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16/08/2004 Bach's B Minor Mass in London last night
The concert listing leapt out on the first skim of the programme for the Proms season, the ten week musical spectacular held annually in London's Albert Hall. But then, it would stand out in any programme - Bach's B Minor Mass is probably the high peak of the Western musical canon - the most grown-up piece of music you'll ever encounter. It starts massively, with a Kyrie eleison which hints at what Heaven must be like, and then exhausts you with exultation. Over and over and over again. If, at the Donna nobis pacem finale, two hours later, you aren't in Heaven, you simply haven't been listening carefully enough. Last night's performance, by the Monteverdi Choir, the English Baroque Soloists under John Eliot Gardiner and solo vocalists including Mark Padmore, was simply magnificent. Applause as rapturous as that which rang out at 10pm last night is encountered only rarely. Music doesn't get any better, or more grown-up, than this. The divine performance of a divine work will be broadcast again on BBC Radio 3 at 2pm on Thursday 26 August. It's one of the musical highlights of 2004. If you're going to be busy, beg someone to tape it for you. Gerry Smith
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