# Is JS Bach your all time favourite composer



## BenG (Aug 28, 2018)

I've noticed that on 80 percent of people's top 10 lists Bach is their top composer. I want to find out if most people's favourite composer it Bach.


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## janxharris (May 24, 2010)

He isn't, no.........


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

No. He's toward the top, though.


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## Krummhorn (Feb 18, 2007)

JS Bach is just one of many of my favorites. Buxtehude, Pachelbel, Vierne, all rank equally as far as their organ music goes. 

Kh


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## Jacck (Dec 24, 2017)

probably yes. If I could pick the oeuvre of just one composer to listen to for the rest of my life, I would pick Bach


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## Allegro Con Brio (Jan 3, 2020)

Beethoven seems to have a comfortable lead on the “favorite composer” poll that shows up here often. For me Bach is not just my favorite; if all composers besides him disappeared I would be highly disappointed but still grateful.


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## Fabulin (Jun 10, 2019)

I like his organ fugues; to the rest of his music I have been, so far, indifferent. I respect him highly for his craft, and would even call him a hero of art, but if I rank him high, I rank him for his abilities, not for the actual music he settled for.


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## Ethereality (Apr 6, 2019)

Allegro Con Brio said:


> For me Bach is not just my favorite; if all composers besides him disappeared I would be highly disappointed but still grateful.


I agree. Bach is my favorite, but he's also beyond what a favorite composer means. A woven part of all music. I've inquired before if people thought Bach lacked 'development' and 'timing' of what seems to be grander composers, but I've never found this to be so myself, as a meaningful compositional issue. I recall the thread on spotify's top composers had Bach as #1, and listed Chopin at #2 and Debussy high up there. These are composers who I don't feel suffer from development or timing either. What I've found however is that while no one can do it better, Bach can sometimes be too perfect. Everyone is human and can always look for ways to improve: Bach's _harmonies_ sometimes fall victim to perfection of law over creative dissonance, in other words, in seeking beautiful divergences resulting from harmony he can lack the potential for expansive timings resulting from _dissonances_, missing opportunities for further growth. No composer has ever been able to achieve dissonance as efficiently as Bach though, he is the best at it, imo.


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## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

I'm passionate about him and his music and think in him as a kind of god of music, but there are two and only two composers that I love even more: Wagner and Beethoven.


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## ORigel (May 7, 2020)

He is second, just behind Beethoven for me.


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## Janspe (Nov 10, 2012)

I don't think Bach is my favourite composer, but he's certainly a composer I couldn't imagine my life without. Some kind of a foundation on which everything else lies, perhaps? Or is that going a bit far, I don't know - there are so many great composers... But certainly I find myself returning to Bach with such a frequency that it's impossible for me to exit his orbit, even if wanted to. His music has impacted me on so many levels, and fundamentally altered the way I view art and music and aesthetics, that it has become a very natural and omnipresent part of my life.

A bit off the topic: this is my 1000th post on this forum! :tiphat:


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## Fabulin (Jun 10, 2019)

Some people behave as if there was never music better than Bach's, despite all those composers after his time. As if the history of classical music was that of pure descent from Bach.

Poor inventors of instruments, poor weavers of harmonies, poor perfectionists of melodies, and poor orchestral thinkers. Poor dramatic composers, trying to compose for the human psychology. They have all tried so much and still failed.


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

Janspe said:


> I don't think Bach is my favourite composer, but he's certainly a composer I couldn't imagine my life without. Some kind of a foundation on which everything else lies, perhaps? Or is that going a bit far, I don't know - there are so many great composers... But certainly I find myself returning to Bach with such a frequency that it's impossible for me to exit his orbit, even if wanted to. His music has impacted me on so many levels, and fundamentally altered the way I view art and music and aesthetics, that it has become a very natural and omnipresent part of my life.
> 
> A bit off the topic: this is my 1000th post on this forum! :tiphat:


A worthy 1000th!


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## consuono (Mar 27, 2020)

> Is JS Bach your all time favourite composer?


Yes.


Fabulin said:


> Some people behave as if there was never music better than Bach's, despite all those composers after his time. As if the history of classical music was that of pure descent from Bach....


I don't know of anyone who's knowledgeable about Bach who behaves that way. Most of us are well aware of Palestrina, Gabrieli, Gesualdo, Pachelbel, Buxtehude etc etc. But many if not most of us feel that Bach is "better", a culmination in a way. If someone prefers Palestrina, more power to them.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

My vote would be No for any one composer. I have many favorites.


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## Fabulin (Jun 10, 2019)

consuono said:


> Yes.
> 
> I don't know of anyone who's knowledgeable about Bach who behaves that way. Most of us are well aware of Palestrina, Gabrieli, Gesualdo, Pachelbel, Buxtehude etc etc. But many if not most of us feel that Bach is "better", a culmination in a way. If someone prefers Palestrina, more power to them.


That does not answer my question about why is the music of Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner, and Co. considered inferior


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## consuono (Mar 27, 2020)

Fabulin said:


> That does not answer my question about why is the music of Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner, and Co. considered inferior


There is no objective answer to that question. I was addressing the straw man "Classical music as pure descent from Bach" aspect. If there's a composer from which there's "pure descent", I'd say it was Handel.


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## BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist (Jan 13, 2019)

Second, right behind Brahms.


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

Fantasie in A minor and fugue on a Torelli theme BWV944, I consider it one of his most nostalgic pieces (also very exciting and rewarding to play) along with Chromatic fantasie and fugue, double violin concerto in D minor, Italian concerto, the Lutheran masses (the one in G minor is underrated), Partita in C minor for harpsichord, Toccatas for harpsichord BWV 910–916, etc.


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## isorhythm (Jan 2, 2015)

Yes, he is. Sometimes I'd say tied with Mozart, but on reflection, Bach is my number one.


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## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

The greatest, but not my favorite!


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

he's not my single favorite composer but he's still one of my favorites.


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## Bigbang (Jun 2, 2019)

Fabulin said:


> Some people behave as if there was never music better than Bach's, despite all those composers after his time. As if the history of classical music was that of pure descent from Bach.
> 
> Poor inventors of instruments, poor weavers of harmonies, poor perfectionists of melodies, and poor orchestral thinkers. Poor dramatic composers, trying to compose for the human psychology. They have all tried so much and still failed.


I agree this can come across about Bach but we know human psychology...it is about us.


