Mass in B Minor

Tomorrow I'm going to a performance of Johann Sebastian Bach's Mass in B Minor. This piece is my favourite of all.

We're nearing the end of Lent Season, and are approaching Passion Week, beginning with Palm Sunday a few days from now. It seems very appropriate to usher in this Holy Easter Week with the text of Bach's great masterpiece.

I will devote the next five days to journaling the text of Bach's great work. Here are the movements of the piece:

I. Kyrie
II. Gloria
III. Credo
IV. Sanctus
V. Agnus Dei

Musically, I find Bach's Mass to be a work of passion - which makes honouring this piece during Passion Week that much more appropriate. It resonates with a heaviness of soul, as it foresees Christ's Passion.

The liturgical layout of this piece is brilliant too. The Kyrie and Agnus Dei are both classics that begin and end the work. In the middle is a word for word rendition of the Nicene Creed, the creed millions of us followers of our Lord Jesus Christ recite on a weekly basis. This creed has been the central confessional creed of the church since the fourth century. Talk about a perseverance of the Saints! As the middle movement of Bach's work, the Creed separates the Gloria from the Sanctus.

Praise be to you, God Almighty, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.