Sydney, Australia
A unusual performance of German composer Johann Sebastian Bach’s Mass in B Minor – thought to have been arranged specifically to gain the Catholic Church’s interest – will take place in Sydney this Saturday.
The Sydney Philharmonia VOX Young Adult Choir and the Chamber Choral Singers will perform the Mass at the Sydney Town Hall, accompanied by soloists and musicians skilled in playing baroque instruments from the mid-18th century when the Mass was created.
Sydney Philharmonia Choirs. PICTURE: Keith Saunders
Elizabeth Scott, who is conducting the Mass for the first time, has previously sung some of Bach’s compositions in Australia and Europe.
Elizabeth Scott. PICTURE: © Keith Saunders
“Everything Bach wrote was so carefully thought out and planned: the keys he chose, the specific instruments are all integral to the performance,” Scott told Sight. “It’s an overwhelming experience listening to it. I’ve been working with the choirs for two months and every rehearsal is an incredibly spiritual and moving experience. My mother is not religious but she is always moved by this music. She appreciates it so much.”
Sydney Town Hall’s performance space is built with stalls alongside and above the stage and the choir stands in ascending tiers on wooden stairs behind the orchestra. That layout – and the wood which lines the hall – mean the audience will find themselves in an immersive experience.
“Sydney’s Town Hall is majestic and acoustically will sound absolutely wonderful,” Scott said. “Bach’s compositions are complex and nuanced for performing in German and European churches. But we don’t have the same size and design in churches as Europe does – that’s why this Mass in B Minor by Bach is being performed in a concert hall as opposed to a church.”
Bach was known for his sacred music, organ and choral works.
“Baroque instruments are unique and bring a more delicate camber to the music, particularly the trumpets,” Scott said. “A baroque orchestra will be tuned to 415 hertz, a semi-tone lower than normal. We rehearse a tone down in pitch to meet the needs of the music.”
Leading into the Mass will be a composition commissioned from Deborah Cheetham, a Yorta Yorta woman, soprano and composer, and Matthew Doyle, a musician, composer, descendant of the Muruwari people and a Gadigal Cultural Custodian.
Titled Tarimi Nulay – Long time living here, the composition connects performer and audience with a deeper understanding of Indigenous culture and features a chorus sung in the Indigenous language of the Gadigal people.
“We have this beautiful text telling a story about how music and dancing has been an important part of this long culture. We’re performing it in F-sharp Minor, with baroque instruments,” said Brett Weymark, artistic and music director of the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs. “The choir will hold a long note from Tarimi Nulay, then we take a breath, and the music of the Mass begins.”
The Sydney Philharmonia Choirs perform a Mozart Requiem and Revelations at Sydney Town Hall on 19th March. PICTURE: Simon Crossley-Meates.
At the heart of Bach’s music is an emotional plea to connect with the liturgy and the singers to persuade the audience to be emotionally involved with the performance.
“Bach set this level of complexity and beauty that hasn’t been equalled in centuries. The Mass in B Minor is the mix of his best pieces in one performance,” Scott said. “It’s just inspiring.”
Tarimi Nulay and Bach’s Mass in B Minor concert will begin at 3pm on Easter Saturday (16th April). Soloists include Celeste Lazarenko, Anna Dowsley, Jonathan Abernethy and Simon Lobelson.
The concert will be performed over two-and-a-half hours, with a 20 minute interval. Bookings can be made through sydneyphilharmonia.com.au/concerts/2022season/bachmassb/.
