# Best (J.S.) Bach collections?



## Xenakiboy (May 8, 2016)

Without getting into the 170 cd box sets, what are some of (in your opinion) the best multi-cd J.S. Bach sets? :tiphat:


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## premont (May 7, 2015)

Xenakiboy said:


> Without getting into the 170 cd box sets, what are some of (in your opinion) the best multi-cd J.S. Bach sets? :tiphat:


This:

https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/j-s-bach-cembalowerke/hnum/6376099

This:

https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/de...Bach-1685-1750-Das-Orchesterwerk/hnum/3080982

This:

https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/de...ec-plusieurs-instruments-Vol-1-6/hnum/1157441

And this:

http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Deutsche+HM/88691953072

to mention a few.


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## SiegendesLicht (Mar 4, 2012)

The collection of Bach cantatas by Karl Richter and the Münchener Bach-Orchester









Among the singers are some of my favorites: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Kurt Moll etc.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

premont said:


> This:
> 
> https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/j-s-bach-cembalowerke/hnum/6376099
> 
> ...


Amen to this selection.:tiphat:


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

The complete organ works by Peter Hurford on Decca (17 CD's).


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## Reichstag aus LICHT (Oct 25, 2010)

Angela Hewitt's complete solo keyboard recordings on Hyperion.


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## Heliogabo (Dec 29, 2014)

Two different tastes, both marvelous.


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## Picander (May 8, 2013)

This set is in my opinion very interesting because it has the version of Richter's St Mathew of the year 1958: https://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Masterpieces-10-Box-Set/dp/B00004SAAW

The other recordings are too very good.


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## Reichstag aus LICHT (Oct 25, 2010)

Picander said:


> This set is in my opinion very interesting because it has the version of Richter's St Mathew of the year 1958.


For an alternative "non-HIP" collection, there's Karl Münchinger's _Sacred Masterworks_ box-set on Decca. Brilliant recordings of the Passions and the Christmas Oratorio in particular, and some fine soloists like Elly Ameling, Helen Watts, Marga Höffgen, Peter Pears, Fritz Wunderlich, Hermann Prey and Tom Krause.


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## Guest (Jun 25, 2016)

For me, the Masaaki Suzuki recordings on BIS are great. Whether it is the entire Cantata cycle, or the other religious choral works (motets, masses, oratorios), or the orchestral works, or even the solo keyboard works, these are great.


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## Vinski (Dec 16, 2012)

Bach: Christmas Oratorio · St. Matthew Passion · St. John Passion · Mass in B minor (John Eliot Gardiner)

http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/en/cat/4697692


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## Reichstag aus LICHT (Oct 25, 2010)

Vinski said:


> Bach: Christmas Oratorio · St. Matthew Passion · St. John Passion · Mass in B minor (John Eliot Gardiner)
> 
> http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/en/cat/4697692


The Gardiner DG set is a great choice if you need the "big three" choral works in one box. Beautiful performances, beautifully recorded.


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## Xenakiboy (May 8, 2016)

Thanks people, lots of collections to consider now! :lol:

Though I wish I had the spare money to get the complete works..


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## Krummhorn (Feb 18, 2007)

Helmut Walcha (organ) works of Bach










I own his LP recordings of _Die Kunst der_ Fugue on the DG label. Absolutely delightful.


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## Bruckner Anton (Mar 10, 2016)

I know the complete Bach edition is a bit crazy, here are some smaller sets FYI:
Vocal highlights
K.Richter 75 cantatas
K.Richter Bach sacred masterpieces
Gardiner Bach sacred masterpieces cantatas
Schreier Bach the great choral masterpieces 12cds Philips

Organ works
Marie-Claire Alain Erato
Walcha Archiv (incomplete)

Keyboard works
Tons of good recordings, Leonhardt, A.Schiff, Perahia, Tureck etc.

Concertos and Orchestral
Tons of good recordings: K.Richter, I musici, Pinnock, Marriner etc.

Chamber and Solo 
Tons of good recordings: Grumiaux, Szeryng, Starker, Fournier etc.


