Early opera underwent a strange development in the 17th century: under pressure from the paying public, comic elements increasingly overshadowed the fates of the great heroic figures it was supposed to be about. At some point, the brakes were applied and opera seria emerged, in which only noble characters acted.

For its final concert of the 2021–22 season and Osmo Vänskä’s last as artistic director, the Minnesota Orchestra chose to present Mahler’s mammoth Eighth Symphony, which calls for one of the largest complement of performers in the history of music, a symbol of the communitarian spirit of collective cultural, social and religious-philosophical endeavour in what has been referred to as a ‘Mass for the Masses’.

Bass-baritone Christian Immler, accompanied by the pianist Andreas Frese, juxtaposes the contemporary composer Jörg Widmann with the Romantic Schumann in three cycles of lieder written between 1849 and 2013. ‘For us, Jörg Widmanns song cycle Das heiße Herz (‘The Burning Heart’) is to be numbered among the very greatest song cycles, and not just among those of this century. During our intensive rehearsals with Jörg Widmann, the many questions we had (and what a joy to be able to ask them!) often had surprisingly simple answers. The combination with Schumann’s late Harper and Lenau song cycles seems absolutely perfect, for similar situations permeate these cycles as well". Das heiße Herz is recorded here for the first time.

A composition as brilliant as it is protean – the earliest sections date back to 1724, others were written in 1733 in the hope of obtaining a post in Dresden – the Mass in B minor occupied Bach until the end of his life. The work, which is more ecumenical than strictly Catholic, offers a digest of his art at its expressive peak: a world in itself. It is an understatement to say that the performers on this recording were eager to revisit it, following their acclaimed interpretations of the two Passions and the Christmas Oratorio.