This edition investigates the original structural integrity of Johann Sebastian Bach's Mass in B Minor by stripping away centuries of editorial accretions and unauthorized alterations. Editor Joshua Rifkin utilizes primary source material to reconstruct the work as Bach intended, specifically addressing the historical separation of the Kyrie and Gloria from the 1733 Missa and correcting the later additions imposed by C.P.E. Bach. The text serves as a critical scholarly intervention against previous standard editions that failed to adequately distinguish between the composer's original intent and subsequent editorial interference.

This edition is regarded as a significant improvement over previous standard scores due to its rigorous adherence to primary source evidence. The work is widely viewed by scholars and performers as a necessary correction to the long-standing editorial inaccuracies found in earlier twentieth-century publications.