Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Opus ultimum” is the second  publication in the  Bärenreiter Facsimile series, following that of Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony.<br>
 The work was completed in 1748/49, after the Art of Fugue, shortly before  Bach’s death. This late work is as concentrated and rich in compositional technique as scarcely any other  work. As early as 1818, Hans Nägeli enthusiastically described the Mass as the  “greatest  musical artwork of all time and all nations”. Since then, it has been ranked as  an icon of  music history.<br>
 One of the primary functions of a facsimile is the preservation  of such a cultural heritage,  particularly when the manuscript (as is the case with the Mass in B minor) is  endangered  and damaged by iron gall ink erosion. Furthermore, it is moving for Bach  admirers to see  how in some passages, Bach’s handwriting reflects the effort which this last  work demanded  of him.<br>
 The  facsimile, which has been lovingly reproduced and lavishly published, documents and records the present condition of the complete autograph score. Older reproductions have  substituted a few individual folios where the content has become difficult to  read in recent  years. The renowned Bach scholar Christoph Wolff describes the work’s  significance in his  introduction, gives an overview of the history of composition, and draws  attention to particular  distinguishing features of the manuscript.<br>
 <br><br>