153 CDs representing nearly four decades of Bach performance on period instruments “a lifetime’s exalted listening, invariably presented with love, enthusiasm and conscientious musicianship.” - Gramophone The Complete Bach Edition, 153 CDs in 12 volumes comprising Bach’s complete works performed by world renowned Bach interpreters on period instruments, constitutes one of the most ambitious projects in recording history. The Complete Bach Edition represents the culmination of a process that began over five decades ago, in 1958, with the creation of the DAS ALTE WERK label. After initially triggering an impassioned controversy, Nikolaus Harnoncourt’s belief that “Early music is a foreign language which must be learned by musicians and listeners alike” has found widespread acceptance. He and his colleagues searched for original instruments to throw new light on composers and their works and significantly influenced the history of music interpretation in the second half of this century. Their ideas have been shared by many fellow musicians, among them Ton Koopman, Il Giardino Armonico, Luca Pianca and Andreas Staier, all of whose performances appear in the COMPLETE BACH Edition. As an entirety, the Complete Bach Edition offers listeners the chance to rediscover the astonishing developments in Bach interpretation of the last forty years and the tonal beauties of Bach’s works performed on period instruments. Without Nikolaus Harnoncourt’s and Gustav Leonhardt’s groundbreaking accounts of the cantatas, a complete Bach edition would have been inconceivable. But with the recording of Bach's Complete Sacred Cantatas as inspiration, not to mention Harnoncourt’s 1970 St. Matthew Passion and Gustav Leonhardt’s legendary 1965 account of the Goldberg Variations, the early 1990's found Teldec in an extraordinary position: able to embark on the artistic, financial and logistical adventure to record and license recordings of the remainder of Bach’s oeuvre and present a complete edition in time for the 250th anniversary of his death. From Schleicht, spielende Wellen, BWV 206, recorded by the Monteverdi Choir Hamburg, Amsterdam Chamber Orchestra, Jürgen Jürgens and André Rieu in 1963 to the Trio in A major, BWV 1025 with Werner Ehrhardt and Gerald Hambitzer recorded in April 1999, COMPLETE BACH chronicles nearly four decades of Bach performance on period instruments. By 1995, the year in which the project the Complete Bach Edition was conceived, Teldec had already committed approximately two thirds of Bach's oeuvre to disc. Subsequently the company produced approximately twenty new recordings specifically for The Complete Bach Edition. Many of these new recordings were of works never before available on disc, including chorales, as well as works for organ and works for harpsichord. Criteria for a Complete Bach Edition The Complete Bach Edition includes all works that modern scholarship regards as authentically composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. Where Bach made extensive changes to works in order to adapt them to meet the demands of later performances, the alternative versions have also been included. Incomplete works have been included when their musical substance was deemed valuable, although where fragments consist of only a few bars, these are not included. COMPLETE BACH also includes a handful of reconstructions of lost works, the existence of which is fully verified but which have not survived as such. Finally, a few inauthentic pieces are included, where they are inextricably associated with Bach’s name and are so familiar that their exclusion would have been regretted. “I have never felt that Bach’s work was in any way routine […]. Each new cantata, each new aria is an adventure, an exciting discovery. […] I know of no other composer who explores the whole range of music from the strictest counterpoint to romantic expressionism and who at the same time pushes back the boundaries of that world as comprehensively as Bach” - Nikolaus Harnoncourt Groups of Works Included in Teldec’s Complete Bach Edition Central to the Complete Bach Edition are the sacred cantatas, recorded between 1971 and 1989 by the Concentus Musicus Wien under Nikolaus Harnoncourt and the Leonhardt Consort under Gustav Leonhardt with soloists including Barbara Bonney, Thomas Hampson, Paul Esswood, Kurt Equiluz, Max van Egmond and Robert Holl. This was the first complete edition of the sacred cantatas performed on period instruments in the history of the gramophone and remains so to this day. The set won the Erasmus Prize in 1980, before it was even completed. Ton Koopman and his Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra subsequently recorded the secular cantatas. Bach wrote over 400 chorale settings but left no collection of his own in the form of a published