Abstract
Abstract This chapter examines Johann Sebastian Bach’s B Minor Mass, considered by Hans Georg Nägeli to be the ‘greatest artwork of all times and all people’. The history of B Minor Mass started as a sort of advertising campaign. Bach himself created the first parts of the mass, the Kyrie and Gloria, in order to apply for the title of court composer in Dresden in 1733. This chapter first discusses the main subject of B Minor Mass, noting that it is the text of the Christian liturgy, the cry Kyrie eleison–Lord, have mercy; the praise of God in the Gloria in excelsis; the confession of faith in the Creed, Credo in unum Deum, and the celebration of the Eucharistic mystery in the Sanctus and Agnus Dei. It then explores the use of operatic drama as a tool for the interpretation of the text and the Mass’ large-scale architecture, which indicates Bach’s interest in balance and proportion. It also asks whether the Mass is indeed the greatest artwork of all times and all people.
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