There are several good things to be said about this performance of Bach's B minor Mass, but they are sadly outweighed by two bad ones. The first is the quality of the choral singing which is sometimes undistinguished and, in places such as the Kyrie, inadequate. The second concerns the quality of the recorded sound itself, which is poor. I had not heard the Leipzig Radio Chorus before but its capabilities often sound well below those required by Bach's choral music. Add to this a distantly balanced recording and an indefinite acoustic and you have a disappointing result. What a pity, for the soloists are a strong team on the whole and Peter Schreier, who directs the performance, chooses sensible tempos and injects life into the music. There are some curious and unconvincing passages of dynamic shading in some of the choruses which, given a good balance, would be more irritating than in fact they are. In short, this is not the B minor Mass to go for. Notes in German only.'