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August 28, 2009
On CD: Critical "Mass"
A new "Mass," released this week. One of the highlights of Marin Alsop's tenure at the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the exuberant performances of Bernstein's "Mass" that played in Baltimore, New York and Washington in the fall of 2008, was issued this week on a Naxos CD. I have already written about Mass so copiously that I've actually begun to spoil this piece for myself, and I have no need to weigh in yet again on its merits or failings, or on my own personal love of it. Suffice it to say that in my view "Mass: A Theater Piece for Singers, Players and Dancers" is a colorful relic of its time, energetic, sloppy, full of melody, at times simplistic, at times naive, and worth embracing. It's also moving into the canon after years of being more or less sidelined. Alsop's is the fourth complete recording of the work: the
Originally from The Classical Beat – Classical Music Forum – washingtonpost.com, ReBlogged by newmusicrebloggers on Aug 28, 2009 at 11:44 AM