Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Mass in B minor, for soloists, chorus & orchestra, BWV 232 (BC E1): Part 1. Missa. Chorus. Kyrie eleison
2. Mass in B minor, for soloists, chorus & orchestra, BWV 232 (BC E1): Part 1. Missa. Duet. Christe eleison
3. Mass in B minor, for soloists, chorus & orchestra, BWV 232 (BC E1): Part 1. Missa. Chorus. Kyrie eleison
4. Mass in B minor, for soloists, chorus & orchestra, BWV 232 (BC E1): Part 1. Missa. Chorus. Gloria in excelsis Deo
5. Mass in B minor, for soloists, chorus & orchestra, BWV 232 (BC E1): Part 1. Missa. Chorus. Et in terra pax hominibus
6. Mass in B minor, for soloists, chorus & orchestra, BWV 232 (BC E1): Part 1. Missa. Aria. Laudamus te
7. Mass in B minor, for soloists, chorus & orchestra, BWV 232 (BC E1): Part 1. Missa. Chorus. Gratias agimus tibi
8. Mass in B minor, for soloists, chorus & orchestra, BWV 232 (BC E1): Part 1. Missa. Duet. Domine Deus
9. Mass in B minor, for soloists, chorus & orchestra, BWV 232 (BC E1): Part 1. Missa. Chorus. Qui tollis peccata mundi
10. Mass in B minor, for soloists, chorus & orchestra, BWV 232 (BC E1): Part 1. Missa. Aria. Qui sedes ad dextram Patris
11. Mass in B minor, for soloists, chorus & orchestra, BWV 232 (BC E1): Part 1. Missa. Aria. Quoniam tu solus Sanctus
12. Mass in B minor, for soloists, chorus & orchestra, BWV 232 (BC E1): Part 1. Missa. Chorus. Cum Sancto Spiritu

Disc 2:

1. Mass in B minor, for soloists, chorus & orchestra, BWV 232 (BC E1): Part 2. Symbolum Nicenum. Chorus. Credo in unum Deum
2. Mass in B minor, for soloists, chorus & orchestra, BWV 232 (BC E1): Part 2. Symbolum Nicenum. Chorus. Patrem omnipotentem
3. Mass in B minor, for soloists, chorus & orchestra, BWV 232 (BC E1): Part 2. Symbolum Nicenum. Duet. Et in unum Dominum
4. Mass in B minor, for soloists, chorus & orchestra, BWV 232 (BC E1): Part 2. Symbolum Nicenum. Chorus. Et incarnatus est
5. Mass in B minor, for soloists, chorus & orchestra, BWV 232 (BC E1): Part 2. Symbolum Nicenum. Chorus. Crucifixus etiam pro nobis
6. Mass in B minor, for soloists, chorus & orchestra, BWV 232 (BC E1): Part 2. Symbolum Nicenum. Chorus. Et resurrexit tertia die
7. Mass in B minor, for soloists, chorus & orchestra, BWV 232 (BC E1): Part 2. Symbolum Nicenum. Aria. Et in Spiritum Sanctum
8. Mass in B minor, for soloists, chorus & orchestra, BWV 232 (BC E1): Part 2. Symbolum Nicenum. Chorus. Confiteor unum baptisma
9. Mass in B minor, for soloists, chorus & orchestra, BWV 232 (BC E1): Part 2. Symbolum Nicenum. Chorus. Et expecto resurrectionem
10. Mass in B minor, for soloists, chorus & orchestra, BWV 232 (BC E1): Part 3. Sanctus. Chorus. Sanctus
11. Mass in B minor, for soloists, chorus & orchestra, BWV 232 (BC E1): Part 4. Osanna, Benedictus, Agnus Dei and Dona Nobis Pacem. Choru
12. Mass in B minor, for soloists, chorus & orchestra, BWV 232 (BC E1): Part 4. Osanna, Benedictus, Agnus Dei and Dona Nobis Pacem. Aria.
13. Mass in B minor, for soloists, chorus & orchestra, BWV 232 (BC E1): Part 4. Osanna, Benedictus, Agnus Dei and Dona Nobis Pacem. Choru
14. Mass in B minor, for soloists, chorus & orchestra, BWV 232 (BC E1): Part 4. Osanna, Benedictus, Agnus Dei and Dona Nobis Pacem. Aria.
15. Mass in B minor, for soloists, chorus & orchestra, BWV 232 (BC E1): Part 4. Osanna, Benedictus, Agnus Dei and Dona Nobis Pacem. Choru

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #370012 in Music
• Released on: 1997-02-10
• Number of discs: 2
• Format: Import

Amazon.com
There is much to admire in Robert King's 1996 recording with the King's Consort. With a sizable group of boy sopranos and altos (but not English boys, whose timbre is quite different from that of these German boys), this performance comes closest of all, perhaps, to the sound of church music as Bach knew it. The chorus consists of 35 members, almost exactly the number Bach might have had at his disposal. The account is splendidly realized and beautifully recorded. Don't be put off by the all-black artwork on the face of the jewel box: inside is a treasure worth discovering. --Ted Libbey

Customer Reviews

An excelent recording of a masterpiece of 'Ancient' music
The boy soprani and alti make the Hohe Messe sweeter, the wonderful tenor and bass brilliant, and the ornaments by the instrument soloists, choir, and director alike, a wonderful performance. Comparing it with my experience in a student's chorus and another recording I almost listened to, it is extremely good (I didn't listen to the other recording because it was no match -with the Puccinni soprani and alti- for this one); when listening to it, and getting excited, and depressed and joyful in each piece, I rate it as magnificent, almost unreachable and touching - perhaps almost as much as it would be, directed by Johann Sebastian Bach himself. Note that the booklet is nearly as exciting (e.g. my noteheads and Joh. Seb. Bach's are, since when I read it, alike). The cover is also very good with a(n invisible to internet-surfers) silver cross. An extraordinarilly perfect performance.

Very Good Effort. Not the Best.
This umpteenth recording of Johann Sebastian Bach's Mass in B Minor is a great effort, which one would expect from the Hyperion label, but speaking as someone who has heard a dozen or more recordings and live performances by a Bach specialist group, I suggest that this recording is not the best. If you run across it for a deeply discounted price, snap it up, but if you are looking for your first B Minor Mass, look for something on the big labels who are used to recording 'big' works of music.