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## ORigel (May 7, 2020)

Fabulin said:


> Some people behave as if there was never music better than Bach's, despite all those composers after his time. As if the history of classical music was that of pure descent from Bach.
> 
> Poor inventors of instruments, poor weavers of harmonies, poor perfectionists of melodies, and poor orchestral thinkers. Poor dramatic composers, trying to compose for the human psychology. They have all tried so much and still failed.


I think Bach wrote enough, that indeed he may have exhausted the Baroque style. After the peaks he brought it to, there was a need for new styles.

I think Beethoven was the greatest, followed closely by Bach. But that doesn't mean I think Schubert, Brahms, Stravinsky, etc. failures. They make western art music much richer.


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## Bigbang (Jun 2, 2019)

ORigel said:


> I think Bach wrote enough, that indeed he may have exhausted the Baroque style. After the peaks he brought it to, there was a need for new styles.
> 
> I think Beethoven was the greatest, followed closely by Bach. But that doesn't mean I think Schubert, Brahms, Stravinsky, etc. failures. They make western art music much richer.


I think it is not about rating a composer on some absolute scale but I think most people today probably favor Beethoven for his personality in music. Bach is another kind of composer who people also revere for his qualities but the number of people for Beethoven outnumber the people for Bach. I think.


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## Animal the Drummer (Nov 14, 2015)

Mozart is my acme of composers, but Bach is a close runner-up.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Yes, ahead of Mahler and Brahms. He does not tower over the others though, more primus inter pares.


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## janxharris (May 24, 2010)

I often feel like the odd one out when it comes to music from the classical era and beyond; I enjoy just a handful of pieces by Mozart and about the same with Bach (Double Violin Concerto, the Air, Wir setzen uns mit Tränen nieder and some of the Brandenburg Concertos), but I am totally baffled by the WTC, Art of Fugue, Goldberg Variations and B minor Mass.

Am I alone?


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## Jacck (Dec 24, 2017)

janxharris said:


> I often feel like the odd one out when it comes to music from the classical era and beyond; I enjoy just a handful of pieces by Mozart and about the same with Bach (Double Violin Concerto, the Air, Wir setzen uns mit Tränen nieder and some of the Brandenburg Concertos), but I am totally baffled by the WTC, Art of Fugue, Goldberg Variations and B minor Mass.
> 
> Am I alone?


you have to work harder. I also did not like much of Bach or Mozart at first. It is an acquired taste. Take for example Goldberg Variation and listen to it once a day no matter if you like it or not. Your brain will pick it up, and after some time, you will like it.


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## janxharris (May 24, 2010)

Jacck said:


> you have to work harder. I also did not like much of Bach or Mozart at first. It is an acquired taste. Take for example Goldberg Variation and listen to it once a day no matter if you like it or not. Your brain will pick it up, and after some time, you will like it.


With regard to Mozart I can't see a shift happening - but it's possible things could change with Bach. I'll have a go with the Goldberg, but only yesterday I started listening to the Art of Fugue but had to give up - it just sounded so mechanical. I must have heard the first half hour of at least 10 times now.


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## Jacck (Dec 24, 2017)

janxharris said:


> With regard to Mozart I can't see a shift happening - but it's possible things could change with Bach. I'll have a go with the Goldberg, but only yesterday I started listening to the Art of Fugue but had to give up - it just sounded so mechanical. I must have heard the first half hour of at least 10 times now.


about Mozart, you need to change your mindset. He composed fun and joyous music. This is best illustrated in his operas, for example the Marriage of Figaro. My advice is not to take the music that seriously.


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## janxharris (May 24, 2010)

Jacck said:


> about Mozart, you need to change your mindset. He composed fun and joyous music. This is best illustrated in his operas, for example the Marriage of Figaro. My advice is not to take the music that seriously.


That's torturous for me - I prefer his more profound outings.


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## Jacck (Dec 24, 2017)

janxharris said:


> That's torturous for me - I prefer his more profound outings.


that may be the problem, that you seek in his music the same kind of "profundity" as in German romantics. But it is simply not there. It is primarily a light and joyous music. Once you crack the Marriage of Figaro, you will understand pretty much everything he ever wrote.


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## janxharris (May 24, 2010)

Jacck said:


> that may be the problem, that you seek in his music the same kind of "profundity" as in German romantics. But it is simply not there. It is primarily a light and joyous music. Once you crack the Marriage of Figaro, you will understand pretty much everything he ever wrote.


The problem remains his / the era's harmonic / melodic sterility. I enjoy joyous music as long as the composer is presenting something unique.


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## Jacck (Dec 24, 2017)

janxharris said:


> The problem remains his / the era's harmonic / melodic sterility. I enjoy joyous music as long as the composer is presenting something unique.


it is an acquired taste, just like baroque, or modern music. Do you like anything else from the classical era? For example Haydn cello concertos?


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

Jacck said:


> about Mozart, you need to change your mindset. He composed fun and joyous music. This is best illustrated in his operas, for example the Marriage of Figaro. *My advice is not to take the music that seriously.*


Why didn't you just tell me to not take Schubert seriously, in order to "get him"? Is he somehow "special"?



Jacck said:


> maybe one day you will be able to connect with Schubert.












*[ 3:00 ]*










Schubert takes way too long to make his argument. And there's no skillful use of contrast (consonance vs dissonance) in the voice leading. It is as if he's trying to "shove large amounts of unspiced, unsalted meat down your throat" (it's the general impression I get from his music). To me, he is the antithesis of Bach.








hammeredklavier said:


> *3:00 ~ 3:24
> 5:39 ~ 6:41
> 7:30 ~ 7:50
> 13:13 ~ 15:27*


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## Jacck (Dec 24, 2017)

hammeredklavier said:


> Why didn't you just tell me to not take Schubert seriously, in order to "get him"? Is he somehow "special"?


to "get" Schubert, I would have recommended to you to start with the Lieder


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## caracalla (Feb 19, 2020)

Yes, always has been.


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## janxharris (May 24, 2010)

Jacck said:


> you have to work harder. I also did not like much of Bach or Mozart at first. It is an acquired taste. Take for example Goldberg Variation and listen to it once a day no matter if you like it or not. Your brain will pick it up, and after some time, you will like it.


Those Goldberg Variations are driving me half crazy Jacck....nice Aria though.


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## Jacck (Dec 24, 2017)

janxharris said:


> Those Goldberg Variations are driving me half crazy Jacck....nice Aria though.


try them on different instruments like guitar or accordion


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## janxharris (May 24, 2010)

Jacck said:


> try them on different instruments like guitar or accordion


I think we had a similar conversation about a year ago. I appreciate your enthusiasm though.


