Bach Messe In H-Moll (Naïve)Marc Minkowski

　　Philly.com, David Patrick Stearns, March 15, 2009
　　So much wonderful Bach is on CD these days, these excellent recordings lack a top recommendation if only because of the ample competition. Dip into most any three minutes of the Brandenburg recordings and your jaw might drop at the virtuosity. But the Swiss Baroque Soloists on Naxos or Concerto Italiano on Naive produce a simila... (展开全部) 　　Philly.com, David Patrick Stearns, March 15, 2009
　　So much wonderful Bach is on CD these days, these excellent recordings lack a top recommendation if only because of the ample competition. Dip into most any three minutes of the Brandenburg recordings and your jaw might drop at the virtuosity. But the Swiss Baroque Soloists on Naxos or Concerto Italiano on Naive produce a similar reaction and then some. The new Richard Egarr recording has the considerable advantage of SACD sound, though Egarr's own harpsichord isn't as well recorded as on his recent, excellent recording of the Well-Tempered Clavier Book I.
　　Because Marc Minkowski has been such an important figure on the early-music front for so long, one can't help approach his recording with particular anticipation. It doesn't trump the best of the others (Bach Collegium Japan on Bis), but occupies its own niche. Minkowski is interested in the piece's architectural attributes, which he apprehends with vocally pure, often minimally inflected performances from 10 soloists instead of a conventional choir. But when emotion is clearly called for, he delivers it with minimum restraint. Also, his soloists are often singers you'd want to hear under most circumstances.
　　Contralto Nathalie Stutzmann's "Agnus Dei" is one of the most emotionally riveting versions ever recorded.
　　Product Description
　　Marc Minkowski's first recording of Bach! Bach's Mass in B minor is one of the most famous masterpieces of sacred music of all time, and this recording presents the B-minor Mass in its "original" version, i.e. with a vocal ensemble of 10 soloists. The CD-book features a limited edition format of 2 CDs + 100-page booklet on laid paper.　　

　　Messe in h-moll
　　Lucy Crowe, Joanne Lunn, sopranos I
　　Julia Lezhneva, Blandine Staskiewicz, sopranos II
　　Nathalie Stutzmann, Terry Wey, altos
　　Colin Balzer, Markus Brutscher, ténors
　　Christian Immler, Luca Tittolo, basses
　　Les Musiciens du Louvre – Grenoble
　　Marc Minkowski