or publishable volume of chorales. His pupil, Johann Philipp Kirnberger, went to great lengths to make good this omission. Between 1784 and 1787 four volumes appeared in print containing a total of 371 chorale settings, most of which are familiar to us from the composer’s cantatas, motets, oratorios and Passions. But there are around 186 chorales that cannot be ascribed to surviving works or were part of lost compositions or teaching material. These have been collected and recorded in their entirety for the first time ever by the Rundfunkchor Berlin under its British-born conductor Robin Gritton. With regard to the rarely performed or recorded Schemelli Songs, there is disagreement about the authenticity of several of these. For the Complete Bach Edition Teldec has selected those known to be authentic and most likely to be authentic; they are performed by Christoph Prégardien, Klaus Mertens, Ton Koopman and Jaap ter Linden. Bach’s fame in his own lifetime rested not only on his gifts as a composer but also, and more especially, on his exceptional abilities as an organist. Since 1994, Ton Koopman has recorded Bach’s complete works for organ on famous historic organs in the Netherlands and Germany. Foremost among these are the instruments in Freiberg Cathedral, built by Gottfried Silbermann, an organ builder with whom Bach had a professional association, and the organ in Hamburg’s Jacobikirche, built by Arp Schnitger For Bach’s complete works for keyboard, the Complete Bach Edition has chosen to use the harpsichord. Included are such releases as Gustav Leonhardt’s groundbreaking account of the Goldberg Variations as well as recent recordings of Bach's transcriptions of the sonatas after Reincken by Andreas Staier, toccatas by Bob van Asperen and concertos, fugues and other works by harpsichordist Michele Barchi. Barchi also plays the Suites BWV 996 and 997 on a historic lute-harpsichord specially built for this Edition. Additional lute works are performed by Luca Pianca, an internationally acclaimed lutenist and theorbo player and a co-founder of Il Giardino Armonico. The Cello Suites were recorded by Nikolaus Harnoncourt in 1965 and appear in the Complete Bach Edition for the first time on CD. The edition includes Bach's solo violin works performed by Thomas Zehetmair and the violin sonatas performed by Alice Harnoncourt (violin), Nikolaus Harnoncourt (viola da gamba) and Herbert Tachezi (harpsichord). Of the orchestral repertoire, the Brandenburg Concerti are represented by the highly acclaimed Il Giardino Armonico recordings released in 1997. The orchestral suites are performed by Nikolaus Harnoncourt and the harpsichord concerti by Gustav Leonhardt. Also included in the Complete Bach Edition are Nikolaus Harnoncourt's 1970 legendary recording of the St Matthew Passion with Concentus musicus Wien and the Arnold Schoenberg Chor as well as his 1995 recording of the St John Passion with the same forces.
F**O
A Steal of a Deal
Imagine having everything Bach ever wrote on 153 CDs. On your shelf. In your house. I've had my eye on such a collection since "BACH 2000" was first released almost 2 decades ago. But fulfilling the dream always seemed just a little too pricey.Now, for less than a dollar a disk, here's your opportunity to live the dream. This Teldec anthology has a lot going for it - clearly numbered disks in individual color-coded sleeves, and all in one great big box with a slip cover. And the performances I've audited so far are good to excellent examples. I won't be tossing my Yoyo Ma or Itzhak Perlman CDs - why would I? But it is really interesting to hear all this music played on period instruments - to imagine what it must have been like to attend a concert performance in the early 1700s. And, there are many internationally known performers represented in this collection. The vocal works I've listened to so far are clean, well-balanced recordings that you can listen to at high volume without distracting background noise or rumble.There's a good 200 or more hours of listening here, and many of the more obscure works are one's I've never heard. I look forward to expanding my exposure to Bach's entire oeuvre. I could imagine this making an excellent gift to a young person with a serious interest in classical music, and also to a seasoned classical music enthusiast.I worry that as technology marches ahead, the spinning disk (CD) may someday soon disappear, having been supplanted by various and sundry streaming music services. That would result in a serious loss of sound quality, IMO. Many young people today consume almost all their music in MP3 or similar compressed formats, using ear buds rather than high-end sound systems. Many people say they cannot tell the difference between a well recorded CD and an MP3. I sure can.Get this and cherish it.
