# Favorite Bach Albums



## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Glenn Gould - The Well Tempered Clavier
Lang Lang - The Goldberg Variations
The Emerson String Quartet - The Art of the Fugue

Just to name a few.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Goldberg Variations, BWV988; Alexandre Tharaud (piano); 
The Well-Tempered Clavier, Books 1 & 2; Sviatoslav Richter (piano)
Bach aria's : Benjamin Appl


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## prlj (10 mo ago)

The OG Glenn Gould Goldberg Variations.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

E. Power Biggs organ CD on Sony
Brandenburg Concertos by Marriner on Philips
Art of the Fuge by Marriner
Complete Liturgical Year cantata box by La Petit Bande
B minor mass, and St John Passion by Jochum 
St Matthew Passion on Naxos 

I bought all the keyboard works by Gould but I haven't had time to listen to them in depth. If I had to buy them again I'd choose some different pianists. My latest Bach CD is the Motets by Rene Jacobs. I don't think the recording sounds all that great with the volume turned up so I need to try some other versions. Maybe Koopman, or the Naxos recording.


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## premont (May 7, 2015)

Brandenburg concertos & Musicalisches Opfer by Linde Consort
Kunst der Fuge by Helmut Walcha
WTC I & WTC II by Colin Booth
Complete organ works by Wolfgang Stockmeier
Violin/harpsichord sonatas by Luis Otavio Santos and Pieter-Jan Belder
Cello suites by Morten Zeuthen
B minor mass by Thomas Hengelbrock

But there are many others.


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## John Zito (Sep 11, 2021)

This is the one I've probably listened to the most:


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## Scherzi Cat (8 mo ago)

Brandenburgs: Pinnock and The English Concert

Mass in B minor: Garduner, English Baroque Soloists and Monteverdi Choir

Suites for Cello: Ophelie Gaillard


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## Anooj (Dec 5, 2021)




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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I'm looking for another ensemble recording of The Art of the Fugue. Preferably something with some winds and not overly string dominated. I came across a great recording like this a few years ago but I've forgotten the ensemble. It had some great sounding bassoons.


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

starthrower said:


> I'm looking for another ensemble recording of The Art of the Fugue. Preferably something with some winds and not overly string dominated. I came across a great recording like this a few years ago but I've forgotten the ensemble. It had some great sounding bassoons.


This maybe

Spotify – Bach: Die Kunst Der Fuge, Bwv 1080


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Mandryka, I found that one on YouTube. Not the same recording I had in mind but it sounds good. I actually uploaded an excerpt of the other recording in a long thread here that I can't seem to locate with the search engine. Maybe it got deleted in one of the crashes? It was a more recent and rather pricey recording.


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## premont (May 7, 2015)

starthrower said:


> I'm looking for another ensemble recording of The Art of the Fugue. Preferably something with some winds and not overly string dominated. I came across a great recording like this a few years ago but I've forgotten the ensemble. It had some great sounding bassoons.


What about this?:

Johann Sebastian Bach, Hermann Scherchen - Art Of The Fugue | Releases | Discogs


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## Georgieva (7 mo ago)

Murray Perahia, Goldberg Variations BWV
Grigory Sokolov, Das Wohltemperierte Klavier
Wanda Lewandowska, Concerto in D for Solo Harpsichord


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

premont said:


> What about this?:
> 
> Johann Sebastian Bach, Hermann Scherchen - Art Of The Fugue | Releases | Discogs


This is excellent.


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## RandallPeterListens (Feb 9, 2012)

starthrower said:


> I'm looking for another ensemble recording of The Art of the Fugue. Preferably something with some winds and not overly string dominated. I came across a great recording like this a few years ago but I've forgotten the ensemble. It had some great sounding bassoons.


There was an orchestral version of the Art of Fugue many years ago by Karl Ristenpart with the Chamber Orchestra of the Saar (Nonesuch Records - OOP, I think) which was pretty good. Just as an aside, the recording of the Brandenburg Concertos by the same orchestra and conductor is still one of best, to my mind. Done with a lot of top-notch soloists.


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## RandallPeterListens (Feb 9, 2012)

I suppose I could just say Glenn Gould, but that would be rather boring. So I offer ...

