In Choral Masterpieces: Major and Minor, historian Nicholas Tarling offers short essays on over 28 works, from major masterpieces such as Handel's Messiah and Bach's St. Matthew's Passion to off-the-beaten path choral works such as Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's Hiawatha and Frederick Delius' A Mass of Life. Throughout, Tarling offers assessments that sparkle with unique insights and at the same time ground listeners in the historical contexts of these works' production and performance. Each work is transformed in Tarling's able hands from musical composition to a window into the mind and milieu of the composer.