# Favorite recordings of Bach's choral works?



## science

I've long been a fan of Karl Richter's old-fashioned, rich recordings, though Gardiner has been steadily growing on me. I've heard a few other random recordings from Naxos and DHM, but that's it. No Karajan or Klemperer or Herreweghe or Bernstein or whoever. 

In your opinion, what am I missing? What are your favorite recordings of works like the Mass in B minor, the Matthew and John Passions, the Christmas Oratorio, the Magnificat, and the Motets? 

What are your favorite recordings of the cantatas? (On this latter point, I'd prefer specific recommendations rather than complete sets - I don't foresee myself buying a complete set of Bach's cantatas!)


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## joen_cph

The *motets *with *Harnoncourt/Ericsson *are heavenly. The Klemperer St.Matthew likewise, also it probably older-old than K. Richter`s, very impressive and massive.

But with Richter you are generally well off, except from a few of the cantata recordings where the singing is too old-fashioned / not agile IMO. What I have heard from* Rilling *I found very impressive too.

I suppose you have the *Coffee Cantata *- another great work ? The Ameling/Collegium Aureum recording is one of many nice recordings, for instance.

Should you be interested in the Brilliant budget issues, there are some nice ones there: Schreier´s Mass in b-minor and Flämig´s Christmas Oratorio. But stay clear of the terrible, terrible cantata set with Dutch soloists on that label; there´s a counter-tenor, Sytse Buwalda, who often appears there, and he represents the worst off-tune and poorly technical singing I have ever heard on a commercial issue, except Florence Foster Jenkins ...


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## Manxfeeder

I've found out, this kind of thing involves individual taste. With that caveat, if you visit my house, you'll hear Gardiner's recordings of the great works. Although I think his Matthew Passion leans more to the dancy side, I seem to listen to it more than my other versions with Herreweghe, Klemperer, and Wilcox. I also like Harnoncourt's motets, but Bernius is also very good, if you can find it (actually, if I can find it also - it's somewhere in my CD stack). And if you want to hear an excellent boy choir, see if you can locate Reinhard Kammler with the Kammerchor Der Augsburger Domskingknaben. 

I haven't taken to Gardiner's new recordings of the cantatas as others have, and Suzuki doesn't do much for me, either, though others swear by them. I have the first few volumes of Koopman's cycle and like them, except when Barbara Schlick is singing.


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## beethovenian

Bruggen 2009 live recording of the B minor Mass on Glossa.


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## annie

mass in b: argenta/gardiner & gedda/klemperer
st matthew: johnson/gardiner & pears/klemperer & goerne/harnoncourt
st john: johnson/gardiner & turk/suzuki
christmas: rolfe/gardiner
magnificat: turk/suzuki

i switch between gardiner and suzuki for cantatas no 4, 51, 54, 56, 61, 80, 82, 106, 140, 147, 199


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## GoneBaroque

Mass in B minor, BWV 232: in my opinion the most sublime music of all; 3 recordings: 2 conducted by Robert Shaw. of these I prefer his earlier one with the Robert Shaw Chorale and Orchestra a pick-up group using smaller forces than his Atlanta Symphony recording and one with the Taverner Consort and Players led by Andrew Parrott featuring Dame Emma Kirkby among a group of distinguished Baroque specialist soloists.

Matthaus Passion - Otto Klemperer with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus and a group of soloists led by Sir Peter pears as the Evangelist.

Johannes Passion, BWV 245 - Eugen Jochum with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Netherlands Radio Chorus; Ernst Haefliger as the Evangelist.

Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248 - New London Consort led by Philip Pickett.

Magnificat in D Major, BWV 243 - featuring Thomas Quasthoff
Meine Seel erhebt den Herren, BWV 10 - featuring Arleen Auger
Hunt Cantata, BWV 208 - featuring Matthais Goerne
Coffee Cantata, BWV 211 - featuring Thomas Quasthoff
these four with the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart and the Gachinger Kantorei Stuttgart directed by Helmuth Rilling.


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