American Classical Orchestra Performs Bach’s B Minor Mass At Alice Tully Hall with The ACO Chorus, Mar 7 at Alice Tully Music Hall

Founder and Artistic Director Thomas Crawford leads ACO in a performance of Bach’s monumental B Minor Mass with the acclaimed ACO Chorus at Alice Tully Hall on Thursday, March 7 at 7:30 PM. One of Bach’s best-loved vocal works, the B Minor Mass is widely considered to be the crowning achievement of the Baroque era. J.S. Bach completed it a year before his death in 1750. 

Featured soloists are soprano and crossover artist Kristen Hahn, who recently appeared at the Kennedy Center in Hello Dolly; soprano Nola Richardson, hailed by The New York Times for her “beautiful tone;” Grammy-nominated American countertenor Reginald Mobley, who has forged a stellar career across Baroque and Classical repertoire; noted Bach interpreter tenor Steven Soph, praised for his “impressive clarity and color” (The New York Times); and Baroque music specialist bass Steven Eddy, a 1st Prize winner of the 2019 Oratorio Society of New York Competition.

After the March 7 concert, the American Classical Orchestra will next appear on May 8, 2024, at Alice Tully Hall, in a program titled Astronomical with works by W.A. Mozart, William Herschel, Johan Daniel Berlin, and C.P.E Bach.

B Minor Mass
Thursday, March 7, 2024, 7:30 pm at Alice Tully Hall
American Classical Orchestra
Thomas Crawford, conductor
Kristen Hahn, soprano
Nola Richardson, soprano
Reginald Mobley, countertenor
Steven Soph, tenor   
Steven Eddy, bass
ACO Chorus
Johann Sebastian Bach: Mass in B Minor, BWV 232
A musical setting of the complete Latin Mass, this 1749 work includes nine arias and duets, 14 ensemble sections for vocal groups of various sizes, and a range of instrumental solos in numerous styles. The composition as it is known today did not originate as a titled whole in any of Bach’s surviving documents. It was uncovered by his son C.P. E. Bach as a collection of his father’s hand-written scores grouped together inside four folders. The manuscripts were organized in four parts: The Kyrie and Gloria, followed by the Credo, the Sanctus, and Agnus Dei. Once published, the four parts became known as the B Minor Mass. Of note, Bach managed to complete the Mass while nearly blinded by cataracts. He subsequently underwent two unsuccessful eye surgeries using questionable methods, which worsened his condition.

Tickets, priced at $75, $55, and $35, are available at www.aconyc.org, by calling ACO at (212) 362-2727, ext.4, or by visiting lincolncenter.org or calling CenterCharge at 212.721.6500.