While the book has numerous virtues--such as up-to-date assessments of why Bach created the Mass, and of how he used pre-existing pieces to do so--an even finer kind of writing emerges when Butt takes us into the composer's workshop. " Fanfare"...this book fulfills its purpose admirably. For the concert-goer, it provides a lucid guide to one of the pillars of western music. For the serious student or choral conductor, it furnishes an introduction to the glories and the mysteries of what is arguably Bach's greatest single work." John Devorick, The Choral Journal"...a most welcome attempt to sum up the main results of recent scholarship on the B Minor Mass. Designed mainly for nonspecialists it presents a concise and up-to-date account of Bach's monumental work that will be of use to students, teachers, and music lovers alike."