J.S. Bach: Mass in B Minor

The Chattanooga Bach Choir & Orchestra, conducted by artistic director David Long, presents Johann Sebastian Bach's Mass in B Minor on Saturday, May 18 at 7:30 p.m., at the First Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 1505 N. Moore Road in Chattanooga. Admission is $25; students are free. For more information and to purchase tickets in advance, visit www.chattanoogabachchoir.org.

Joining the Chattanooga Bach Choir & Orchestra are featured soloists Maria Rist, soprano I, Alissa Ruth Suver, soprano II; Virginia Lile Boaz, alto, Mark Laseter, tenor; and Matthew Hoch, bass. Bach's Mass in B minor is performed in Latin.

The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul. - J.S. Bach

David Long, the Bach Choir's artistic director, comments, "For many musicians and music lovers, the one work they would take with them on a desert island would be Bach's Mass in B Minor, a work revered for its dramatic sweep and spiritual resonance. Completed in 1748, two years before his death, the Mass in B minor has long been recognized as the summation of Bach's art and philosophy – dedication to his mission , striving for perfection, and the glorification of God – resulting in a work for the ages. In the words of another famous composer, Robert Schumann, 'We are never at an end with Bach, he seems to grow more profound the more often he is heard.'"