Bach’s Mass in B Minor with Arcangelo
Conductor: Jonathan Cohen
Royal Albert Hall
10 September 2026
There is something I don’t understand about the B Minor Mass. How can it be so moving, almost unbearably so, to a rationalist like me who doesn’t believe a word of the underlying doctrine? I suppose it’s the transcendental power of music and, after all, this piece is widely regarded as the pinnacle of Western “classical” (broadest sense) music. So you simply have to submit to it. And I did. Happily. Yet again.
Arcangelo is a fascinating period instrument ensemble and because it’s Jonathan Cohen’s own band he and they work together with tangible cohesion. He has four flutes at the back, near the chamber organ and seats the rest of the woodwind front stage to his right. He stands to conduct the choir and is seated at the harpsichord for most of the rest of the work. Somehow, by some sort of alchemy, the soloists on this occasion seemed to be able to perform without being able to see Cohen although there was a lot of communicative eye contact between each other.
It is the final quarter of this work which usually hits me in the gut and this performance was no exception. The choir which was, until then, seated with altos in the middle, regrouped (as the orchestra retuned) for the Sanctus placing the altos on the far right. The sound was then grandiloquent with some beautiful work from tenors and basses.
Hugh Cutting, counter tenor, gave us the most haunting account of the Angus Dei I’ve ever heard. The clarity of his sound and his exquisite dynamic control are exceptional. And it’s his poignantly powerful voice which I can still hear in my head, hours after the end of the concert.
Otherwise there was smooth rapport between soprano Jeanine De Bique and mezzo Eva Zaicik in Christe Eleison, impressive warmth from bass, Florian Stortz in Quoniam tu solus sanctus and a rich Benedictus from tenor, Nick Pritchard. The soloists in this performance were a moveable item – sitting at the sides but not always in the same places and moving centre stage in front of the harpsichord to sing. For the two short choral pieces which complete the Credo, all five of them stood behind the flutes in front of the choir.
Cohen has instrumental soloists standing to play and leader, Zefira Valova duetting with Eva Zaicik in Laudamus te was a delight. So were the glorious Baroque trumpets and the oboe which works with the counter tenor in Qui sedes.
It’s a good idea to foreground the horn in Quoniam tu Solus. Ursula Paludan Monberg sat at the side with the singer soloists holding her instrument and then walked to centre stage when her moment came. It was visually dramatic but sadly the sound was strangled, thin and apologetic. I suspect that had JS Bach had the choice (which of course he didn’t) he might have opted for a modern, vibrant, valved instrument. In this case it failed to do justice to Stortz’s voice or to the piece itself.
There was a slight problem too in that choir enunciation didn’t always make it to Stalls block H. Musically they were almost faultless but the words were quite often muddy.
The B Minor mass cannot fail. It’s a masterpiece and this was a richly enjoyable performance which moved me deeply – but not maybe quite as much as the Bach Choir with Florilegium, conducted by David Hill at the Royal Festival Hall earlier this year.
Sadly this is my last 2026 Prom review. Looking forward to 2027 already.