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## Animal the Drummer (Nov 14, 2015)

Jacck said:


> that may be the problem, that you seek in his music the same kind of "profundity" as in German romantics. But it is simply not there. It is primarily a light and joyous music. Once you crack the Marriage of Figaro, you will understand pretty much everything he ever wrote.


I'm with you on Mozart overall, but I strongly disagree with the idea that his (or any other) music can't be light and joyous AND profound at the same time. There's every bit as much profundity in "Figaro" as in what the late Peter Shaffer called the "rigorous turbulence of Beethoven" or the "lachrymose iterance of Mahler" for example. Some, like janxharris, can't access it and that's fine, but it's a product of differing tastes, not an objective indication of profundity or otherwise.


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## Bigbang (Jun 2, 2019)

hammeredklavier said:


> Why didn't you just tell me to not take Schubert seriously, in order to "get him"? Is he somehow "special"?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hammeredklavier: You are starting to remind me of those people convinced they have the right religion and now no longer think freely but use blocks of previous opinions and use them to try to sway others. If your time is well spent but I cannot even be bother to read 99 percent of stuff on this site. And certainly not write long paragraphs either. Jesus vs Buddha vs Hindu gods vs Muhammad vs..........


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Yes, J.S. Bach is my favorite.



Jacck said:


> about Mozart, you need to change your mindset. He composed fun and joyous music. This is best illustrated in his operas, for example the Marriage of Figaro. My advice is not to take the music that seriously.


Actually this seems a poor description of Mozart, sorry.


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

janxharris said:


> With regard to Mozart I can't see a shift happening - but it's possible things could change with Bach. I'll have a go with the Goldberg, but only yesterday I started listening to the Art of Fugue but had to give up - it just sounded so mechanical. I must have heard the first half hour of at least 10 times now.


try with something more melodic


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## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

hammeredklavier said:


> Schubert takes way too long to make his argument. And there's no skillful use of contrast (consonance vs dissonance) in the voice leading. Overall, the impression is like "shoving large amounts of unspiced, unsalted meat down your throat". To me, he is the antithesis of Bach.


I like the extended expositions of Schubert, and I think that his melodies (for example that of the first movement D 960, or those of some of his songs, his specialty) are very lyrical and poetic and can be as good as the best around. Some say that he wasn't skilled in counterpoint as other contemporary composers, but I think nevertheless that some of his accompaniments (for example those in the first movement of D 804) are brilliant and that his use of variations (for example in the second movement of D 810) can be very expressive. I think that the use of dissonances is only one of many ways of achieving contrasts and that Schubert has no difficulty in being dramatic and contrasting at all when he wishes to (see for example how the opening melody and the first and second themes of the first movement of D 759 are contrasting in mood and instrumentation, or how he achieves climaxes in the development section of the same work by varying the dynamics).

It's always a personal pleasure to listen to the beautiful and profound music of Franz Schubert.


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## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

Jacck said:


> about Mozart, you need to change your mindset. He composed fun and joyous music. This is best illustrated in his operas, for example the Marriage of Figaro. My advice is not to take the music that seriously.





janxharris said:


> That's torturous for me - I prefer his more profound outings.


Mozart is IMO a very expressive composer and can be very profound, and should be taken seriously. My suggestion is that you try some of his late compositions such as the clarinet concerto K. 622, the last four symphonies (I think for example that the G minor was written in grief for the lost of his father because of a thematic connection between it and the aria _Se il padre perdei_ from his earlier opera _Idomeneo_), the Requiem K. 626, the unfinished "Great" mass K. 427, the adagio and rondo for glass harmonica K. 617 and the operas _Don Giovanni_ K. 527 and _Die Zauberflöte_ K. 620.

If for example the _Et Incarnatus est_ from Mozart's K. 427 isn't sublime and profound, then I don' know what is:


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

Bach is one of my top three or four composers but they are each so great and yet so very different that I wouldn't even try to select one above the others. It is all down to my mood. I tend to have a Bach mood (which usually lasts a few days if I don't spoil it by getting too much of it) every three or four weeks. The same is true of Beethoven and Mozart and Brahms. The rest of the time I spend with composers who are not my absolute favourites.


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## Bigbang (Jun 2, 2019)

Allerius said:


> Mozart is IMO a very expressive composer and can be very profound, and should be taken seriously. My suggestion is that you try some of his late compositions such as the clarinet concerto K. 622, the last four symphonies (I think for example that the G minor was written in grief for the lost of his father because of a thematic connection between it and the aria _Se il padre perdei_ from his earlier opera _Idomeneo_), the Requiem K. 626, the unfinished "Great" mass K. 427, the adagio and rondo for glass harmonica K. 617 and the operas _Don Giovanni_ K. 527 and _Die Zauberflöte_ K. 620.
> 
> If for example the _Et Incarnatus est_ from Mozart's K. 427 isn't sublime and profound, then I don' know what is:


I think some of the approaches may be wrong for some people. Here is what I would do: Do a little mantra/prayer, like " Oh great Master, teach me thy ways. Open my mind to thy vast musical mind of which mine is but a mere fraction of. Let me glimpse thy glory in wondrous ways." Then put on some violin concertos, serenades, piano sonatas, or perhaps flute concertos/quartets. Turn off the thinking mind (analytic) and just allow Mozart's genius to do it's thing. Might take a few tries on one work but only listen 2 times then move on. Keep the mind at bay all the while....then, suddenly, a tingling sensation, a feeling something is happening in the brain (Mozart makes you smarter, yes...) and once you start to get it then liberation. No wonder simpletons like me prefer Mozart on many days. I think his late works should come later as I only listen to them once in a while. The thing is not to approach Mozart like some 10 paragraphs I read on some other composer one movement in a work. :tiphat:


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

Allerius said:


> I think for example that the G minor was written in grief for the lost of his father because of a thematic connection between it and the aria _Se il padre perdei_ from his earlier opera _Idomeneo_


That's a bit of a stretch. (rondo K.511 or string quintet K.516 are more likely candidates for that case.) Charles Hazlewood claims Mozart wrote symphony K.550 in grief for the loss of his baby daughter, Theresia (which occurred weeks before Mozart wrote K.550).

Anyway, in whole bunch of instrumental and vocal works, (not just the ones you mentioned), Mozart demonstrates extreme mood contrasts without relying on bombast or sentimentality.

*[ 4:10 ]*






A true descendant of the Bachs (Sebastian and Emanuel). One of the first composers outside of the Bach family to recognize the merit of Old Sebastian's work (half a century before Mendelssohn).

