Classical review: SCO: B Minor Mass, Glasgow
SCO: B Minor Mass - City Halls, Glasgow
* * * *
It was clear from the start that nothing had been lost from the substitution.
The needle-sharp diction from the SCO Chorus in the opening Kyrie was an immediate signal that this would be a reading of Bach’s epic setting that was gutsy yet refined, flamboyant yet contained, and above all, driven by a sense of informed style.
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Hide AdCohen bound the forces together with non-dictatorial precision, coaxing such wonderful moments as the triumphant Gloria – resplendent with its cream topping of three trumpets – or the moving simplicity of the Et Incarnatus est with expressive integrity. This wasn’t a Bach performance characterised by incessant high energy, but one that made everything of the light and shade, the sighing motifs, the virtuosic instrumental solos, and the seamless beauty of a work that, rather extraordinarily, was probably never conceived as an entity.
The tempered eloquence of the orchestra was matched by vocal soloists tuned into Cohen’s singular mindset – the pearl-like clarity of soprano Lorna Anderson, if occasionally uncentred on the note; Kitty Whately’s mellow mezzo-soprano, the effortless radiance of tenor Andrew Tortise, and Stephan Loges’ magisterial bass. A moving performance.