# The TC Top Recommended Pieces by Bach: Nomination Round



## bharbeke (Mar 4, 2013)

Tchaikov6 gave permission to start the Bach nominations within the Beethoven voting thread, and I can't wait for Bach, so here we go!

Procedure:

In the nominating round, users nominate up to 20 of their favorite works by Bach, unranked. Each work nominated will receive 1 point. At the end of the round, the 50 (give or take) works with the most votes will move on to the voting round. Tiebreakers will be decided through the number of nominations each piece received.

Eligibility:

Anything written by Johann Sebastian Bach (generally, anything with a BWV number attached to it)

He wrote over 1,000 pieces, so please make sure that your nominations are distinctly identified. For example, Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 would be fine, but Prelude and Fugue in A is too vague. Use the catalog number to avoid confusion.

Time for nominations:

Nominations will close around Tuesday, October 17.

Post any questions in the thread. If I have liked your post, it means that I have added your nominations to the master list.

Most importantly, have fun, and enjoy the music!


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## bharbeke (Mar 4, 2013)

Toccata and Fugue in D minor BWV 565
English Suite No. 2 BWV 807
French Suite No. 5 BWV 816
French Suite No. 6 BWV 817
Keyboard Partita No. 1 BWV 825

Keyboard Partita No. 2 BWV 826
Keyboard Partita No. 3 BWV 827
Well-Tempered Clavier
Italian Concerto BWV 971
Keyboard Concerto No. 3 BWV 1054

Keyboard Concerto No. 2 BWV 1053
Concerto in C minor for 2 keyboards BWV 1060
Concerto for Keyboard and Strings in G minor BWV 1058
Violin Concerto No. 1 BWV 1041
Double Violin Concerto BWV 1043

Toccata in G BWV 916
Prelude and Fugue in E-Flat BWV 552
Kommst du nun, Jesu, vom Himmel herunter BWV 650
Mass in B minor
Prelude and Fugue in D minor BWV 554


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

Brandenburg Concertos
1
2
3
4
5
6
7. Triple Concerto
8. Harpsichord concerto in D BWV1052
9. Harpsichord concerto in F BWV1056
10. Concerto for two violins in D
11. Concerto for two harpsichords BWV1060
12. Italian concerto for harpsichord
13. Goldberg Variations
14. Mass in B minor
15. Christmas Oratorio
16. Cello suite no.1
17. Orchestral suite no.1
18. Orchestral suite no.2
19. Trio sonata from Musical Offering
20. Magnificat BWV243


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## pjang23 (Oct 8, 2009)

I think a good question to settle before we begin is how to handle groupings, as Bach's output is so vast. If we do everything by separate BWV number, it would mean separating the individual entries of the Well-Tempered Clavier, the Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin, the Cello Suites, the Brandenburg Concertos, the English Suites, and more.

Maybe we should group together works that typically come as a set?


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## Guest (Sep 30, 2017)

pjang23 said:


> I think a good question to settle before we begin is how to handle groupings, as Bach's output is so vast. If we do everything by separate BWV number, it would mean separating the individual entries of the Well-Tempered Clavier, the Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin, the Cello Suites, the Brandenburg Concertos, the English Suites, and more.
> 
> Maybe we should group together works that typically come as a set?


I agree. There is a problem here for me also. There are groups, with multiple catalog numbers, that I always listen to together as one work. The Cello Suites for example. Any single one of them may not rate nearly as high as them group together. Bach's works are more difficult, for this system, than Mozart or Beethoven. So much so that I don't think I can vote if I have to separate so many works that I think of as one.


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

Best to be specific pieces rather than a whole opus or series. Just like what I did with each of the Brandenburgs.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Not too practical -- each P&F in Bach's WTC has its own BWV number...that's 48 BWV numbers, if anybody's counting.


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## Guest (Sep 30, 2017)

Yes if you love the WTC you can only nomimate 41.66% of it.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

ArtMusic said:


> Best to be specific pieces rather than a whole opus or series. Just like what I did with each of the Brandenburgs.


Scratch that - I don't like what you did at all. We can toss this issue around forever, but I think the person who initiated and is responsible for managing the thread has to make the decision. Looking over bharbeke's entries, I don't have any idea what he'll do about it. Come back, bharbeke!

I just noticed that you're cutting up the Musical Offering. Why would you want to do that? I'll never understand this beheading predilection.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Jerome said:


> Yes if you love the WTC you can only nomimate 41.66% of it.


You're just the kind of guy we need around here.


