Last Updated on September 11, 2026
Award-winning early music ensemble Arcangelo brings the B Minor to the RAH
I find it really hard to review the Bach B Minor Mass.
As one of the towering masterpieces of Western music, it in some senses defies criticism. Albert Einstein even, allegedly, said: ‘This is what I have to say about Bach’s life’s work: listen, play, love, revere and keep your trap shut’.
I know the B Minor Mass so well I could probably sing it from memory, and it’s hard to listen without the personal associations (and the tenor part) getting in the way. Just after COVID restrictions were lifted but before indoor singing was allowed, my choir got permission to rehearse the piece for our ‘come back gig’ in the garden of the cloisters at Westminster Abbey, an emotional as much as musical experience I am unlikely ever to forget.
And from an academic standpoint, there has simply been so much written about it already, from a musicologist, conductor, performer and even mathematical standpoint (there was a whole book written about Bach’s use of numbers). It would take 70,000 rather than 700 words to do it justice.
Anyway, I’ll do my best. For those who don’t know the piece, it is monumental and nearly 2 hours long. For all that Bach was reportedly viewed in his time as rather old-fashioned, some of the harmonies, even the opening bars, are unlike almost anything else in its time. It is essentially a Catholic Mass, with parts written earlier to curry favour with a potential Catholic sponsor, yet openly composed in a Lutheran part of Germany. In fact, it is too big to feature in either the Catholic or the Lutheran service!
To many analysts’ minds, and despite its being finished quite shortly before his death, when he was going blind and had seen ten children die before the age of 4, it is not only joyous but even has elements almost of humour about it. It’s been suggested that parts were set in a particular way to tease the clerical authorities and theologians; and one of the great fugues appears to be set in blocks of 42 bars, 42 being the number 3 of the trinity times the number 14 which is the alphanumeric for BACH; 2 for B plus 1 for A, 3 for C and 8 for H.
Can any performance fully do it justice? And even more so, can any vaguely authentic performance with the relevant small choral forces, such as we were treated to today by Jonathan Cohen and Arcangelo, succeed in an auditorium like the Albert Hall?
The answer is a clear yes, albeit a qualified one.
The orchestra, ‘Arcangelo’, simply wowed me. The device of having soloists and orchestral parts stand up to play at key moments was a masterstroke, letting the playing cut through even the Albert Hall acoustics. Shout-outs in particular to the baroque horn and lead first violin, oboe, flute and cello.
Jonathan Cohen, directing from the keyboard, provided thoughtful tempi, some exhilaratingly fast. While I wasn’t personally convinced by his ritardando at the end of every sub-movement, this is a matter of taste, and he led his orchestra, choir, and soloists with real verve.
The choir, after perhaps a slight unevenness of tone in the soprano high notes early on, was in very fine form. It was impossible to remember at times that I was here to do a review, so caught up I and indeed everyone in the audience was with the momentum and sheer wonder of the music.
All five soloists performed with distinction, the highlights being the ‘Confiteor ‘, when they sang as a solo quintet behind the orchestra with excellent balance and projection, and Hugh Cutting’s real performance at countertenor – with Nick Pritchard’s tenor aria getting a strong mention in dispatches.
So why only a qualified yes?
First, for me and those sitting around me, the balance between choir and orchestra felt a little bit off: with the 50-strong choir at times rendering even the brass slightly impotent. I wondered whether the choir was actually a bit too big: one of the most moving parts of the whole performance was when there was only one soloist and three orchestral players (flute, cello and chamber organ): somewhat to my surprise the Albert Hall can take quiet. Some performers have even taken choirs right down to one person per part. That said, the choir’s softer singing was beautiful, and their faster and louder parts were never anything other than extremely well performed.
Second, although each soloist is rightly renowned, as a group they didn’t seem to have a unified approach to the performance. Some sang wonderfully well, but almost as part of the orchestra. Others delivered a carefully judged, beautifully sung solo. As mentioned, Hugh Cutting really performed his solos to the audience, which my focus group around me felt was the most engaging approach. It’s possible this was by design, but if so, it didn’t quite work.
Overall, a marvellous night, and I’ll be looking out for Arcangelo and Jonathan Cohen in future.
17 July – 12 September
Royal Albert Hall
Kensington Gore,
South Kensington,
London SW7 2AP
Johann Sebastian Bach: Mass in B minor
Jeanine De Bique (soprano)
Eva Zaïcik (soprano)
Hugh Cutting (countertenor)
Nick Pritchard (tenor)
Florian Störtz (bass-baritone)
Arcangelo
Jonathan Cohen (director/harpsichord)
BBC Proms are available free of charge on BBC Sounds. If you’d like to hear this one for yourself, the link is here
All photos: BBC/ Chris Christodoulou
Looking for something different? Check our review of Don Giovanni, currently showing at the Royal Opera House
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