That’s how I felt about this afternoon’s performance of the Bach Mass in B minor by the Hawaii Vocal Arts Ensemble under the baton of Timothy Carney — it was so exhilarating to play Bach in that acoustically live and beautiful space! And the choir, orchestra and soloists certainly rose to the occasion in performing Bach, always a huge challenge musically and technically. I have to admit the notes were flying by so fast that I was afraid to blink for fear I’d miss something or get lost!

I quote now from the printed program:

“The greatest musical artwork for all times and all people” — is how composer and publisher Hans Georg Nägeli described Bach’s B-Minor Mass in 1818. His description has been validated through the ages by scholars, composers, performers, and listeners alike.

The concert today was a performance of the original Dresden 1733 version, consisting of the Kyrie and Gloria movements, in addition to the Agnus Dei and Dona nobis pacem.

Bach’s B-minor Mass was last heard in 2014 with the Oahu Choral Society, before that in 2011 with Carl Crosier at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu, and in the 1980s with John McCreary at St. Andrew’s Cathedral. We hope this shorter, but no-less authentic version will be an occasion of great beauty and inspiration to all.

Indeed, Carl Crosier was very much on my mind throughout the whole performance, especially during the Agnus Dei and the Dona nobis pacem. Fourteen years ago, you may remember Carl telling everyone, “The day that I program the B-minor Mass you’ll know that I’m retiring! He told me that as he conducted the final Dona nobis pacem, he told himself, “You’d better enjoy this, because this is the last concert I’m conducting!”

I too was thinking that performance (2011) would be my last B-minor but as it turned out, I played the 2014 concert and now this 2025 one.

All of the vocal soloists were stellar, but what made their performances so great were their duets with the instrumental soloists: Judy Barrett, violin; Alex Hayashi, oboe d’amore; Claire Starz Butin, flute; and Jamie Sanborn, horn. And did you know Alex played the oboe d’amore that Carl and I bought years ago, specifically to play the works of Bach? Now I understand that ours is the only oboe d’amore in the islands.

And thanks to Tim’s clear, concise, and very-easy-to-follow conducting, the ensemble stayed (mostly) together. I’m just so grateful that I didn’t get lost through all those thousands of notes!

At the end of the concert, Tim Carney did a “Carl Crosier” when taking his final bows: he held up the conductor’s score as if to say the person who deserves all the accolades is the person who wrote this incredible music. That’s exactly what Carl did 14 years ago! But even Tim said that he was thinking of Carl throughout the concert, and that he made the gesture to the score as a tribute to Carl.

I know that in my previous post I worried about getting to the venue on time after having played the 3 pm Vespers service at St. Mark’s. Thanks to Bob and Yoko Kokuni Kessner who saved me a parking space right in front!

Also, some people were very curious to see what kind of instrument I was playing: a Roland digital harpsichord which switches between an organ or a harpsichord with the turn of a knob.

Here’s the Dona nobis pacem as performed by the Bach Collegium Japan, Carl’s favorite performers of Bach. You may remember that this was one of the tracks I played for him on his deathbed and he was visibly moved.

(Psst! I’ll be going to Japan in October to hear the Bach Collegium Japan live in concert!)

Thank you so much, Tim Carney, for asking me to play in this greatest work of the ages! I had the time of my life playing Bach!

Photos by James Carr.