Taking the Bach Cantatas as a basis for a year-long pilgrimage in 2000, conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner led the Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists on an emotional and artistically triumphant world tour to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the composer’s death. Many of the Cantatas were performed in religious buildings throughout Europe and even in New York, at appropriate times in the liturgical calendar. These performances feature Cantatas 179, 199 and 113, all composed for the 11th Sunday after Trinity, in marvellously dramatic interpretations by the Choir and soloists including soprano Magdalena Kozen, alto William Towers, tenor Mark Padmore and Stephan Loges. Gardiner’s mission to expose the delicacy of emotion at the heart of Bach’s deceptively simple melodies pays dividends in settings which range from baroque German cathedrals to the austere bleakness of Iona. Filmed by BBC Wales, the concerts create a moving spiritual journey in which the music itself is allowed to take centre stage thanks to the passion of the performances and, above all, to Gardiner’s vision of Bach’s continuing relevance in the modern world at the beginning of a new millennium.

On the DVD: thanks to the crystal clarity of the PCM Stereo soundtrack and Surround Sound, it’s possible to reproduce at home the distinctive acoustics of the different venues where the cantatas are performed. The picture quality (anamorphic 16:9 ratio) makes for the standard television viewing experience but it’s the music which counts. Extras include a 60-minute documentary explaining Gardiner’s vision for the pilgrimage, with further performance extracts, giving a sense of the sheer size and ambition of the project--not least the logistical issues of moving a large group of performers around such a diverse range of locations. It also shows the extent to which the performers become absorbed by Bach’s music and through it, discover new aspects of their own spirituality. Extensive booklet notes include full texts of the featured Cantatas and the double-sided disc allows viewing in PAL or NTSC format.--Piers Ford

Recorded in 2000 at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig where the composer worked as Cantor for 25 years, this performance of Bach's Mass in B minor is a commemorative concert marking the 250th anniversary of his birthday. The conductor here, Georg Christoph Biller, was himself Cantor in 2000, while most members of the ensemble have strong links with the Bach tradition. Hence, this is a faithfully authentic, if orthodox rendering of the work. The Mass itself, however--composed in 1748-9, a year or so before he died--is somewhat unorthodox. To begin with it's a Latin mass, itself an odd choice for a protestant Cantor, and even so does not follow the conventions of a Catholic mass, split as it is into four rather than five parts. Using the full range of his compositional skills, it seems that what the ailing Bach intended here was church music that transcended the bounds of creed, a glorious musical valediction that soars aloft into the cathedral rafters and beyond. Certainly, this is the feeling evoked in the performances of English soprano Ruth Holton, among others. The power of the performances is poignantly contrasted with visual extracts of Bach's original score, his enfeebled handwriting indicative of his failing health. Yet the Mass in B minor has succeeded in achieving immortality and universality--a fine last testament from a composer who seems to have more resonance with contemporary audiences than most of his classical descendants.

On the DVD: The aspect ratio is 16:9. There are various subtitles but no extra features. --David Stubbs

Completed just a year before the end of the composer's life, Bach saw his great Latin Mass in B Minor (1749) as concluding his vast body of work. Indeed, combining new music with material from previous cantatas spanning over two decades, musicologist Philipp Spitta noted, "should all of Bach's compositions become lost, the Mass in B Minor alone would for all times give testimony of a man as if with the force of divine revelation". This performance is very much part of a living musical tradition, as the Neubeuern Choral Society was founded by conductor Enoch zu Guttenberg in 1967, developing a local century-old Bavarian musical culture into a choir of international repute. Together with the Orchester der Klangverwaltung and the five international vocal soloists these forces seem almost to fill the small church in which the performance is given. Perhaps inspired by the setting, this is a beautiful, and where necessary rousing, account, Guttenberg enthusiastically conducting even with one arm in a sling. The talented, comparatively youthful soloists complement each other well; tenor Deon van der Walt and soprano Anna Korondi are especially notable.

On the DVD: The absence of texts either in subtitle form or the booklet is a serious drawback. There's nothing remotely approaching a special feature, but the anamorphically enhanced 16:9 picture is very strong compared to many older classical music transfers. The sound cleanly captures the church acoustic. --Gary S Dalkin

Soon to be married Rick is treated to the final bachelor party of his life. But when his suspicious fiancé disguises and goes to the party, Nick sure has most remembered evening of his life.