Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-05-25
NEWS OF MUSIC
Bach B Minor Moss !
To Be Sung Thursday

uNl VNu ways VI NAtAAAhANN
and feeling are not eternaily
natural. Furthermore. there
Is something attractive about
the general sense Of effort.
OF striving, OF winning
through. that attends the
contemporary presentation Of
the Bach Mass.
II Is not 50 much that the
modern performance Is bet-
ter or worse than one that
could have taken place In
1880 as that the ideals ac-
tivatine the two are differ
ent, Just as the ideals Of
Maurice Evans and Laurence
Olivier are not those OF
shakepeare's Globe Theater.
Third Of II Borrowed
The belief in the inevi-
liability, the originality. the
uniqueness OF q work Of art
"a modern rather than q
classic dogma). can be cher
ished only in blind faith In
the presence Of Bach's Mass.
A third of Il Is lifted from
other works. some complete
ly secular, yet there Is no
artistic blemish. no marring
OF homogeneous style. in the
work. The perfection Of the
"HoSanna," written originally
In celebration OF q temporal
ruler, is, by the way, strong
evidence in support Of my
often-belabored thesis that,
musically speaking, there is
not a little Of difference be-
tween the King OF Glory and
the King Of England.
II must not be overlooked
in this regard, however. that
Bach certainly did not in
troduce already written
music into the mass because
Of indifference or laziness.
He took what he did be-
cause OF its precise suitable
ity. 1t seems to me as fatu-
Gus to suppose that some
body else could have assem-
bled the B Minor Mass rs
that somebody else could
have written It.
Other Unsolved Questions
Then there are other ques-
tons as captivating and as
insolyable as to reconstruct
the song the sirens sang or
Orpheus played.
What kind sof hunting
horn was Bach thinking of
in the "Quonian"? Certainly
not something similar to the
modern French horn.
Why did he. q practical
musician. risk perpetual dis
aster by giving his trumpets
music in the d major move
ments that Is almost always
fiamboyantly solo. recklesSly
exposed, and so difiicult as to
be incredible, even though
one believes the reported
proves Of his contemporary
players. Sublimity is per-
haps worth the risk Of
everything, as in the stretto
in the "Gratias" and "Dona."
the two great climaxes Of
the Mass, but elsewhere why
demand chromatic passages
and modulations, absolutely
essential to the meaning Of
the music. but simply impos-
sible? ut should be noted
that they are not impossible
to the virtuosos we will hear
Thursday. They, however,
are playing instruments quite
different from any known in
Bach's day.
Then there are the prob
lens Of tempo and rhythm in
the "Sanctus." 1t is all very
well to say that this music
presented no antiquities to
musicians who grew up in
the contemporary tradition,
but l find it hard to believe.
Why did not Bach, who was
ordinarily not averse to de-
voting himself to pedagogical
tracts, take q minute to indi-
cate his intention In the
score, especially as he knew
he was sending the Mass to
another city where he would
not be present at the per-
Torrance?
Such are q few Of the en-
igmas Of the B minor Mass.
Perhaps its whole appeal is
tied up with the essential
enigma of its power. What
completely understood re-
mains for long interesting?