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## Xenakiboy (May 8, 2016)

When it comes to Bach, I want:

Chamber music
Fugues 
Organ music
Keyboard works (such as the Well-tuned Clavier) 
The Concertos 
Solo chamber pieces (such as the violin Partitas)
Not as much for the choral works (though I own St Matthew Passion)


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

Xenakiboy said:


> When it comes to Bach, I want:
> 
> Chamber music
> Fugues
> ...


Then get

The 10C set of Gustav Leonhardt 's recordings released by Harmonia Mundi
the Brilliant box by Matteo Messori with Opfer and AoF and the canonic variations 
the Asperen box with WTC and the Goldberg Variations on Virgin 
the 6 CD set of Koopman's Novalis recordings on Brilliant.


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## Reichstag aus LICHT (Oct 25, 2010)

Xenakiboy said:


> Organ music


Simon Preston's complete set of the organ works is excellent, and - if you shop around - seems to be much cheaper and more readily available than Peter Hurford's classic set. I wouldn't be without either, but I marginally prefer Preston.


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## JosefinaHW (Nov 21, 2015)

premont said:


> This:
> 
> https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/j-s-bach-cembalowerke/hnum/6376099
> 
> ...


JPC opens up a whole new world of recordings, magazines, and record labels! Thank you.


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## Guest (Jun 28, 2016)

View attachment 86152
View attachment 86153


I just picked these up and love them. Maybe it can't be considered a set because it comes in two separate discs. Anyway, I love Bach but the sound of the harpsichord irritates me, so I prefer to the keyboard concertos performed on piano. I had the Peraiha set but this is better both sonically and musically. Angela Hewitt.


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## Xenakiboy (May 8, 2016)

I'm digging this thread back up again.
I've been listening to quite a bit of JS Bach recently, are there any boxes with the following works:

Art of Fugue - organ version 
A Musical Offering 
Violin Partitas 
Organ fugues 
The Well-tempered Clavier 
Concertos (such as Oboe Concerto in G minor)


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Xenakiboy said:


> I'm digging this thread back up again.
> I've been listening to quite a bit of JS Bach recently, are there any boxes with the following works:
> 
> Art of Fugue - organ version
> ...


You're getting into the "complete Bach" territory, and there are a few giant boxes in this category. Whether or not they are worth acquiring is a different matter.


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## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

I've always valued and enjoyed this rather unassuming 2-CD of the Art of Fugue/Musical Offering. It is recorded the way I like, direct, close, and dry, and has a very charming reed organ that has a distinctive 'chirp' when notes are struck. Played on a variety of instruments.


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## satoru (May 29, 2014)

Hi,

After listening through the complete sets by Hanssler and Brilliant (more than 300 CDs total, oh my), I can assure you that you will not want those complete sets unless you are crazy for Bach, or looking for some hidden, rarely played gems. For sets of individual categories, I like:

The complete cantata set by Masaaki Suzuki (the best set of cantatas, IMHO. Other vocal works by him are superb, too)

The complete organ works by Walcha (old standard), Preston (new standard?) or Weinberger (the most complete set)

The keyboard works by Walcha (again, the old standard), Gould (I like him) or Hewitt (new standard? Hmm, maybe not but I like her playing style) 

Enjoy!


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## Xenakiboy (May 8, 2016)

If not, what would be the most efficient way to purchase all my listed Bach requirements? Without breaking the bank...


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

This is a wonderful set , going to by the concertos as well.


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

Xenakiboy said:


> If not, what would be the most efficient way to purchase all my listed Bach requirements? Without breaking the bank...


http://www.baroquemusic.org/76364Web.html


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## bioluminescentsquid (Jul 22, 2016)

I'll just give advice on the ones I listen to. I don't tend to listen to the whole ouvre, as much as I want to.
Warning: I generally like HIP recordings, which I know aren't everyone's cup of tea.

Art of Fugue - organ version: Look no further than Kei Koito: superb recording engineering and playing, albeit on an antique French Dom Bedos organ (still a wonderful instrument)
If non-organ versions are also ok, I like Winter & Winter's quirky but beautiful version with Il Suonar Parlante

A Musical Offering: Il Suonar Parlante, complete with a Silbermann fortepiano; Savall?

