If you exclude the credits and the pauses between movements, this performance lasts just short of 75 minutes, about par for the course. But there’s nothing average about Nikolaus Harnoncourt’s conducting. There are variations from the norm – if one can speak of such a thing – within that total, but all his tempi seem exactly right. As James Jolly remarks in his booklet-note, ‘this is not a performance to storm the heavens…rather it emphasises the aspect of spiritual communion’. The camera, focusing on Harnoncourt’s expressive hands, not to mention his severe, unsmiling demeanour even in those pauses, underlines the point.

And the camerawork, under the direction of Joost Honselaar, is satisfying in its sheer unobtrusiveness. No irrelevant shots, no fussy jumping around. In the fugal ending to the Gloria, for instance, the camera just pans slowly across the chorus. But Honselaar does miss one trick: at ‘qui propter nos homines’ in the Credo, he concentrates on the flute but ignores the answering bassoon. The Concertgebouw Orchestra play with exemplary clarity: a beautifully blended woodwind section, noble trombones, strings that are both lean and fiery. The crescendo from the wind and horns at the introduction to ‘Qui tollis’ in the Gloria is but one instance of their responsiveness to Harnoncourt’s direction. Another – accompanying the solo violin – is the subtle holding-back as the solo quartet re-enter in the Benedictus at 66'54". All sections of the Netherlands Radio Choir sing their hearts out but the impact is lessened by their being rather backwardly recorded.

This throws the spotlight on the soloists, who are placed between choir and orchestra. They are wonderfully vehement at ‘miserere nobis’ in the Gloria and at ‘Crucifixus’ in the Credo. Gerald Finley, singing with burnished tone, has no problem with the low notes of the Agnus Dei; Werner Güra and Elisabeth Kulman are memorably strong. Above all, the way Marlis Petersen launches ‘Pleni sunt coeli’ will have you on the edge of your seat. It’s a shame that she takes a breath just before the top C in the Benedictus (which she doesn’t for Philippe Herreweghe – PHI, 3/13), but that is a minor flaw in a gripping performance. And ‘gripping’ will serve for the whole experience.