When it was revealed that Vox Luminis had won the Recording of the Year Award for their album of Schütz's Musicalische Exequien at the Gramophone Awards ceremony in 2012, there was a palpable feeling of both surprise and delight in the room, not least from the choir's music director Lionel Meunier. 

Meunier reflected on the Award for our blog last year, 'Where would we be without this life-changing event, I have no idea. The whirlwind that followed the ceremony, including on my voicemail and email inbox, made me appreciate that this award was unlike any other that we had won previously. Suddenly many more people wanted to hear us, which felt fantastic. We also had a responsibility to prove ourselves, to maintain the high standards set by the recording for those who came to discover us live for the first time.'

Well, they certainly seem to be maintaining those high standards. A couple of days ago, Meunier led a performance of Bach's Mass in B minor from his position among the voices of Vox Luminis alongside soloists Giuseppina Bridelli and Wolf Matthias Friedrich, and organist Bart Jacobs. The performance was part of the Utrecht Early Music Festival in TivoliVredenburg, and broadcast by Avrotros Klassiek. You can enjoy the complete performance below: 

And let's not forget Meunier's hilarious and touching acceptance speech from 2012:

Who will win this year's Recording of the Year Award? All will be revealed on September 13...