Bach: Mass in B minor, BWV 232

Andreas Schmidt (Performer), Thomas Quasthoff (Performer), Johann Sebastian Bach (Composer), Helmuth Rilling (Conductor), Stuttgart Bach Collegium (Performer, Orchestra), Juliane Banse (Performer), Sibylla Rubens (Performer), James Taylor [tenor] (Performer)

Product Details

• Performer: Andreas Schmidt, Thomas Quasthoff, Stuttgart Bach Collegium, Juliane Banse, Sibylla Rubens, et al.
• Orchestra: Stuttgart Bach Collegium
• Conductor: Helmuth Rilling
• Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach
• Audio CD (February 29, 2000)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Hanssler Classics
• ASIN: B00004S584
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #156,874 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Here is an unerringly traditional view of Bach's Mass in B Minor, using a big-sounding chorus (building, edifice-like in the "Gratias agimus tibi," rising magnificently in "Cum Sancto Spiritu," accompanied by bullish brass playing) and a modern-instrument orchestra securely underpinned by a bracing continuo line. Rilling's soloists, too, are the antithesis of the androgynous, slightly anonymous voices so often encountered in period-instrument performances (witness the soprano duet in the "Christe," where the two voices are clearly differentiated and they sound like female voices, not flutey trebles). Speeds tend to be unrushed (not unreasonable in a work of this gravitas), in some cases positively stately, and always avoiding the suspicion, sometimes encountered, that the instrumentalists can't quite keep up with the conductor. There is plenty of fine solo work from both singers and players, such as Andreas Schmidt's "Et in Spiritum Sanctum," the solo violin in "Laudamus te," or the oboe d'amore in "Qui sedes." Altogether a worthwhile addition to the catalogue and sure to appeal to anyone wanting a recording of this work that is neither old-fashioned nor slavishly authentic. --Harriet Smith

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the stuff!, July 31, 2006

By	Musicus (Oslo, Norway) - See all my reviews

I didn't expect to find a b-minor mass leaving no wishes open. But here it is! I have a great collection of classical music, including a lot of Bach recordings, among them three b-minor masses. Still it is rare that receiving one CD box makes me so happy! Everything here, down to the last detail, is wonderful! It's like a dream comes true. Occasions like this make me wish for more stars to give; the star inflation at Amazon make us miss stars when something really great occurs.
I wonder if I will ever listen to another version of this opus magnus...

20 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Die Bach "Grosse Messe h-Moll" (the Bach "Great Mass in b), October 7, 2000

By	David Glenn Lebut Jr. (Mesa, Arizona United States) - See all my reviews

I got my copy from Border's Books and Music in Mesa, AZ. I found it to br one of the most sublime interpretations of this ultimate pinnacle in Latin figural music written by a Lutheran. Herr Rilling outdoes himself. I especially liked his treatment of the "Et Incarnatus" and "Crucifixus" movements in the Credo. In this recording, Rilling brings out all of Bach's power and sublimity.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best recordings of the B-minor mass, January 4, 2007

By	Marcolorenzo (Italy) - See all my reviews

This recording together with the Jochum version is one if not the best recording of this work. A modern instrument version which sounds at the right moments like a period instrument one (vibrato controlled) is perfect. See my review of Gardiner's version for more details of this recording.