhaps inevitable that such
issues would present during the performance. These gripes aside, the orchestra played with verve
and panache, they were technically assured and confident throughout. The continuo ensemble
were excellent and the principal flute playing of Roger Armstrong was outstanding, especially in
the Domine Deus duet with tenor and soprano.
As I alluded to at the beginning, tackling the B-minor Mass is a serious undertaking for any choir.
The scale is massive, the vocal stamina required is colossal and the challenges for the conductor in
shaping the work are immense. In this respect Amici are utterly fearless and capable of anything.
Unlike Handel’s Messiah which was famously composed in three weeks, Bach spent 17 years

assembling the work from earlier pieces as well as adding new music. It perhaps lacks a coherence
recognisable in other large scale works but its grandeur is undeniable.
The big chapel at Kings College, despite it acoustic flaws, felt right for a work on this scale. The
enormous illuminated trees behind the choir certainly added a festive feel to the evening.
At the beginning, the near-capacity audience was welcomed by Amici chairman and chorister,
David Valentine, who also thanked the Mayor, the High Sheriff of Somerset and the Deputy Leader
of Somerset Council for their attendance. Bravo them for supporting this excellent event which
was a remarkable achievement for all concerned.
Wayne Bennett