Bernstein: Mass

Leonard Bernstein’s Mass, commissioned for the opening of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., received its premiere there on September 8, 1971. I attended a performance of the production when it was revived the following spring. The Vietnam War was still raging, and I remember going home furious that Bernstein had chosen to end the piece on a hopeful note. Then, a little over a year later and seemingly before my ears had stopped buzzing, I was singing (and dancing, and playing the bongos for Pete’s sake) in the European premiere of Mass, as a member of the Street Chorus. From Washington to Vienna, by way of New Haven, I had gone from hating the piece to…if not loving it, at least understanding it and its composer a bit better. Comes now Sony’s 50th anniversary reissue of the original recording, which like the work itself was a sprawling affair. Tape transfer and remastering are by Andreas K. Meyer. In certain sections one can hear a hot ground from the original, but apart from that, listening to the hi-res download supplied by Sony has been sheer joy. I’m a happy camper.