Goldberg Variations, Glenn Gould (the 1955 mono version, by a hair)
the Cantatas, John Eliot Gardiner. Yes, all of them. At the other end of the period instrument spectrum is a wonderful recording of cantata arias for soprano and violin obbligato with Kathleen Battle and Itzhak Perlman with the Orchestra of St. Luke's. (titled simply The Bach Album on DGG)
Trio Sonatas, John Butt, organ. But a close second is the E. Power Biggs, pedal-harpsichord, version.
the Lute Suites, Julian Bream. Esp. the e minor BWV 996.
the Viola da Gamba sonatas, Anner Byslma. on Sony/Vivarte. This recording gets a good deal of negative reviews, but it's a real standout for me. But just listen to the BWV 1029 Vivace. How could you not listen to that on repeat for the rest of your life?
a bit of an oddball, but the album of keyboard selections titled Aufs Lautenwerk, with Kim Hendel playing the lute-harpsichord (on Dorian records). Great sound for Bach and really good performance.
The above selections are not meant to be the "best" or exclude the thousands of other absolutely fabulous recordings of Bach's music which have been made. Just a few personal favorites which come to mind but there are many, many more.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I like the Scherchen despite the dated sound.


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## haziz (Sep 15, 2017)




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## haziz (Sep 15, 2017)




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## haziz (Sep 15, 2017)




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## Subutai (Feb 28, 2021)

Brandenburg Concertos : Brandenburg European Ensemble
Orchestral Suites: Freiburger Baroque Orchestra
Violin Concertos: Nigel Kennedy & Berlin Phil
Keyboard Concertos: Glenn Gould & Columbia Symphony 

Just the Orchestral ma'am, just the Orchestral


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## Krummhorn (Feb 18, 2007)

For organ music of JS Bach, Helmut Walcha's 1956 recording of "The Art of Fugue" on Deutsche Grammophon. A stereo version was released in 1960. 
I have this complete works of Bach for organ on LP with the DG label. Outstanding recording in every way, and Walcha's interpretation seems so true for the music of Bach.


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## Monsalvat (11 mo ago)

Walcha also recorded an earlier cycle of the Bach organ works in mono, for Archiv Produktion, between 1947 and 1952, which I also recommend. It has more colorful registrations (being on historical instruments that survived the Second World War; one in Lübeck and the other in Kappel) but the same style of playing. 

For the Art of Fugue played by an ensemble I would check out Neville Marriner and the Academy of St.-Martin-in-the-Fields, recorded in 1974. They also recorded the Musical Offering in 1978. 

Well-Tempered Clavier: check out Schiff (I like both recordings), Richter, and Edwin Fischer for the piano; Helmut Walcha (particularly the Archiv recording), Gustav Leonhardt, and Kenneth Gilbert for the harpsichord. Honorable mentions to the recent Trevor Pinnock recording; Scott Ross; and Ralph Kirkpatrick (clavichord; I haven't been able to find a copy of the harpsichord recording he made).


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Remember Captain it s personnel choice.


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## premont (May 7, 2015)

RandallPeterListens said:


> There was an orchestral version of the Art of Fugue many years ago by Karl Ristenpart with the Chamber Orchestra of the Saar (Nonesuch Records - OOP, I think) which was pretty good. Just as an aside, the recording of the Brandenburg Concertos by the same orchestra and conductor is still one of best, to my mind. Done with a lot of top-notch soloists.


The Ristenpart AoF released on LP by Nonesuch has been re-released on CD by Accord, see below..

A few years before the Nonesuch recording, Ristenpart made another - or rather first - recording of the AoF - also with the Chamber Orchestra of the Saar - for Erato featuring among others Helmut Winschermann, Henning Troog and Robert Veyron-Lacroix. This is less romantic in conception than the Nonesuch recording.

Concerning the Brandenburg concerto recording you refer to (Ristenpart's second Brandenburg concertos set) I agree that this is one of the most delightful sets in existence played with modern instruments. It's released in the same Accord CD set.

Bach : Oeuvres pour orchestre : Ristenpart, Karl, Bach, Johann Sebastian: Amazon.fr: CD et Vinyles}


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## premont (May 7, 2015)

Rogerx said:


> Remember Captain it s *personnel choice*.


You share the fondness for this recording with Pugg's ghost and me.


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## premont (May 7, 2015)

Monsalvat said:


> Walcha also recorded an earlier cycle of the Bach organ works in mono, for Archiv Produktion, between 1947 and 1952, which I also recommend. It has more colorful registrations (being on historical instruments that survived the Second World War; one in Lübeck and the other in Kappel) but the same style of playing.


Historical instruments, yes, but not (yet) properly scientifically restored at the recording time, eg. equally tuned.


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## shiptontense (2 mo ago)

The Goldberg Variations is my fav


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## EvaBaron (Jan 3, 2022)

I still have to hear much more of Bach, and haven’t heard most of his masterpieces. But I’ve already picked out the recordings for the pieces that I’m going to listen to.


