The B minor mass of Bach is, in my mind, the greatest choral work ever composed. Granted, maybe a couple of the arias are a bit dull, but overall, the piece is brilliant, filled with rich fugal textures, wonderful musical devices (listen to how Bach resolves the question of division/unison between God the Father and God the Son with a delightful tenor/soprano duet), and powerful emotion. In short, you MUST have a recording of the B Minor Mass. Now, with regard to recordings. DON'T make the mistake of buying a recording with a huge orchestra and chorus. Bach is not Handel, and the B Minor Mass is not the Messiah or Beethoven's 9th. It was designed to be played and sung by small ensembles. Otherwise, the intricacies of the piece get washed out. The second big decision is period instruments vs. modern instruments. I personally think the period instruments provide a nice color, as long as the musicians can play them properly. But modern instruments are OK, too. It's more of a personal preference than anything. This recording uses a small orchestra playing period instruments and a small vocal ensemble. The orchestra is quite competant, the conducting is clean, and the soloists are all superb. It is a new recording too, so it doesn't have the hiss that plagues older recordings. The chorus sometimes doesn't quite muster up enough bite, which is my only complaint. There are dozens of recordings of Bach's B Minor Mass out there, and while I can't say that this one is the best, it still is a good choice.
