Solomon's Knot

Bach's B minor Mass Without a conductor, the singers of Solomon's Knot perform Bach's B minor Mass entirely from memory – an approach that makes the experience even more profound. The British ensemble, known for its uncompromising, collective playing style, exceptional intensity and mutual sharpness, opens our season with a baroque masterpiece, surrounded by mysteries. Bach began his titanic task in 1733, but only completed the work fifteen years later – he probably never experienced a complete performance of the mass. Why he composed the mass remains unclear: the B minor Mass is too colossal for the liturgy, too serious for the court. Could it be that Bach regarded the composition as his testament – a panorama of his creative space? The question marks do nothing to diminish the power of the music: the Kyrie, which is unforgettable from the first notes, the Gloria that rejoices uninhibitedly, the moving Agnus Dei based on an aria from a wedding serenade. From ecstasy to meditation, from virtuosic fugues to harmonic stillness, and from Catholic piety to Lutheran clarity – an entire world echoes in this triumph of human intellect. Programme: J.S. Bach: B minor Mass, BWV 232