A sequel to my earlier posting of anthems etc. I feel overdue for singing. Now for some of the larger scale works. In some cases the reason I haven’t done them is clear; I’ve been in small chamber choirs rather than the large choruses required for them. But I feel the gap every time I hear them broadcast or see the work on a concert poster.
a) Bach’s B minor Mass. In fact, I have done this, with the Schola Cantorum of Oxford when I was a student. But I sang alto because that’s what the members of the choir who auditioned me thought I should sing (it’s the only choir of that size I’ve ever been in where members of the choir rather than the conductor took auditions). This wasn’t very satisfactory for me, or for the choir, as the alto section in general was underpowered and some choral scholars from New College had to be drafted in at the last minute to boost the sound.
I’ve narrowly missed this work a number of times by either joining a choir just after they’d done it, or leaving just before, so not having done it as a soprano is just unlucky.
b) Bach’s St Matthew Passion. Again, I have done this, in Oxford even longer ago. This was a scratch ‘come and sing’ performance with organ. Unfortunately the Evangelist fell ill and they couldn’t find a replacement and his words were spoken. So an unsatisfactory performance in the days when I was a novice singer and I feel I haven’t actually performed the work at all. [I took part in a very fine performance in Bath in April 2007]
c) Until a couple of years ago I hadn’t done any Handel oratorio other than Messiah; then I got to do Israel in Egypt. But I haven’t sung any of the others.
d) Likewise, I’ve done the Nelson Mass a couple of times but none of the other large-scale Haydn masses.
e) Despite its killer soprano lines, I would love to sing in Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis. I was unlucky last year as the Bath Festival Chorus did it but I was away during too many of the rehearsals to be able to sing.
There are a whole lot of other more recent works that I’ve missed out on: Mahler’s 2nd, the Glagolitic Mass [done this now], Belshazzar’s Feast, Poulenc’s Gloria [done this now], the War Requiem [done this now!], Bruckner’s masses [done the F minor one now] are some that come to mind.