The Cologne Chamber Orchestra, according to the liner notes of this album, plays "according to the principles of historical performance-practice on modern instruments and so can meet the needs of modern concert halls." This is nonsense, sloppily expressed (do concert halls have needs? desires maybe?). Performances by historical-instrument groups in modern halls are commonplace. Editorial malfeasance aside, however, this is a strong B minor mass in an unusual territory lying between symphony orchestra treatments and those by ...
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The Cologne Chamber Orchestra, according to the liner notes of this album, plays "according to the principles of historical performance-practice on modern instruments and so can meet the needs of modern concert halls." This is nonsense, sloppily expressed (do concert halls have needs? desires maybe?). Performances by historical-instrument groups in modern halls are commonplace. Editorial malfeasance aside, however, this is a strong B minor mass in an unusual territory lying between symphony orchestra treatments and those by Baroque-instrument bands. "Principles of historical performance-practice" applied to modern instruments seem primarily to mean the use of a small string group that allows the wind parts to be heard and Bach's intricate polyphonic writing to emerge in its full glory. And so it does, both in the big trumpet-driven choruses that are the glory of the B minor mass and in the glittering solo and duet arias. The sound is not big, but it is dense and full in a way that suits Bach's choral...
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