"If Papa has not yet had those [instrumental] works by Eberlin copied, so much the better, for in the meantime I have got hold of them and now I see (for I had forgotten them) that they are unfortunately far too trivial to deserve a place beside Handel and Bach. With due respect for his four-part composition I may say that his clavier fugues are nothing but long-drawn-out voluntaries..." -Mozart, in letter to his father, 20 April 1782
(Mozart, His Character, His Work, By Alfred Einstein, Page 149)



hammeredklavier said:


> So you get the basic idea. the way Mozart paints chromaticism on the white canvas of diatonicism, to create tension and contrast is unique in each of these pieces.
> spatzenmesse K220 ( 2:40 , 6:00 )
> credomesse K.257 ( 7:18 ~ 10:00 )
> missa trinitatis K.167 ( 4:29 , 9:47 )
> ...


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

Jacck said:


> that may be the problem, that you seek in his music the same kind of "profundity" as in German romantics. But it is simply not there.







But why are you always trying to judge Mozart by the idiom of the German Romantics? (Didn't guys like Meyerbeer also write stage works for the masses?) Haven't you realized by now? The issues in Schubert that are not found in the other greats? How _Die Zauberharfe_ is a failed attempt at imitating Mozart? How all his masses are poor attempts at reproducing Haydn's last six? How many times do you have to stir up arguments like this? (I think it's been like 20 times already, over the years)

Look at the way he modulates (Wow..)








If you look at certain sections of the Rosamunde quartet, in each measure it goes like - all the voices start on note A, and the next measure, on note D, the next, on G, the next, on C.. (Wow..)








in the development section, this gets multipled 4~5 times. (Wow..)



Jacck said:


> to "get" Schubert, I would have recommended to you to start with the Lieder


Sorry, it's a chore to take in all that unsalted, unspiced meat. I'll take Mendelssohn's songs without words over Schubert's pumped-out pleasant popsongs any day. =)



> "All his stage works were flops!" "It has been said, and with truth, that Schubert holds the record for composing the most flops and he is top of this leader board by miles." "I repeat that it has been said that Schubert holds the record for writing the most flops!"


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## Rambler (Oct 20, 2017)

Based on my current CD count by composer in my collection, then yes Bach is some way ahead. Beethoven is trailing in second place.


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## Beebert (Jan 3, 2019)

hammeredklavier said:


> Why didn't you just tell me to not take Schubert seriously, in order to "get him"? Is he somehow "special"?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


You can stop sharing you delusional thoughts about Schubert now. You are alone in your opinions. No one agrees with you. Schubert's greatness has been set in stone once and for all a long time ago. Then it is up to you if you like him or not.


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## Olias (Nov 18, 2010)

Beethoven has always been first for me, not saying "better", just my personal favorite. Although I've heard a lot of Bach, I honestly only listen to a few Bach pieces on a regular basis (the violin concertos, Brandenburgs, and the Coffee Cantata). I acknowledge his genius but Baroque style is just not my thing.


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## janxharris (May 24, 2010)

BenG said:


> I've noticed that on 80 percent of people's top 10 lists Bach is their top composer.


Quite a disparity between _that_ 80% for Bach and this poll which, thus far (6th June 2020), has 70% saying he _isn't_ their favourite.


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## Ethereality (Apr 6, 2019)

Feel free to see these posts for, I think, a much more advanced understanding of how to best calculate 'favorite composers.' It can't really be done with polls, because the information going into them is always based on very incomplete information, experience and recall, in regards to the thousands of pieces in the oeuvre of composers that people have a shallow capacity for weighing at a time. Hence why these poll numbers always shift around. Instead what we do is best target individuals who provide lots of experience with many composers' works throughout many instances of daily and yearly perception, and use that as a starting sample for assessing valid preferences for composers.

[1] [2] [3]


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## janxharris (May 24, 2010)

norman bates said:


> try with something more melodic


Yes - I mentioned the double violin concerto - I think it's really great.


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## BenG (Aug 28, 2018)

janxharris said:


> Quite a disparity between _that_ 80% for Bach and this poll which, thus far (6th June 2020), has 70% saying he _isn't_ their favourite.


Maybe Bach lovers really like top ten lists?


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## Guest002 (Feb 19, 2020)

I'm copping out of this one. Accordingly to my Last.fm submissions since 2008, he's number 2 on my list (with about 14,000 plays in 12 years, compared to around 15,500 for Benjamin Britten). Which means he can't be my favourite, can he?!

Except that a day without some Britten is manageable, but a day without at least a hint of Bach would be "not fun". So maybe he is my favourite after all?

I don't know, basically!


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## Bigbang (Jun 2, 2019)

AbsolutelyBaching said:


> I'm copping out of this one. Accordingly to my Last.fm submissions since 2008, he's number 2 on my list (with about 14,000 plays in 12 years, compared to around 15,500 for Benjamin Britten). Which means he can't be my favourite, can he?!
> 
> Except that a day without some Britten is manageable, but a day without at least a hint of Bach would be "not fun". So maybe he is my favourite after all?
> 
> I don't know, basically!


Gotta ask, what am I missing? What are your top 5 or ten works?


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## Bigbang (Jun 2, 2019)

Bigbang said:


> Gotta ask, what am I missing? What are your top 5 or ten works?


Britten I mean.


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## Guest002 (Feb 19, 2020)

Bigbang said:


> Gotta ask, what am I missing? What are your top 5 or ten works?


For Britten, understanding that it varies according to the time of day, but:

1. Peter Grimes
2. Paul Bunyan
3. Death in Venice
4. Gloriana
5. Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra
6. Billy Budd
7. A Midsummer Night's Dream
8. Sinfonia da Requiem
9. Cantata Academica
10. Curlew River

(And Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge is in there too!)


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## Chopin Suey (Jan 3, 2020)

Bach is not my #1, but he's certainly top three. There's something so refreshing about his music in its geometric beauty, especially the solo compositions for violin, cello, and keyboard. Shorn of the instrumental or dynamic effects that (not necessarily detrimentally) take on greater significance in later compositional eras, we are left with just the notes and the music; there's no hiding behind a virtuosic cascade of sound. His music has the curious distinction, as far as I can tell, of sometimes sounding easier/simpler to play than it really is, but there are mysteries lurking under the surface.


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## consuono (Mar 27, 2020)

janxharris said:


> Those Goldberg Variations are driving me half crazy Jacck....nice Aria though.


