Philippe Herreweghe’s long-lasting interest in the works of the Cantor of Leipzig has turned him into a man whose views evolve as he delves deeper into his subject matter. The joy that he feels – combined with a very legitimate sense of pride – in having forged musical tools that have today reached maturity, has led him to come back to a Mass that has never ceased to intrigue him: the catholic Mass of the protestant composer J S Bach.

In the spring of 2011, the Jesus-Christus Kirche in Berlin came alive with the splendid sounds of Bach’s score as preceding recordings of the Mass no longer met the radiant vision that the Flemish maestro had of it. Together with a handful of excellent soloists – included in the choir – and a Collegium vocally and instrumentally at its best, Philippe Herreweghe delivers a work that must be savoured like a sweet or a last supper where rigor and hedonism, inner depth and outer seduction tenderly offer themselves to the listener.