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## bharbeke (Mar 4, 2013)

Sorry for being away most of the weekend, but real life intercedes. I've been thinking about this since Friday. 

Bach definitely has works that are seldom treated separately, even if they have multiple BWV numbers. If you are nominating something that is traditionally part of a group like the WTC, please nominate the whole thing.

If you feel strongly like only part of a work deserves recognition, you can nominate just that part. However, I will lump those nominations in with the larger work unless the smaller part gets more nominations. I can only foresee this happening if there is a famous snippet like Air on the G String or Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring.

What we might do is take any nominations for smaller parts of larger works and leave those as suggestions for starting places for any of those works that make the final list. This would be helpful to those using such lists as newcomers to Bach who might be intimidated by the length of a whole group of works.

Since we are combining groups, I will submit a modified list later that has one line item for each group of French and English Suites and includes one more nomination. ArtMusic, if you want to submit a new list that combines the Brandenburg Concertos together and has more picks to fill it out to 20, you may do so.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Here it goes:

Musical Offering, BWV 1079
Art of Fugue, BWV 1080
Solo Cello Suites, BWV 1007-1012
Well Tempered Clavier, BWV 846-893
Goldberg Variations, BWV 988
Overture in the French Style, BWV 831
French Suites, BWV 812-817
Keyboard Partitas, BWV 825-830
Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue, BWV 903
Mass in B minor, BWV 232
St. Matthew Passion, BWV 244
Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord, BWV 1014-1019
Chorale Preludes, BWV 645-650 "Schubler"
Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 659
Orgelbuchlein, BWV 599-644
Pastorale in F major, BWV 590
Prelude and Fugue in E flat major, BWV 552 "St. Anne"
Prelude and Fugue in E minor, BWV 548 "Wedge"
Leipzig Chorales, BWV 651-667
Clavierubung III


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Well Tempered Clavier, BWV 846-893
Partitas for Solo Violin, BWV 1001-1006
Mass in B minor, BWV 232
St. Matthew Passion, BWV 244
Brandenburg Concertos, BWV 1046-1051
Solo Cello Suites, BWV 1007-1012
Goldberg Variations, BWV 988
Overture in the French Style, BWV 831
Keyboard Partitas, BWV 825-830
Clavierubung III 
Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582
Toccata, Adagio and Fugue, BWV 564
Keyboard Concerto, BWV 1052
Keyboard Concerto, BWV 1056
Cantata Ich Habe Genug, BWV 82
St. John Passion, BWV 245
Organ Trios, BWV 525-530
Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248
Viola de Gamba Sonatas, BWV 1027-1029
Lute Suites, BWV 995-1000


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## StDior (May 28, 2015)

BWV 26	Cantata Ach wie flüchtig, ach wie nichtig
BWV 66	Cantata Erfreut euch, ihr Herzen
BWV 140	Cantata Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme
BWV 232 Mass in B minor
BWV 244	Passion St Matthew Passion
BWV 245	Passion St John Passion
BWV 248	Christmas Oratorio
BWV 565	Toccata and Fugue
BWV 846-893	Well-Tempered Clavier
BWV 1002	Violin Partita No. 1
BWV 1041	Concerto for violin and orchestra No. 1
BWV 1042	Concerto for violin and orchestra No. 2
BWV 1043	Concerto for 2 violins and orchestra 
BWV 1044	Concerto for flute, violin, harpsichord and orchestra – Triple Concerto
BWV 1052	Concerto for harpsichord and orchestra No. 1
BWV 1053	Concerto for harpsichord and orchestra No. 2
BWV 1060	Concerto for 2 harpsichords and orchestra No. 1
BWV 1066	Orchestral Suite No. 1
BWV 1067 Orchestral Suite No. 2
BWV 1068	Orchestral Suite No. 3


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## bharbeke (Mar 4, 2013)

Here is my updated list that has more standard groupings:

Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben BWV 147
Mass in B minor BWV 232
Organ Trios BWV 525-530
Prelude and Fugue in E-Flat BWV 552
Toccata and Fugue in D minor BWV 565
Schubler Chorales BWV 645-650
English Suites BWV 806-811
French Suites BWV 812-817
Keyboard Partitas BWV 825-830
Well-Tempered Clavier BWV 846-893
Toccata in C minor BWV 911
Toccata in G BWV 916
Italian Concerto BWV 971
Violin Sonatas and Partitas BWV 1001-1006
Violin Concerto No. 1 BWV 1041
Violin Concerto No. 2 BWV 1042
Keyboard Concerto No. 1 BWV 1052
Keyboard Concerto No. 2 BWV 1053
Keyboard Concerto No. 3 BWV 1054
Concerto for Keyboard and Strings BWV 1057


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## bharbeke (Mar 4, 2013)

StDior said:


> BWV 26	Cantata Ach wie flüchtig, ach wie nichtig
> BWV 66	Cantata Erfreut euch, ihr Herzen
> BWV 140	Cantata Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme
> BWV 232 Mass in B minor
> ...


