Is there life after Bach? Masaaki Suzuki is finding out after spending much of his career recording Bach’s cantatas. He has already spread his wings, delivering an acclaimed account of Mozart’s Great Mass in C Minor. He now turns his attention to that most challenging works, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis.

Historically informed in style and scale, Suzuki’s version is close to John Eliot Gardiner’s 2012 account in which James Gilchrist is also the tenor soloist. Suzuki brings many admirable aspects to the enterprise: finely honed orchestral playing and a well matched quartet of vocal soloists. There are some undeniably beautiful things – in particular the Benedictus with Ryo Terakado’s burnished violin solo and the exquisite singing...