Dawkins' Favorite Recordings of St. Matthew Passion and Mass in B Minor?

Iruka Naminori
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Dawkins' Favorite Recordings of St. Matthew Passion and Mass in B Minor?

As I recall from reading The God Delusion, two of Dawkins' favorite pieces of music are the St. Matthew Passion and the Mass in B Minor by Bach. I've performed Bach's St. John Passion.

Near the top of my list of personal favorites are Leonard Bernstein's Chichester Psalms (which I've also performed). As I sit here listening to what is probably the top recording of the Chichester Psalms, I remembered Dawkins' favorites and wondered if he had favorite recordings.

Can you remember off the top of your head whether Dawkins had favorite recordings and who performed them? If you can't, I'll dig through my copy of The God Delusion later and figure it out for myself.

(Incidentally, if you haven't heard the Chichester Psalms, do yourself a favor and at least listen to the second movement, which is sublime. It features a boy alto singing the 23rd Psalm in Hebrew. The tenors and basses eventually sing Psalm 2 to contrast: "Why do the nations rage?" Then Bernstein puts them together, masterfully. You GOTTA hear it!)


Hambydammit
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I don't know the answer to

I don't know the answer to your question, but one of my favorite works is the Verdi Requiem.

Actually, I'm also quite fond of the Mozart Requiem...

something about death music.  hmm...

 

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Iruka Naminori
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Hambydammit wrote: I don't

Hambydammit wrote:

I don't know the answer to your question, but one of my favorite works is the Verdi Requiem.

Actually, I'm also quite fond of the Mozart Requiem...

something about death music. hmm...

 

Death music?  Completely unlike death metal. Eye-wink 

But I know what you mean.  I'm fond of the many requiems I've heard and sung.  We did Bach's St. John Passion (also death music...LOL) in English.  I would have preferred German.  The conductors of the various choruses (we performed en masse) had different translations of English, so it probably would have gone more smoothly to just sing it in the original language.  Some of the less experience choristers balk at singing in foreign languages, but I actually prefer it.  I'm not sure why.  Maybe it makes it easier to give the "sacred" music my own meaning.

I am not familiar with the Verdi Requiem (do you have a favorite recording?), but I know the Mozart Requiem very well.  It's wonderful.  In fact I couldn't tell you which movement is my favorite.  The Lacrimosa is beautiful, of course, but I like them all.  I had it memorized twenty-ish years ago and have performed sections of it since then. 

I also performed the Durufle Requiem a few years ago.  I like it, but it's not in the same class as Mozart's.  I also very much like the Brahms Requiem, but have never had a chance to perform it.  I especially love Wie Lieblich Sind Deine Wohnungen.  I asked the local community chorus conductor to do it, but he did it the year before I became active in the chorus--2000, I think--and hasn't wanted to do it again.  Now my voice teacher has given me strict orders to stay out of choruses so I can develop my solo voice. 

Oh well. Smiling 

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