Bach: Mass In B Minor - Choir of Trinity College Cambridge (2 CDs)

‘Katherine Watson, already a busy soloist, has a delightful baroque soprano voice … but it is Iestyn Davies who serves up this recording’s jewel in his first recorded Agnus Dei, a masterclass in technique, vocal beauty and moving musicality that it is hard to imagine surpassed … this is a fresh and attractive B minor Mass, with plenty in it to enjoy’ (Gramophone)

‘[Iestyn Davies] discharges a beautifully inflected 'Qui sedes', impeccably warmed and coloured by a discreet vibrato that instinctively knows its expressive place. Neal Davies’ resonant 'Quoniam tu solus' is egged on by the gravelly chuckles of bassoons and roistering French horn, while Katherine Watson’s soaring soprano also strikes up an alluring partnership with Iestyn Davies for the 'Et in unum Deum'. One of the challenges for any conductor is marrying the Mass’s old-fashioned and up-to-the-minute elements while forging a coherent whole. Layton is on the case’ (BBC Music Magazine)

Mass in B minor BWV232[107'30]
CD1
1
Part 1 No 1, Chorus: Kyrie eleison[9'56]
2
Part 1 No 2, Duet: Christe eleison[4'57]
Katherine Watson (soprano), Helen Charlston (mezzo-soprano)
3
Part 1 No 3, Chorus: Kyrie eleison[3'24]
4
Part 1 No 4, Chorus: Gloria in excelsis Deo[1'44]
5
Part 1 No 5, Chorus: Et in terra pax hominibus[4'26]
6
Part 1 No 6, Aria: Laudamus te[4'22]
Katherine Watson (soprano)
7
Part 1 No 7, Chorus: Gratias agimus tibi[3'14]
8
Part 1 No 8, Duet: Domine Deus[5'30]
Katherine Watson (soprano), Gwilym Bowen (tenor)
9
Part 1 No 9, Chorus: Qui tollis peccata mundi[3'04]
10
Part 1 No 10, Aria: Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris[4'28]
Iestyn Davies (countertenor)
11
Part 1 No 11, Aria: Quoniam tu solus sanctus[4'28]
Neal Davies (bass)
12
Part 1 No 12, Chorus: Cum Sancto Spiritu[3'42]
SYMBOLUM NICENUM
CD2
13
Part 2 No 1, Chorus: Credo in unum Deum[1'59]
14
Part 2 No 2, Chorus: Patrem omnipotentem[2'04]
15
Part 2 No 3, Duet: Et in unum Dominum[4'23]
Katherine Watson (soprano), Iestyn Davies (countertenor)
16
Part 2 No 4, Chorus: Et incarnatus est[3'23]
17
Part 2 No 5, Chorus: Crucifixus etiam pro nobis[3'23]
18
Part 2 No 6, Chorus: Et resurrexit tertia die[4'04]
19
Part 2 No 7, Aria: Et in Spiritum Sanctum[5'18]
Neal Davies (bass)
20
Part 2 No 8, Chorus: Confiteor unum baptisma[3'55]
21
Part 2 No 9, Chorus: Et exspecto resurrectionem[2'05]
SANCTUS
22
Part 3, Chorus: Sanctus[5'12]
OSANNA, BENEDICTUS, AGNUS DEI AND DONA NOBIS PACEM
23
Part 4 No 1, Chorus: Osanna in excelsis[2'42]
24
Part 4 No 2, Aria: Benedictus[4'16]
Gwilym Bowen (tenor)
25
Part 4 No 3, Chorus: Osanna in excelsis[2'45]
26
Part 4 No 4, Aria: Agnus Dei[5'16]
Iestyn Davies (countertenor)
27
Part 4 No 5, Chorus: Dona nobis pacem[3'30]
soprano Katherine Watson
mezzo-soprano Helen Charlston
countertenor Iestyn Davies
tenor Gwilym Bowen
bass Neal Davies

Following much-praised accounts of the St John Passion and Christmas Oratorio, Stephen Layton now turns to the B minor Mass. With Trinity College Cambridge forces and a fine roster of soloists, the results are guaranteed to prove equally spectacular.