Search - Siegfried Lorenz, Johann Sebastian Bach, Peter Schreier :: Bach: Messe in H-moll BWV 232

Filled with belief and devotion

P. SIMPSON | North Yorkshire, United Kingdom | 06/13/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The was the first digital recording of the B Minor, recorded in '82 and released on Eurodisc back in about '84. Since then, other recordings may have been more "polished" and may have added more spectacular sound (though the sound here is very natural and beautifully soft-focussed and grainy) but none conveys as much healthy love and devotion and none has such a fine ensemble of soloists (the much-missed Lucia Popp, Theo Adam, Carolyn Watkinson et al) and so committed a choir. But don't get me wrong, - this isn't an over-reverential performance. It's sprightly and light when needed, and Schreier expertly mixes control and flexibility, qualities he then also manifested in his next, mid-80's recording of the Mozart Requiem (still my benchmark). After nearly 20 years the "et incarnatus est" and the "crucifixis" still give me goosebumps and make me wish I could be a believer in a way no other performance has done.It's not as readily available as it once was, except for a highlights disc, but make the effort to search for it, - you won't be disappointed."