The Georgia Tech Chamber Choir will be performing J.S. Bach’s Mass in B Minor Friday March 4 and Saturday March 5 in cooperation with the New Trinity Baroque Orchestra, an Atlanta-based baroque orchestra who perform in baroque pitch (A=415 Hz instead of A=440 Hz) using entirely baroque instruments.
These instruments are built and played differently and as a result have a more unrefined/crude sound overall compared to modern instruments. The performance will take advantage of the latest scholarly research; authentic baroque instruments will be used in the lower Baroque pitch.
The pronunciation differs from modern Latin and more closely resembles what Bach would have heard when he first composed the piece. This is the first performance in Atlanta of the newest edition of the score, restoring Bach’s original composition from posthumous edits made by his son.
The B-minor mass was completed shortly before Bach died and is one of the most challenging choral works he composed, spanning 110 minutes. It is full of theological and numerological symbolism, one of Bach’s hallmarks.
The Chamber Choir has been rehearsing the piece since last Aug. and has already performed it in Sarasota, Fla. and Tampa, Fla. They are currently raising funds to travel to Italy this summer for additional performances. Given the scale and difficulty of the work, this is the most challenging undertaking in 12-plus years of Chamber Choir at Tech and one of the most challenging in the history of music at Tech.
There will be two concerts: March 4 at St. John’s United Methodist Church and March 5, at St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church. Saturday’s performance will be directed by the orchestra’s director. Tickets are $9 for students and $29 for adults. They’re available online at gtchamberchoir.com. They choir will also be tabling in the Student Center selling tickets every day from Friday, Feb. 25 to Frida, March 4.