"The greatest musical artwork for all times and all people": so Hans Georg Nageli described Johann Sebastian Bach's B-Minor Mass in 1818, and through the years the world's listeners have strongly affirmed his verdict. No other work transcends the boundaries of sacred and secular so powerfully; no other work displays Bach's powers of compositional refinement and stylistic synthesis so clearly and on such a grand scale.

At the same time, the B-Minor Mass has emerged as an enigmatic piece. When was it composed? What was its purpose? How is it to be performed? How much of its music is original? Historians have wrestled with these questions for over one hundred years, and modern research has raised further issues. The recent study of Dresden Mass practices suggests that Bach used contemporary Catholic models to a greater degree than previously thought.

The "one on a part" approach to Bach's choir has brought into question the tradition of large-scale performances. And the recent discovery of an early version of the "Credo" movement opens anew the question of compositional process.

Taking these issues into account, the present volume reevaluates the complex history of the B-Minor Mass and examines in depth its remarkable music. Chapter 1 surveys the roots of the Mass Ordinary text and its treatment in musical settings that were known to Bach. Chapter 2 examines the events that led to the writing of the B-Minor Mass. Chapter 3 to 5 are devoted to a detailed inspection of the music, incorporating the new knowledge of Bach's late compositional habits and Mass conventions in Dresden.

Chapter 6 follows the performance history of the Mass to the present day. Chapter 7 weighs specific issues of performance practice, and Chapter 8 attempts to pinpoint those qualities that give the B-Minor Mass its universal appeal, that make it indeed a work of art "for all times and all people."