Several years ago on NPR Jeremy Denk had some pretty thoughtful essays on the Goldberg Variations. They might be of some help, although of course a lot of it is his own subjective interpretation. A lot of it resonates with me though.
https://www.npr.org/sections/decept.../148769794/why-i-hate-the-goldberg-variations


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## Ethereality (Apr 6, 2019)

Chopin Suey said:


> Bach is not my #1, but he's certainly top three. There's something so refreshing about his music in its geometric beauty,


I was about to say this. Refreshing. Actually, this month Bach hasn't really been my #1, but every time I return to him he's very refreshing.


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

> Britten





> The Marriage of Figaro


"This completely shattered me, and destroyed most of my early gods."
Britten's diaries document this 'road-to-Damascus' moment. Although the overture to The Marriage of Figaro was one of his first miniature scores, it was on Wednesday 11 November 1936 that he was 'knocked flat' by seeing the opera at Covent Garden. 'It is without exception the loveliest thing I have ever seen on any stage', he wrote. 'This simple beauty (expressing every emotion) is withering to any ambitions one might have - & yet it is good to have lived in a world that could produce such perfection.' He decided to be extravagant and go home by taxi: 'You can't scramble on a 13 bus after Figaro!' Two days later he said the opera was 'haunting me beyond words. Wed night was a landmark in my history.' He bought a score of the whole opera, and then a complete recording 'which I play often later in the day, and adore more than I can say'. 
He went to many performances thereafter, and wrote a press review after seeing it at Covent Garden in 1952. He said he left 'overwhelmed anew by the enchantment of Mozart's score'.


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## Guest002 (Feb 19, 2020)

hammeredklavier said:


> "This completely shattered me, and destroyed most of my early gods."
> Britten's diaries document this 'road-to-Damascus' moment. Although the overture to The Marriage of Figaro was one of his first miniature scores, it was on Wednesday 11 November 1936 that he was 'knocked flat' by seeing the opera at Covent Garden. 'It is without exception the loveliest thing I have ever seen on any stage', he wrote. 'This simple beauty (expressing every emotion) is withering to any ambitions one might have - & yet it is good to have lived in a world that could produce such perfection.' He decided to be extravagant and go home by taxi: 'You can't scramble on a 13 bus after Figaro!' Two days later he said the opera was 'haunting me beyond words. Wed night was a landmark in my history.' He bought a score of the whole opera, and then a complete recording 'which I play often later in the day, and adore more than I can say'.
> He went to many performances thereafter, and wrote a press review after seeing it at Covent Garden in 1952. He said he left 'overwhelmed anew by the enchantment of Mozart's score'.


Nice quotation!

It is, of course, not entirely safe to mention in these parts that one of Britten's early gods was Brahms, about whom he subsequently felt physically sick whenever he heard his music!


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## Animal the Drummer (Nov 14, 2015)

Indeed. Didn't he claim at one point to play through Brahms' piano works once a year to remind himself how awful it all was?

And yet it's struck me before now that Britten "protested too much" about this. It wouldn't altogether have surprised me if he'd returned to Brahms in a big way had he (Britten) lived longer.


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## consuono (Mar 27, 2020)

Animal the Drummer said:


> Indeed. Didn't he claim at one point to play through Brahms' piano works once a year to remind himself how awful it all was?
> 
> And yet it's struck me before now that Britten "protested too much" about this. It wouldn't altogether have surprised me if he'd returned to Brahms in a big way had he (Britten) lived longer.


It's funny how these composers can have the most scathing opinions of other composers, but if one of us peons mention that we don't like this or that work or even this or that composer it draws hellfire and brimstone.


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## Guest002 (Feb 19, 2020)

Animal the Drummer said:


> Indeed. Didn't he claim at one point to play through Brahms' piano works once a year to remind himself how awful it all was?
> 
> And yet it's struck me before now that Britten "protested too much" about this. It wouldn't altogether have surprised me if he'd returned to Brahms in a big way had he (Britten) lived longer.


He did quite the turn on a sixpence when it came to Elgar, for example, recording one of the best Dream of Gerontius I've ever heard in the early 1970s... so it is entirely possible something similar could have happened with Brahms. Maybe.


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## mrdoc (Jan 3, 2020)

*No * .........................


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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

J.S. Bach is among them though it's not possible for me to state a favorite composer. 

The universe Bach lives in exceeds almost all other composers. If you look at any classical music form he excelled. His Brandenburgs are probably the greatest example of integral concertos in existence -- hundreds of years after he wrote them. His St. Matthew Passion has never been equaled as a living testament to Christianity and religious drama. His Goldberg variations are so monumental only Beethoven's can be mentioned in the same breath. His "48" preludes and fugues stand alone in musical history. 

He wrote magnificent sonatas for most instruments of his time, the best batch of church and secular cantatas ever known, and his concertos for instruments like violin, keyboard and oboe rank with all the greatest. Who wrote better music for organ? His keyboard partitas are regularly compared to Beethoven's piano sonatas as a magnificent work of keyboard art.

It is only opera, which he said was superfluous, where he is not represented in the front rank of any form of his day. 

Perhaps his greatest tribute is his music is so perfect it translates equally well on almost any instrument or batch of instruments. Is there another composer we can say this about -- that a composition as great as his Goldberg variations can be reconstructed for almost any instrument or group of instruments and still be a masterpiece?

Had there been symphonies or orchestral tone poems in his day I'm sure he'd have written them and they'd have been the equal of Tchaikovsky, Dvorak, Richard Strauss and any other later composer.

J.S. Bach also invented-perfected the fugue and equal temperament, could play all the instruments and sing all the parts, had a furious temper than landed him in jail over a dispute about music, bore 20-plus children (one the inventor of the modern symphony) and wore out one wife. He was one of a kind, unparalleled, nonpareil.

These are just a few of the reasons he might be someone's favorite composer.


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## Gallus (Feb 8, 2018)

I can't say Bach is my all time favourite, if only because he seems to be entirely unaffected by that modern curse of self-consciousness which begins to appear in Beethoven and even Mozart. That's very often an advantage to his music, but it's not something I could do without forever.

Only caveat is that maybe it's there in the Passions, but I must admit I haven't tackled those leviathan works except in excerpts.


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

Allerius said:


> I think for example that the G minor was written in grief for the lost of his father because of a thematic connection between it and the aria _Se il padre perdei_ from his earlier opera _Idomeneo_


Your comment just reminded me of this. Imagine Beethoven singing the lyrics in his head while composing this: 
_"ta! ta! ta! ta! ta! ta! ta! ta!"_










Even Mozart wouldn't have used one of his funny canons in his symphonies.

