Here are more than fifty illuminating essays on the classic choral masterworks, ranging from Handel's Messiah, Bach's Mass in B Minor, and Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, to works by Haydn, Brahms, Mendelssohn, and many others. For each piece, Steinberg includes a fascinating biographical account of the work's genesis, as well as astute musical analysis and basic information such as the various movements of the work, the organization of the chorus and orchestra, and brief historical notes on early performances.