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Gardiner eloquently defends Bach and analyzes his choral works with an attitude of passion and reverence that I find very endearing. His analyses are deep, and come from a well of immense musical knowledge. His discussion of the small piece of music Bach holds in his famous portrait really ignited my imagination with its puzzle like complexity. My one complaint would be that I don’t agree with his characterization of Bach as some sort of anti-establishment rebel. Gardiner seems to me an impassioned conservative who wants to be seen as a progressive. He treats his choirs� use of historically-accurate instruments as a forward-looking, rebellious act, instead of as reactionary, which it clearly is. Likewise, he hardly mentions Bach’s use of outdated forms such as the fugue. Glenn Gould says that Bach was decades behind his time. Gardiner brushes past this for the sake of his portrayal of Bach as a progressive revolutionary.