The Mass in F minor marks a turning point in the life of Bruckner, then aged 44: crowning his long years of apprenticeship, it announces the series of masterpieces he went on to compose during his years in Vianne. The work illustrates the transition between a certain religious academicism and teh Wagnerian heritage, while also reflecting a profoundly fragmented personality, to whom Philippe Herreweghe has already devoted three critically acclaimed recordings.