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.
Disc 1
Disc 2
- 2012
- Academy of Ancient Music, Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Carolyn Watkinson, Christopher Hogwood, David Thomas & Dame Emma Kirkby
- Alastair Miles, Catherine Robbin, Michael Schade, Nancy Argenta & Trevor Pinnock
- Collegium Vocale Gent & Philippe Herreweghe
- The English Concert & Trevor Pinnock
- Academy of Ancient Music, Catherine Robbin, Choir of Winchester Cathedral, Christopher Hogwood, Dame Emma Kirkby, John Mark Ainsley & Michael George
- Barbara Schlick, Catherine Patriasz, Charles Brett, Chorus Of Collegium Vocale, Ghent, Howard Crook, Collegium Vocale Gent & Philippe Herreweghe
- The Sixteen & Harry Christophers