Bach Mass in B Minor - Dunedin Consort - Early Music Review

My first experience of the B minor mass was hearing Joshua Rifkin's ground-breaking ‘one to a part' recording, when I worked in the CD shop that is now a lift at Covent Garden Underground station. Shortly afterwards, I allowed myself to be talked into attempting a similar feat at St Paul's in Covent Garden - the ensuing concert was eventful for all sorts of reasons (not least of which was the original horn player declaring on the eve of the event that he simply couldn't play the big solo!).

The Dunedins, always singing one-to-a-part, have more clarity - not only on account of the singing, I must say; the wonderful Linn production team must take some of the credit - but it will ultimately boil down to whether or not you like the solo voices you're hearing. There have been many recordings of the B minor mass since Rifkin's version, but in my opinion the Dunedin is the first to come anywhere near challenging it.