Violin Partitas - Kuijken 1st Recording, Patrick Bismuth (notoriously hard to find), Podger, Hugget

Organ fugues - quite a wide category, since although not strictly fugues, most of Bach's organ works are quite obviously contrapuntal in nature
But for complete sets, go for Koopman. He's notorious for high tempos, but they work. The organs used (e.g. Hamburg Jacobi Schnitger, Leeuwarden Muller, Freiburg Silbermann, among others) are exemplary. Many of the pieces, including 565, the Dorian Toccata, Toccata, Adagio & fugue and others are simply the best I've heard anywhere.
(I dislike Walcha - rather pedantic playing coupled with the Laurenskerk organ when it was still in neo-baroque condition. Weinberger seems nice on paper, with all the obscure but undoubtedly authentic antique organs, but his playing is quite uninteresting)

For parts of Bach's organ ouvre, my favorites:
- _Clavier Ubung III - Jeremy Joseph_: played on the Silbermann organ in (Cathedral, not the Fraunkirche) Dresden; excellent recording and of course playing.
- _Kei Koito_: Played on various historical organs (e.g. Groningen Schnitger, the above Silbermann, etc.). Simply moving playing; be prepared to hear arrangements of familiar pieces.
- _Isoir (RIP): Schubler Chorales_ on the Weingarten Gabler, perhaps one of the most extravagant southern German organs (featuring pipes made out of Ivory and 49-rank mixtures!); includes an incredible rendition of the Passacaliaga
- _Piet Kee plays Bach _: great playing on similarly great Dutch organs
- _John Butt Bach Trio Sonatas_: A witty and playful, if not irreverent rendition of perhaps the hardest works ever composed during the Baroque period for Organ
- _Koopman Bach orgelwerke (Novalis)_: from a different (but earlier) set of organ Highlights; includes more exciting renditions of Preludes, Fugues, Chorale preludes, and of course one of the greatest Passacaliagas I've ever heard.
- _Leo van Doeselaar Plays Bach on the Hagerbeer/Schnitger Organ of the Great St. Laurens Church, Alkmaar_: Longest title of a CD I've ever heard of, but also an intriguing recording on an incredible organ.
- _Franz Raml Bach Orgelwerke_ - more chorale prelude, variation, and Passacaliaga madness, on the Dresden Silbermann 
- And this is going to get me murdered, but try out Cameron Carpenter's _All you need is Bach_, and see if it's your jam :lol:

(I hope I didn't confuse you with names such as Schnitger, Gabler, or Silbermann! They're names of famous 17th and 18th century organbuilders that you will inevitably know once you become obsessed with Baroque organ music.)

For the WTC, I don't listen to it much :/
But I have Schornsheim and Leonhardt, both of which are is quite beautiful. And why not Gould!

For Concertos, I don't listen to the Oboe one much either. I do listen to the Brandenburgs, and my personal favorites are Il Giardino Armonico, Concerto Italiano, Cafe Zimmerman, Abbado, Koln, in that order.

But if you're short on money, there's always AllofBach! They have very good performers, and give ample information about the piece. Just have patience


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## satoru (May 29, 2014)

Xenakiboy said:


> If not, what would be the most efficient way to purchase all my listed Bach requirements? Without breaking the bank...


How about your local public libraries? I use them a lot and also donate my CDs quite often.

Also, in line with Mandryka's suggestion, here is a free download for the complete organ works performed by James Kibbie and he is quite good.

http://www.blockmrecords.org/bach/


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

satoru said:


> How about your local public libraries? I use them a lot and also donate my CDs quite often.
> 
> Also, in line with Mandryka's suggestion, here is a free download for the complete organ works performed by James Kibbie and he is quite good.
> 
> http://www.blockmrecords.org/bach/


Very good advice.:tiphat:


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## Xenakiboy (May 8, 2016)

satoru said:


> How about your local public libraries? I use them a lot and also donate my CDs quite often.
> 
> Also, in line with Mandryka's suggestion, here is a free download for the complete organ works performed by James Kibbie and he is quite good.
> 
> http://www.blockmrecords.org/bach/


That site may be very helpful thanks, though I can listen to most Bach on YouTube. I really want all my favourite Bach in my CD/vinyl collection eventually. I may invest in some of the many suggestions soon, though I have WAY TOO MANY other composers I'm trying to add to my collection too! :lol:
Thanks :tiphat:


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