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## thejewk (Sep 13, 2020)

Pieter-Jan Belder - WTC
Stefano Molardi - Complete Organ Works, particularly the Trio Sonatas
Jaap Ter Linden - Cello Suites
Gardiner's traversal of the Cantatas
Wentz and Borgstede - Musical Offering


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

haziz said:


>


I gave this one a listen last night. Wonderful playing and beautifully recorded. Really amazing for such a young musician.


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## Marcos (May 3, 2021)

Göran Söllscher playing the Lute Suites on his 11 string guitar.


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## RandallPeterListens (Feb 9, 2012)

premont said:


> The Ristenpart AoF released on LP by Nonesuch has been re-released on CD by Accord, see below..
> 
> A few years before the Nonesuch recording, Ristenpart made another - or rather first - recording of the AoF - also with the Chamber Orchestra of the Saar - for Erato featuring among others Helmut Winschermann, Henning Troog and Robert Veyron-Lacroix. This is less romantic in conception than the Nonesuch recording.
> 
> ...


Thanks! Did not know this info. I have the Ristenpart 2nd set of the Brandenburgs on LP. If memory serves, this featured Maurice Andre, trumpet, J-P Rampal, flute, Pierre Pierlot, oboe, and a violinist named Georg Friedrich Hendel (great name for a baroque performer!). Never really heard of him before or since but his performance in this set was very, very good. As to the whole period instrument business, as long as performers play as close to the musical performance standards of the time a piece was written, modern instruments don't bother me at all.


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## Brahmsianhorn (Feb 17, 2017)




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## premont (May 7, 2015)

RandallPeterListens said:


> Thanks! Did not know this info. I have the Ristenpart 2nd set of the Brandenburgs on LP. If memory serves, this featured Maurice Andre, trumpet, J-P Rampal, flute, Pierre Pierlot, oboe, and a violinist named Georg Friedrich Hendel (great name for a baroque performer!). Never really heard of him before or since but his performance in this set was very, very good. As to the whole period instrument business, as long as performers play as close to the musical performance standards of the time a piece was written, modern instruments don't bother me at all.


The trumpeter was _Helmut Schneidewind, _but he doesn't leave anything to André.

Georg Friedrich Hendel was the leader of the Saar Chamber orchestra for about 15 years. His wife, Betty Hindrichs, was the orchestra's principal cellist. Both were killed in a motor accident around 1970. Hendel made many recordings with the orchestra.


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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)




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## Alinde (Feb 8, 2020)

Harnoncourt and Leonhardt - Das Kantatenwerk



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bach_cantatas_(Teldec)


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## Coach G (Apr 22, 2020)

My Favorite Bach Albums:

1. The _St. John Passion_ by Benjamin Britten and friends (English Translation)










2. The _St. Matthew Passion_ by Leonard Bernstein, New York Philhamonic, et. al. (Abridged, English Translation)








3-5 4 _Orchestral Suites_; 6 _Brandenburg Concertos, _by Pablo Casals and the Marlboro Festival Orchestra























6. Bach/Stokowski transcriptions








7. Yehudi Menuhin plays Bach (just for the _Chaconne_)








8. Bach/Segovia transcriptions (and another amazing _Chaconne_!)








9-10. And, of course, Glenn Gould


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## Coach G (Apr 22, 2020)

I forgot about the wonderful _Cello Suites_ featuring (arguably) the world's greatest cello player: Yo-Yo Ma)


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## Waehnen (Oct 31, 2021)

Bach is something wonderful. I grew up playing countless keyboard pieces by Bach, so his music is one of the main layers forming my musicality. I have always felt that there is nothing emphatically conservative about Bach -- he was modern, he was timeless, he had the wit to break through the everyday buzz like nobody´s business, he was the pinnacle of baroque... Everything.

The other day my famous Random Play gave me the last movement of the A minor Violin Concerto. I felt all the anxiety created by the hectic modern world melt inside me. It was just beautiful and gorgeous.

Some might even argue this guy was an absolute genius. 

My two favourite Bach recordings are probably these two:


















The music is SO GOOD.


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

Marcos said:


> Göran Söllscher playing the Lute Suites on his 11 string guitar.


Originally, he released three albums containing transcriptions of all the BWV listed lute works plus several additional transcriptions. I think I prefer them to the several lute performances I have.

My recent discovery is the set of Cantata recordings by Montreal Baroque, which I purchased earlier this year based on Josquin13's recommendation.


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## Branko (3 mo ago)

Some of my favourites:








He recorded them twice. This is the second lot from 2021.

Also the first Menuhin complete set of solo sonatas & partitas from 1934-36. So beautiful.









Cello solo: Lynn Harrell and Ralph Kirschbaum.
















But I absolutely love this one on the Violoncello da Spalla, Sergey Malov. On YT too  !









And on the lute, Hopkinson Smith playing the solo vln and cello works:


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