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Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750):
*Missa in h-moll BWV 232* (B-minor Mass)
Dorothee Mields _soprano_
Hana Blazikova _soprano_
Damien Guillon _contre-ténor_
Thomas Hobbs _tenor_
Peter Kooij _bass_
*Collegium Vocale Gent*
Philippe Herreweghe
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) “composed” his _Mass in B Minor_ in his last years, although most of it was much older, some of it written as early as 1724. Bach never witnessed a performance of the piece in its entirety, but it is doubtful if it was even intended for use in a service. It was simply too long for either Lutheran Leipzig or Dresden’s Catholic court. But the question of why it was composed is not important, given its reputation as “one of the greatest and most universal artworks in music history”.