StDior, the orchestral suites will be combined into one item. If you want, you can nominate two more works.


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## Guest (Oct 2, 2017)

Just keep it simple and buy everything,probably the best decision of your live. Cantatas,klavierwerke,organ works,cello suites.violin sonatas,partitas,Oratoria,Motets,Chorals,chamber music etc etc.....


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

What a wonderful list of masterpieces.


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## Rossiniano (Jul 28, 2017)

BWV
51 Cantata Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen 
214 Cantata Tönet, ihr Pauken
232 B Minor Mass
233 Latin Mass 
234 Latin Mass
235 Latin Mass
236 Latin Mass
243 Magnificat
593 A minor Organ Concerto (Vivaldi)
971 Concerto in the Italian Style
1041 Violin Concerto 1
1042 Violin Concerto 2
1043 Double Violin Concerto
1044 Triple Concerto
1046-1051 Brandenburg Concerti
1052 Keyboard Concerto
1053 Keyboard Concerto
1054 Keyboard Concerto 
1065 4 Keyboard Concerto (Vivaldi)
1066-69 Orchestral Suites 1-4


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## Tchaikov6 (Mar 30, 2016)

The Well-Tempered Clavier, BWV 846-893
St. Matthew Passion, BWV 244
Concerto for 2 Violins in D minor, BWV 1043
Violin Concerto #1 in A minor, BWV 1041
St. John Passion, BWV 245
Cello Suites, BWV 1007-1012
Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582
Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin, BWV 1001-1006
Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248
Magnificat in D, BWV 243
Orchestral Suites, BWV 1066-1069
Violin Concerto #2 in E, BWV 1042
Italian Concerto, BWV 971
Cantata #4 "Christ lag in Todes Banden"
English Suites, BWV 806-811
Brandenburg Concertos, BWV 1046-1051
Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565
Suites for Solo Lute, BWV 995-1000 & 1006a
Harpsichord Concerto #1 in D minor, BWV 1052
Harpsichord Concerto #2 in E, BWV 1053


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## bharbeke (Mar 4, 2013)

Rossiniano said:


> BWV
> 51 Cantata Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen
> 214 Cantata Tönet, ihr Pauken
> 232 B Minor Mass
> ...


Rossiniano, you have 235 listed twice. Were you wanting 233 or some other number for your last pick?


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## Rossiniano (Jul 28, 2017)

bharbeke said:


> Rossiniano, you have 235 listed twice. Were you wanting 233 or some other number for your last pick?


My infamous number dyslexia kicked in. I corrected my above post to add BWV 233 to replace the double listing of BWV 235! Thanks for catching that!!


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## sidewinder572 (Sep 11, 2016)

B Minor Mass
The Well Tempered Clavier Book 1
The Well Tempered Clavier Book 2 
The Art of the Fugue
The St Matthew Passion
Toccatta and Fugue In F, BWV 540
Pasaccaglia and Fugue In C Minor
The Brandenburg Concertos
The Goldberg Variations
The Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin
The Suites for Solo Cello
The Keyboard Partitas
Cantata No. 140
Cantata No. 4
Cantata No. 147
Cantata No. 78
Toccata and Fugue In D Minor, BWV 565
The 3 Violin Concertos
Cantata No. 51
The "Little" Fugue in G Minor for organ


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## bharbeke (Mar 4, 2013)

sidewinder572 said:


> B Minor Mass
> The Well Tempered Clavier Book 1
> The Well Tempered Clavier Book 2
> The Art of the Fugue
> ...


sidewinder, the WTC lines can be combined, but the violin concertos are being separated. That puts you at 21 nominations instead of 20. Please let me know which one I should remove. If I hear nothing, I will subtract one for the double violin concerto.

Also, welcome to the forums!


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## Portamento (Dec 8, 2016)

Cello Suites, BWV 1007-1012

Yes, I'm done.


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## sidewinder572 (Sep 11, 2016)

bharbeke said:


> sidewinder, the WTC lines can be combined, but the violin concertos are being separated. That puts you at 21 nominations instead of 20. Please let me know which one I should remove. If I hear nothing, I will subtract one for the double violin concerto.
> 
> Also, welcome to the forums!


