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Background:

• Its composition was completed in 1749, a year before Bach’s death.
• Part of the Mass, the Kyrie-Gloria was first composed and dedicated to the new King of Poland, Augustus III. Thereafter, Bach was made the court composer in 1736.
• The Mass was first performed in its entirety in 1859.
• Widely regarded as Bach’s vocal magnum opus, it spans 27 movements, divided into four main sections (viz., Missa: Kyrie and Gloria; Symbolum Nicenum: Credo; Sanctus; and Osanna, Benedictus, Agnus Dei et Dona nobis pacem).
• The Mass was styled after a Neapolitan mass, a full Latin setting was highly unusual for a Lutheran composer, making it a transcendent and deeply personal artistic summation. C.P.E. Bach, his son, called it the Great Catholic Mass.

Recordings:

• Mass in B Minor (Breitkopf & Hartel, Edited By Joshua Rifkin 2006).
  Susan Hamilton (soprano), Cecilia Osmond (soprano), Margot Oitzinger (alto), Thomas Hobbs (tenor), Matthew Brook (bass).
  Dunedin Consort & Players.
  John Butt (director).
  Linn.
  Gramophone Magazine (2010): Editor’s Choice.

• Mass in B Minor.
  Katherine Watson (soprano), Tim Mead (countertenor), Reinoud Van Mechelen (tenor) & André Morsch (baritone).
  Les Arts Florissants.
  William Christie.
  Harmonia Mundi.
  The Guardian Classical Albums of the Year (2018).
  Presto Recording of the Week (2018).
  Radio 3 Record Review (2018): Recording of the Week.

• Mass in B Minor.
  Lydia Teuscher (soprano), Ida Falk Winland (soprano), Tim Mead (countertenor), Samuel Boden (tenor), Neal Davies (bass).
  Arcangelo.
  Jonathan Cohen.
  Hyperion.
  Gramophone Magazine (2014): Editor’s Choice.
  Presto Recordings of the Year (2014): Finalist.
  Gramophone Awards (2015): Finalist Baroque Vocal.

• Messe in h-Moll.
  Christina Landshamer (soprano), Anke Vondung (mezzo-soprano), Kenneth Tarver (tenor), Andreas Wolf (bass-baritone).
  Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks.
  Concerto Kohn.
  Peter Dijkstra.
  BR Klassik.
  International Classical Music Awards (2022): Nominated Symphonic Music.

• Mass in B minor.
  Hannah Morrison (soprano), Esther Brazil (mezzo), Meg Bragle (alto), Kate Symonds-Joy (alto), Peter Davoren (tenor), Nick Pritchard (tenor), Alex Ashworth (bass), David Shipley (bass).
  Monteverdi Choir.
  English Baroque Soloists.
  John Eliot Gardiner.
  SDG.
  Presto Recordings of the Year (2015).
  Gramophone Awards (2016): Shortlisted Baroque Vocal.
  Gramophone Magazine (2026): Editor’s Choice.

• Mass in B Minor.
  Julie Roset (soprano), Beth Taylor (mezzo), Lucile Richardot (alto), Emiliano Gonzalez Toro (tenor), Christian Immler (bass).
  Pygmalion.
  Raphael Pichon.
  Harmonia Mundi.
  BBC Music Magazine (2025): Choral Choice.
  Gramophone Magazine (2025): Editor’s Choice.
  Gramophone Awards (2025): Winner Choral& Recording of the Year.
  Presto Recordings of the Year (2025): Winner.
  The New York Times: Best Classical Music Albums of 2025.
  BBC Music Magazine Awards (2026): Shortlisted Choral.
  International Classical Music Awards (2026): Nominated Baroque Music.

• H-Moll Messe.
  Maria Stader (soprano), Hertha Töpper (alto), Hertha Töpper (contralto), Ernst Haefliger (tenor), Kieth Engen (bass), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (baritone)
  Munchener Bach-Chor.
  Munchener Bach-Orchester.
  Karl Richter.
  Archiv Produktion.

• Mass in B Minor.
  Carolyn Sampson (soprano I), Rachel Nicholls (soprano II), Robin Blaze (alto), Gerd Türk (tenor) & Peter Kooij (bass).
  Bach Collegium Japan.
  Masaaki Suzuki.
  BIS.
  Presto Recordings of the Year (2007).
  Diapason d’Or de l’Annee (2008).
  Gramophone Awards (2008): Finalist Baroque Vocal.

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Coram Deo — before the face of God. This blog reflects on Scripture, world events, science, music, psychology, and the human mind — always through the lens of Christian faith. All of life is lived before the face of God.