Bach Mass in B Minor, BWV 232
Sunday, April 3, 3:00 pm
Rockefeller Memorial Chapel
University of Chicago, 5850 S. Woodlawn Avenue
Free, pre-concert talk by Dr. Martin Marty, Fairfax M. Cone Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus in the Divinity School at the University of Chicago.
Ida Noyes Hall, 1212 E. 59th Street, 2:00 pm
Please be aware that Chorale’s 2006 performance of this work in Rockefeller Chapel sold out. Advanced ticket purchase is recommended.
Firmly positioned at the apex of Western choral and orchestral literature, Bach’s Mass in B Minor astounds listeners and performers alike with its sheer beauty and majesty. Chicago Chorale presents the Mass with an orchestra of period instruments, led by concertmaster Rachel Barton Pine and featuring the best Baroque musicians in the Midwest. Vocal soloists include Baroque specialists Ellen Hargis, alto Angela Young Smucker, tenor Christopher Cock, and bass-baritone Ben LeClair. This concert is presented in artistic partnership with the University of Chicago’s Rockefeller Memorial Chapel.
Click here for information about our downloadable Study Guide to enrich your concert-going experience!
What the critics said in 2006:
“Some works of art transcend time and place: Shakespeare’s plays, Michelangelo’s sculptures, Hokkaido’s drawings. Bach’s “Mass in B Minor” is one such particular piece of art. It is a massive masterwork by a creator of so very many master works. Hyde Parkers were treated to a marvelous rendition Saturday night in historic Rockefeller Chapel.
The quality of the sound was simply magnificent, and Tammen’s chorus was angelic itself as the singers applied themselves to this exalted music. They were supple in the complex runs and displayed authoritative dignity in the chorales. The Chicago Chorale singers are known for their elegant phrasing and careful attention to diction, and they were up to their usual impeccable standards Saturday night.”
- M.L. Rantala, Hyde Park Herald
Read the concert preview in Newcity Music, by music critic Dennis Polkow
Read more about Chorale in Arts and About, an arts blog by Chicago reporter Tom Mullaney
Read the concert preview in The Hyde Park Herald
If you have a group of approximately 20 or more that is interested in attending the concert, Chorale will send a speaker to talk to your group about the Mass prior to the concert, free of charge. Email info@chicagochorale.org for more information.
More information:
Rockefeller Memorial Chapel — The concert venue at the University of Chicago
Ida Noyes Hall — The pre-concert lecture venue at the University of Chicago
Concert poster — (PDF) Download the Mass in B Minor concert poster