Since the two books of the WTC were written at completely separate times in Bach's life I feel that they should be viewed as two different works. Also while it pains me to do this remove Cantata 51.

Also. Thanks for the welcome.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

sidewinder572 said:


> Since the two books of the WTC were written at completely separate times in Bach's life I feel that they should be viewed as two different works.


Can't argue with that position. Emotionally speaking, I don't feel completely satisfied unless I listen to both books, one after the other.


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## bharbeke (Mar 4, 2013)

I find it odd that Bach's works get lumped together so much. If not for tradition, I would be making people break down their WTC nominations by prelude/fugue pairing instead of a single work. It's not like we just say Beethoven late piano sonatas as all one work.

We'll just make the best list we can and be as consistent as possible. These Top X lists for each composer are just designed as a starting place. I would encourage anyone to listen to as much Bach/Mozart/Beethoven/whoever as they want and to post in the wonderful Composer Guestbooks threads and Current Listening threads to discuss what they hear and like/dislike.


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## bharbeke (Mar 4, 2013)

We have over 50 nominated works, so there is technically enough to vote on. However, Bach wrote a ton, and your favorite may not be nominated yet. Please put your own choices into the mix. The nominations received do help break ties in the voting round, too, so they are important in two ways.

Nominations will be closed on Tuesday, October 17 (probably around 9 AM Pacific time, but why wait?)


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

bharbeke said:


> I find it odd that Bach's works get lumped together so much. If not for tradition, I would be making people break down their WTC nominations by prelude/fugue pairing instead of a single work.


Is that practical? There are 48 pairings.


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## bharbeke (Mar 4, 2013)

Besides being in all of the keys, I don't see any connection between the different WTC parts besides a name. They all have different numbers, and no one is making anyone listen to all of them at once. If they were presented as discrete units like so many of the organ works, it would be very practical to pick favorites. I've noted 15 that stood out to me in my listening log.

I'm sure that Prelude No. 1 in C would get a lot of love because it is so famous, and many piano students learn it. I'm curious which others people would choose. As stated earlier, for purposes of this exercise, we are treating WTC as a single entity.


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## Portamento (Dec 8, 2016)

I would use The Classical Music Project as a reference (Command+F "Bach, Johann Sebastian").


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## bharbeke (Mar 4, 2013)

Reminder: There is one more week to vote!

I am bumping this in hopes that some of our new refugees from Amazon and Amazon UK (as well as older members who just haven't gotten around to posting here yet) will see it and share their picks.


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## josquindesprez (Aug 20, 2017)

I'm having trouble grouping things too much. WTC makes sense to me as a collected work (though more so by separating the two books), but with the violin and harpsichord sonatas, for example, the third one is the only one I'd want to listen to. So in the end I'm fully willing to accept that some of these pieces will be part of bigger groups of works.

Toccata and Fugue in d "Dorian", BWV 538
Toccata, Adagio, and Fugue in C, BWV 564
Toccata and Fugue in d, BWV 565
English Suite number 2, BWV 807
English Suite number 5, BWV 810
French Suite number 1, BWV 812
Well-Tempered Clavier 1, BWV 846-869
Well-Tempered Clavier 2, BWV 870-893
Goldberg Variations, BWV 988
Violin Sonata number 1, BWV 1001
Violin Partita number 1, BWV 1002
Violin Sonata number 2, BWV 1003
Suite for Solo Cello number 1, BWV 1007
Suite for Solo Cello number 4, BWV 1010
Suite for Solo Cello number 5, BWV 1011
Suite for Solo Cello number 6, BWV 1012
Sonata for Violin and Obbligatio number 3, BWV 1016
Concerto for 2 Violins, Strings and Continuo, BWV 1043
Musical Offering, BWV 1079
Art of the Fugue, BWV 1080


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## bharbeke (Mar 4, 2013)

Bump: four days left to nominate


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## pjang23 (Oct 8, 2009)

Mass in B minor
St. Matthew Passion
Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin
Brandenburg Concertos
Goldberg Variations
Cello Suites
Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor BWV582
Well Tempered Clavier
Concerto for Two Violins
Violin Concerto in A minor
Violin Concerto in E major
Partitas for Keyboard
Art of Fugue
Sonata No.1 in B minor for Flute and Harpsichord BWV1030
English Suites
Concerto for Flute, Violin and Harpsichord BWV1044
Harpsichord Concerto #1 BWV1052
Harpsichord Concerto #2 BWV1053 
Clavier-Übung III
Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme BWV140


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