h-Moll-Messe

Listening to Kuijken's Mass in B Minor is like a enjoying a refreshing breeze. The sound is light, open, highly resolved, and immensely articulate. Gone are layers of encumbering, lumbering sound. Instead, one has the essence. A minimal number of vocalists, a spare but completely satisfying complement of instruments, and a resulting transparency of sound...

In contrast [to Gardiner's performance], Kuijken's performance is similarly alive, but dignified. It entirely avoids mannerism and fussiness. Best characterized as a performance filled with solid strength, Kuijken is not afraid of genuine grandeur when called for (as in the Gloria or Et Resurrexit), but he entirely eschews effects purely for display. And yet, he maintains a subtle and well-chosen variation of tempi that avoids any deadening sense of sameness.

The recorded sound of the Kuijken performance is superb. Detailed, transparent, fully realistic. Recording engineer Bert van der Wolf has engineered a marvel of detail and balance in this DSD64 recording to which I'm listening: balance of direct and reflected sound, balance of voice and instruments, balance of instruments among each other, all with immense clarity. And when power is applied by the performers, the recording fully encompasses and delivers that power and brilliance of sound. And in the excellence of the sound quality is where this Bert van der Wolf recording (23 years later) separates itself from the earlier Gardiner recording by Archiv. As much as I admire the Archiv recording quality for it's time, the Bert van der Wolf recording is devastatingly superior in all respects. Very satisfyingly done.

Most highly recommended!