*credo: [ 8:03 ]*





*sanctus: [ 13:39 ]*









O wat were you thinkin', Ludicrous Lad Ludwig, Bad Boy Beethoven..


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## consuono (Mar 27, 2020)

hammeredklavier said:


> O wat were you thinkin', Ludicrous Lad Ludwig, Bad Boy Beethoven..


That most likely wasn't written by Beethoven at all, but by Anton Schindler.


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

consuono said:


> That most likely wasn't written by Beethoven at all, but by Anton Schindler.










Beethoven - Selected Canons (I)
"1. 'Ta, ta, ta, lieber Maelzel`, WoO 162 - canon a 4 
Some believe Anton Schindler wrote the canon based on the Allegretto scherzando theme from the 8th Symphony but there is no conclusive evidence as there is no manuscript nor printed edition from those days available."

Anyway, (regardless of whether Beethoven really did write it or not) it's interesting to imagine Beethoven actually "singing in his head" like that while he was writing the symphony movement, like how he was "dancing naked" while composing the Grosse Fuge in the movie <Copying Beethoven>. I also liked how he literally mooned the girl in the movie because he was the composer of the "Moonlight sonata" (literally showing his bare buttocks, going even further than Mozart in <Amadeus>) and made farting noises while playing her composition (although it's all fiction, I liked the movie how it depicted his possible "human side".)
I think it's _possible_ Beethoven _might_ have written the canon because Beethoven (the "Lord of the Dance") was probably obsessed with the metronome when it came out and he was the type who would kill anyone who didn't keep the tempo in playing his music. Much like the strictness of the contrapuntal tradition, once described by millionrainbows:



millionrainbows said:


> I hope camus will seek out a flexible teacher, not someone who comes across as a nun, complete with guilt-tripping and knuckle-rapping. ... Too much drama and guilt-tripping.


according to an explanation from a Beethoven fansite:
"Probably a forgery of Anton Schindler, which was not written down before 1843".
If they're entirely certain it wasn't written down before 1843, why do they say it's PROBABLY a forgery of Anton Schindler? There's the contradiction. The two parts of the equation don't match. They should say either:
_"Probably a forgery of Anton Schindler, as it was probably not written down before 1843"_
*OR* _"Definitely a forgery of Anton Schindler, as it was never written down before 1843"_.
They don't. So, they aren't in fact entirely certain, and can only speculate. They have no way to prove that only WoO162 was faked, (out of all other canons, WoO159~198, which were published posthumously | ie. "Es muss sein", WoO 196 ).

Btw, this section from the sublime 9th symphony scherzo sounds to me like a gigantic metronome swinging.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

I rarely listen to Bach, or even my favorites such as Beethoven, Mahler, Mendelssohn, even Rachmaninoff. This latter is mainly because I am heavily focused into opera. Oh, I am going through a couple dozen Beethoven Fidelio sets now, but besides that there is not much opera, but for a few from Mendelssohn that did not really get much recognition, and three pretty good operas from Rachmaninoff. I tend to go in spurts of non-vocal listening. If I were heavily into Masses I would be surely listening to some Bach as well as Haydn and Beethoven. Not sure what else is out there because that is as far as I explored masses yet. Instrumentally I would not likely go with Bach just because he is of an earlier era than what I normally like.


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## mmsbls (Mar 6, 2011)

I generally place Bach third in my list of favorite composers behind Mozart and Beethoven, but really for me he is in the group of perhaps 5 or so composers who composed music that I find most enjoyable, engaging, and emotionally satisfying. 

My favorite works are not his vocal works but rather his concertos, orchestral suites, Brandenburg Concertos, works for violin and cello, and A Musical Offering. Having said that, I do love the Mass in B minor, and I have only heard perhaps 15 cantatas. As I hear more of them, I'm amazed at how often I find them engaging and beautiful. I've wondered whether it would be a good project to work through all of them at some time as I did with Haydn's symphonies.


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## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

hammeredklavier said:


> "1. 'Ta, ta, ta, lieber Maelzel`, WoO 162 - canon a 4
> Some believe Anton Schindler wrote the canon based on the Allegretto scherzando theme from the 8th Symphony but there is no conclusive evidence as there is no manuscript nor printed edition from those days available."
> 
> Anyway, (regardless of whether Beethoven really did write it or not)...


"Probably a forgery of Anton Schindler, *which was not written down before 1843*

For a long time, it was believed that Beethoven wrote the famous Mälzel canon, in which the theme of the 2nd movement of his 8th symphony is written, for his friend, the inventor Johann Nepomuk Mälzel, in 1812 and thus commemorated the inventor of the metronome. Today we know better: the canon is not at all from Beethoven's pen, WoO 162 is one of Anton Schindler's many inventions, which he later pushed on to the composer.

Schindler was his unpaid secretary and nurse in Beethoven's last months. From this contact with the composer, after Beethoven's death, he derived absolute authority in all questions regarding the biography of the master. With regard to the interpretation of Beethoven's works, Schindler also appointed himself the trustee of Beethoven's legacy. One of the central issues for Schindler was the tempo question, because in his opinion, a wrong tempo during the performance could distort the original character of the composition (or what Schindler thought was the original character). In this discussion, however, confusion created Beethoven's own metronome statements, which were not always feasible or contradict Schindler's perceptions of tempo. Schindler particularly complained that he thought that his contemporaries' tempos were much too fast, above all Felix Mendelssohn. To support his view of slow tempos, Schindler published the so-called Mälzel canon in Hirschbach's "Musical Repertory" in February 1844. The theme of the canon comes from the 2nd movement of Beethoven's 8th Symphony, and the text makes the reference to Mälzel's metronome clear. Authentic handwritten sources do not exist for the composition. Schindler also provided the history of the event and the occasion (but reported them differently in different publications and with different dates, which caused irritation even among contemporaries). To underpin the authenticity of the canon, Schindler added fake entries in Beethoven's conversation books," - *Source here*.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

mmsbls said:


> My favorite works are not his vocal works but rather his concertos, orchestral suites, Brandenburg Concertos, works for violin and cello, and A Musical Offering. Having said that, I do love the Mass in B minor, and I have only heard perhaps 15 cantatas. As I hear more of them, I'm amazed at how often I find them engaging and beautiful. I've wondered whether it would be a good project to work through all of them at some time as I did with Haydn's symphonies.


I've worked my way through both of them, and the experiences were illuminating and memorable. I would have to give the nod to the Bach cantatas.


