It could be argued that
Sergiu Celibidache's 1990 recording of Bach's B minor Mass is not as slow and heavy as it sounds, rather that it just seems that way in comparison with the other B minor masses of the early digital era. Because let us not forget that the early digital era was also the golden age of the historically informed performance practice movement, and for fans of
Gardiner,
Harnoncourt, and their ilk, performing Bach on modern instruments was immediately suspect and taking him at such measured tempos was automatically rejected.
Even setting anachronistic comparisons aside, however,
Celibidache's B minor Mass is undeniably slow and heavy. Even with superb solo singing, soprano
Barbara Bonney is simply divine; excellent choral singing, the Bach-Chor of Gutenberg University of Mainz is as fine an amateur choir as is you're ever likely to hear; and skillful playing, the Münchner Philharmoniker plays with as much sustained spiritual and musical strength as is imaginable,
Celibidache's B minor still sounds like it's crawling on its hands and knees over a jagged and desolate spiritual landscape. The clarity and luminosity of the Romanian maestro's performance cannot be gainsaid, but even for fans of the classic 1967
Otto Klemperer recording,
Celibidache may sound ponderous. EMI's remastering of this live performance is, if not very much clearer, at least much closer than earlier pirated releases.