Stop whatever you’re doing, go to iTunes right now*, and buy this recording of Marc Minkowski conducting Bach’s B minor mass with Les Musiciens du Louvre and a tiny choir of soloists.
* it came out on CD about six months ago, but it only showed up digitally today.
Couldn’t agree more! His late Mozart symphonies are best I’ve heard.
They really are. Buy them too. They’re here…
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=161025177&s=143441
It’s a good disc, but for my money nowhere near as good as the Cantus Cölln/Junghänel version on harmonia mundi. Also ovpp, but better singing, better playing, better shape/pacing/form, and better tempi. The Minkowski recording has some really shaky bits w/ bad ensemble coordination (indeed, even the first few bars!) and some of the transitions b/t movements of contrasting tempi are really quite weird and sometimes a bit sloppy.
That said, the singing from Lucy Crowe, Joanne Lunn, and Terry Wey is absolutely superb!