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## Allegro Con Brio (Jan 3, 2020)

Last week I started a quixotic attempt to listen through all the cantatas chronologically based on BWV number (I know this isn’t “true” chronological listening, but it’s most convenient for me). I think it is my favorite body of work in all of music. There has not been a single cantata so far (and I’m on BWV 11) that has not made me drop my jaw in awe and admiration of the dazzling emotional and compositional variety of the music.


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## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

Allegro Con Brio said:


> Last week I started a quixotic attempt to listen through all the cantatas chronologically based on BWV number (I know this isn't "true" chronological listening, but it's most convenient for me). I think it is my favorite body of work in all of music. There has not been a single cantata so far (and I'm on BWV 11) that has not made me drop my jaw in awe and admiration of the dazzling emotional and compositional variety of the music.


I don't know all J.S. Bach's cantatas yet and probably should do the same, as I've been impressed by what I've listened so far. By the way, it's possible to listen to them in chronological order *using this website* which not only contains them sorted by date of composition but also has interesting info about each cantata.


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## Allegro Con Brio (Jan 3, 2020)

Allerius said:


> I don't know all J.S. Bach's cantatas yet and probably should do the same, as I've been impressed by what I've listened so far. By the way, it's possible to listen to them in chronological order *using this website* which not only contains them sorted by date of composition but also has interesting info about each cantata.


Thanks for the helpful resource! I've been using this wonderful website to guide my listening; Julian Mincham has written very in-depth essays for every cantata. An amazing labor of love and I'm very grateful that he's made his work available for all.


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

I love this one:


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## mmsbls (Mar 6, 2011)

Does anyone have suggestions for Bach's cantatas? I probably would prefer to listen on Naxos so I don't have to buy an expensive set, but I notice that some complete sets are around US$100 or so. 

I guess another question is whether complete sets by one group are the best way to proceed.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

mmsbls said:


> Does anyone have suggestions for Bach's cantatas? I probably would prefer to listen on Naxos so I don't have to buy an expensive set, but I notice that some complete sets are around US$100 or so.
> 
> I guess another question is whether complete sets by one group are the best way to proceed.


Naxos doesn't have a complete set, and what they do have is of variable quality. I don't own a complete set, but I do have all the cantatas through acquisition of discs from Gardiner, Herreweghe, Leonhardt/Harnoncourt, Suzuki, and a few others.

If you want a complete set, Suzuki on BIS is my best recommendation. I have no idea what it costs, but it likely is pretty expensive. Perhaps the best thing is to listen through a streaming service. For example, Naxos Music Library has all the Suzuki discs. Of course, you would have to buy a monthly subscription. The cost is low for "regular" sound quality but I consider that quality sub-par for my tastes. NML's cost for its premium sound might be as high as $35/month, but I find it well worth the price.

However you proceed, you're going to have to spend substantial funds to acquire top-notch performances. Good luck in your hunt.


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## Allegro Con Brio (Jan 3, 2020)

mmsbls said:


> Does anyone have suggestions for Bach's cantatas? I probably would prefer to listen on Naxos so I don't have to buy an expensive set, but I notice that some complete sets are around US$100 or so.
> 
> I guess another question is whether complete sets by one group are the best way to proceed.


On the two classical-oriented streaming services - Idagio and Primephonic - you can search for a work (in this case, a particular cantata), click on it and it will show you all available recordings of that work. This is very helpful as I sometimes like to compare, e.g. Suzuki, Herreweghe and Gardiner to see how they handle it. As a whole I've found Suzuki's performances most consistently satisfying with the best choral and solo singing.


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

the 33 "best" as selected by Peter Wollny, Michael Maul and Sir John Eliot Gardiner:
Nun komm der heiden Heiland, BWV 61
Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140
Ich habe genug, BWV 82
Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, BWV 1
Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, BWV 12
O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, BWV 20
Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis, BWV 21
Es erhub sich ein Streit, BWV 19
Schwingt freudig euch empor, BWV 36
Wachet! Betet! Betet! Wachet!, BWV 70
Unser Mund sei voll Lachens, BWV 110
Sie werden aus Saba alle kommen, BWV 65
Jesus schläft, was soll ich hoffen, BWV 81
Liebster Immanuel, Herzog der Frommen, BWV 123
Sehet, wir gehen hinauf gen Jerusalem, BWV 159
Herr Jesu Christ, wahr' Mensch und Gott, BWV 127
Himmelskönig, sei willkommen, BWV 182
Der Himmel lacht! Die Erde jubilieret, BWV 31
Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden, BWV 6
Ihr werdet weinen und heulen, BWV 103
ewiges Feuer, O Ursprung der Liebe ,BWV 34
Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes, BWV 76
Die Elenden sollen essen, BWV 75
Brich dem Hungrigen dein Brot, BWV 39
Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, BWV 2
Herr, gehe nicht ins Gericht, BWV 105
Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen, BWV 56
Komm, du süße Todesstunde, BWV 161
Liebster Gott, wann wird ich sterben, BWV 8
Wer weiß, wie nahe mir mein Ende, BWV 27
Christus, der ist mein Leben, BWV 95
Nimm von uns, Herr, du treuer Gott, BWV 101
Jesu, der du meine Seele, BWV 78

I also think of the 4 other smaller Lutheran masses (aside from the B minor; I like all 5 of them) a good entry point to his cantatas because they're essentially Bach's own recommendations of his cantatas, I think. They're probably based on the cantatas that he thought were his best, cause that's probably why he used them, I think.


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## mmsbls (Mar 6, 2011)

Bulldog said:


> Naxos doesn't have a complete set, and what they do have is of variable quality. I don't own a complete set, but I do have all the cantatas through acquisition of discs from Gardiner, Herreweghe, Leonhardt/Harnoncourt, Suzuki, and a few others.
> 
> If you want a complete set, Suzuki on BIS is my best recommendation. I have no idea what it costs, but it likely is pretty expensive. Perhaps the best thing is to listen through a streaming service. For example, Naxos Music Library has all the Suzuki discs. Of course, you would have to buy a monthly subscription. The cost is low for "regular" sound quality but I consider that quality sub-par for my tastes. NML's cost for its premium sound might be as high as $35/month, but I find it well worth the price.
> 
> However you proceed, you're going to have to spend substantial funds to acquire top-notch performances. Good luck in your hunt.


