Bethlehem makes Bach worth the trip

0 Comments | Philadelphia Inquirer, The, May, 2007 | by David Patrick Stearns Inquirer Music Critic

BETHLEHEM - The Bethlehem Bach Festival looms in the classical music world much as the Statue of Liberty does: It'll always be there, and you're sure to visit at some point. Well, maybe. The now-or-never draw of its 100th season, however, is enough to make you gas up the car for its signature piece, Bach's  Mass in B minor , a work widely considered unperformable until the amateur choristers of this heavily Moravian industrial town proved otherwise.

While the steel mills loom massive and quiet on the riverfront, Bach prevails in the two-week festival, through Saturday, with nods to innovation (the Paul Taylor Dancers perform) yet buttressed by curious, arcane traditions.

The Packer Memorial Church sits on...