Live streaming: Saturday 20 December, 19:00 (local) / 18:00 GMT
Repetition: Sunday 21 December, 12:00 (local) / 11:00 GMT
Available afterwards: The performance will remain available on the Digital Concert Hall
Platform: Digital Concert Hall
Programme
Johann Sebastian Bach – Mass in B minor, BWV 232
Artists
Berliner Philharmoniker
Raphaël Pichon, conductor
Nikola Hillebrand, soprano
Xenia Puskarz Thomas, mezzo-soprano
Beth Taylor, contralto
Emiliano Gonzalez Toro, tenor
Huw Montague Rendall, baritone
Christian Immler, bass
RIAS Kammerchor
Disclaimer
We recommend this performance for its artistic value. Moto Perpetuo does not receive any benefit or commission from streaming platforms. A subscription to the Digital Concert Hall may be required to view the full content.
Raphaël Pichon makes his debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker in a live-streamed performance of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Mass in B minor, one of the most ambitious and enduring works in the choral repertoire. Known for his work in historically informed performance, Pichon brings his experience in Baroque music to a score that demands both stylistic awareness and large-scale architectural control.
Written toward the end of Bach’s life, the Mass in B minor stands apart from the liturgical framework of the Mass, bringing together everything that defines Baroque compositional art. Expressive arias, intricate fugues and monumental choral movements coexist within a vast structure that leads the listener through a wide range of human emotions, from sorrow and longing to confidence and radiant joy.
Often regarded as a kind of artistic summation, the work reworks and expands earlier material into a unified whole of exceptional scope and depth. Its scale and complexity continue to pose significant challenges for performers, requiring vocal precision, choral clarity and a strong sense of long-term musical direction.
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