I'm lucky that the university where I work provides access to the Naxos Music Library free to all employees so I have been able to use the library for many years. You say Naxos doesn't have a complete set, but you say they have all the Suzuki discs. I'm a bit confused. Does that mean they have all his BIS cantata recordings? I'm listening to Suzuki's BWV 1 now.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

mmsbls said:


> I'm lucky that the university where I work provides access to the Naxos Music Library free to all employees so I have been able to use the library for many years. You say Naxos doesn't have a complete set, but you say they have all the Suzuki discs. I'm a bit confused. Does that mean they have all his BIS cantata recordings? I'm listening to Suzuki's BWV 1 now.


Naxos "Recordings" does not have a complete set, but the "Naxos Music Library" is a streaming source dedicated to classical music and offers all the Naxos discs plus a great many discs/sets from hundreds of other labels. It has all the BIS recordings, so it has all its Bach discs. It's a wonderful site.


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## RockyIII (Jan 21, 2019)

Some days yes, some days no.


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## Bigbang (Jun 2, 2019)

mmsbls said:


> I'm lucky that the university where I work provides access to the Naxos Music Library free to all employees so I have been able to use the library for many years. You say Naxos doesn't have a complete set, but you say they have all the Suzuki discs. I'm a bit confused. Does that mean they have all his BIS cantata recordings? I'm listening to Suzuki's BWV 1 now.


Well you might as well check out Hoopla and freegal if available for odds and ends. I have never been tempted to buy but a few and am satisfied and stream every now and then.


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## consuono (Mar 27, 2020)

Among musicians/composers, probably.


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

consuono said:


> Among musicians/composers, probably.


I didn't like how they completely neglected Handel, Mendelssohn, but had John Cage and Philip Glass around 20~25 places. The participants of the survey included composers like Un Suk Chin, Steve Reich, etc. I don't necessarily consider avant-garde and minimalism to be part of classical music. To me, they're different genres from classical music, like jazz.


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## consuono (Mar 27, 2020)

hammeredklavier said:


> I didn't like how they completely neglected Handel, Mendelssohn, but had John Cage and Philip Glass around 20~25 places. The participants of the survey included composers like Un Suk Chin, Steve Reich, etc. I don't necessarily consider avant-garde and minimalism to be part of classical music. To me, they're different genres from classical music, like jazz.


I don't know how Igor beat out Wolfie either. Not in my book.


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## janxharris (May 24, 2010)

I expect that this poll (as of 10th June 2020 Bach is favourite for approximately 1 in 4) is consistent with Bach coming second as per 'The greatest composer?'


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

It's reasonably in line with the ranked popular composers exercise I facilitated end of last year: 8/40 of the ranked submissions had Bach as their #1.


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## janxharris (May 24, 2010)

That approximately one in four rate you as their favourite composer is quite an achievement.


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## janxharris (May 24, 2010)

BenG said:


> I've noticed that on 80 percent of people's top 10 lists Bach is their top composer.


Where did you see this?


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## consuono (Mar 27, 2020)

hammeredklavier said:


> ... I don't necessarily consider avant-garde and minimalism to be part of classical music. To me, they're different genres from classical music, like jazz.


I would agree with you there, no matter how many "closed-minded" accusations.

In all honesty, since my childhood when I started piano lessons my subjective sense is that since that time (it was decades ago, don't like to think about how many) Beethoven has lost a little ground overall in the "GOAT" sweepstakes, while Bach and Mozart have advanced. Bach especially.


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

RockyIII said:


> Some days yes, some days no.


Ditto - back and forth between Bach and Mozart.


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## Joe B (Aug 10, 2017)

Bach is not my favorite composer.....I don't have "a" favorite. However, I think that I would rank Bach as 'the most important' composer.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

> RockyIII RockyIII North Carolina, USA
> 
> Some days yes, some days no.


I agree completely with this statement .


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## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

janxharris said:


> I expect that this poll (as of 10th June 2020 Bach is favourite for approximately 1 in 4) is consistent with Bach coming second as per 'The greatest composer?'





Art Rock said:


> It's reasonably in line with the ranked popular composers exercise I facilitated end of last year: 8/40 of the ranked submissions had Bach as their #1.


I think that it's interesting to note that because this year is special for Beethoven, more people interested in his music may have entered this community in the last months than people interested in the music of other composers. Note that the accumulated votes over the years in the *Bach vs Beethoven* poll still gives the edge to the baroque master (Bach has 51.75% and Beethoven 48.25% of the votes there as I write this).


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## janxharris (May 24, 2010)

Allerius said:


> It should be noted though that this year is special for Beethoven, so I think that it's reasonable to think that more people interested in his music are coming to this community in the last months than people interested in the music of other composers. Note that the accumulated votes over the years in the *Bach vs Beethoven* poll still give the edge to the baroque master, that at this moment has 51.75% of the them.


With just a small caveat that that poll is specifically:

_Not "the best" but simply...who gets more listening time where you are?_


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## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

janxharris said:


> With just a small caveat that that poll is specifically:
> 
> _Not "the best" but simply...who gets more listening time where you are?_


You're right. I didn't notice this.


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## Marc (Jun 15, 2007)

In Dutch:

_Geen dag
zonder Bach._

Love his music since early childhood… even though he made me realize I was a lousy piano player, thanks to my early struggles with his well-known Bourrée and first Inventione during my youth. Typical: what I loved so dearly about his music (polyphony/contrapunt) was too difficult for me to reproduce. I could have hated him for that, but I never did.
And the way he touched me with his Passions and Weihnachts-Oratorium… when I was about 12, 13 years of age… unforgettable memories. During Lent, I was switching to and fro all kinds of broadcast stations on my mother's modest mono radio, from Harnoncourt to Karl Richter to Rilling to Charles de Wolff and then to a young Herreweghe… I just could not get enuff of the stuff.


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## Musicaterina (Apr 5, 2020)

I also like Bach very much, but what applies to Beethoven, applies also to Bach: If I had to choose one favourite composer, it would rather be Boccherini.


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## aioriacont (Jul 23, 2018)

he is not only my favorite composer, he is my favorite human being in general, in any art form, his genius surpassing even the giants of Da Vinci, the science of Newton, the inventions of Tesla.


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## Red Terror (Dec 10, 2018)

If all but one composer's music was to be wiped out from human consciousness, I would choose Bach's to remain with us for eternity.


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## Kjetil Heggelund (Jan 4, 2016)

For me, Bach is forever no. 2 just after Mozart.


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## consuono (Mar 27, 2020)

Red Terror said:


> If all but one composer's music was to be wiped out from human consciousness, I would choose Bach's to remain with us for eternity.


Yep, same here.


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