John Eliot Gardiner’s 1985 studio recording of Bach’s Mass in B Minor is still regarded as one of the finest. In 2006, however, the conductor suggested that the performance hadn’t captured the entire picture, and that it was time to re-record Bach’s last choral testament. Gardiner’s second recording of the work is taken from a private live performance at LSO St Luke’s in London and is an exhilarating listen. From declamatory start to majestic finish, the Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists form a perfectly blended ensemble, Bach’s heavenly polyphony shining forth as brightly as ever.