F**O
Perfect!!!
Perfect!!
E**D
Original Instrument Bach at its Best
This collection is part of the Warner Classics empire which now includes many fine classical labels like EMI and Errato. Also in the fold - and central here - is Teldec. In the period between the mid-70s and the late 90s Teldec was steadily recording great artists - pioneers of the original instrument movement. In 2000, the 250th anniversary of Bach's death they published a complete works - at about $1000. (That's 150+ CDs and not a bad price at the time.) This collection is very close to the same thing. The highlight for me are the Cantatas done by Harnoncourt and Leonhardt in the mid-70s. This was a monumental recording achievement - all of the 200 cantatas (figure 60CDs) and done with all male choirs with boy trebles singing the appropriate parts. The boy singers don't always pull it off, but they usually do - and when it does work, it's beautiful. And, probably very close to what Bach would have heard in Leipzig. I have four cantata cycles - Harnoncourt, Ton Koopman, Leusink and another 60 CDs from Gardiner, Suzuki, Herrewege, Rifkin, Petite Band etc. (The Leuskink set comes with the Brilliant classics Bach set - they're okay but drag down the overall quality of that Bach set - which now isn't much cheaper than the Warner.) The cantatas and passions are so beautiful that they reward multiple performances, especially as the approach of the artists is very different - you hear a different work in every set. Harnoncourt does the larger sacred works and they're all good. But we're still looking at half set. That's made up of keyboard works (Ton Koopman does the organ works) and instrumental works of all kinds. Every performance I've ever heard from Teldec is a winner - double true if you like original instruments. And if you don't like original instruments with baroque music, you don't like original instruments. (It's not easy to find Bach recordings done in the last 20 years that are done on modern instruments. Some pianists are the exception - and they come up with some great results.) I bought this set for the instrumental works and still consider it an incredible bargain. Look, you can't really go wrong with Bach. And 153 CDs will contain works that even serious Bach fans haven't heard, or are not familiar with. Indeed, the great pleasure of these collections are the many hidden treasures you'll find. Might note that Warner has also recently released a Complete Beethoven - about $90 for 80CDs - and that collection also is a knockout. Might add that the older Brilliant Classics Mozart Complete Works is very good indeed with excellent original and modern instrument symphonies, operas, concertos etc - for under $100.
L**)
Reasonably priced re-issue, top pick of the three compete Bach's available.
If my memory serves me correctly, the original version of this set appeared around the turn of the millenium. It was amazing at the time to have all of Bach's works in a single box, and it commanded a premium price. Since then, there are at least two other competing sets, issued at much more affordable prices which have since dropped to the bargain level. One is on the Haenssler label, and has the advantage of all being performed under the same conductor, but unfortunately it is performed with modern instruments. The other, on Brilliant Classics, is available in two editions, with period instruments, but it is a compilation of recordings with various conductors and orchestras. It is great that this monumental set is re-issued, at a reasonable price. The main draw compared to the others, are the works performed under Harnorcourt and Leonhardt, but this is only part of the box. Of course the remainder is also on period instruments, in the able hands of Koopman and others. As long as the price is fairly close, this set would be my first choice of the three. Only four stars b/c they did not have the foresight to engage those pioneers in recording the entire oeuvre, but who could have predicted Bach in a box during the vinyl era?!?
A**O
Buen producto pero llegó maltratado
Excelente edición pero la caja llegó maltratada
A**U
Very good music.
Very good music. I recommend this boxset!
M**B
Musically excellent - but...
I am not a musicologist - and so my comments are certainly not definitive. I enjoy this set of Bach's music - and find the quality mainly very high standard.I found Zuzana Ruzickova a bit wooden - her playing did not make the works she played stand out.I was very disappointed by the Goldberg Variations - Gustave Leonhardt plays them extremely fast. Fortunately I have a lot of the keyboard works performed by other musicians, so I will keep them to maintain a different perspective.I do have a couple of issues about the set - which a prospective buyer needs to consider.1. There is no information on the performers - that has to be looked up online. Fortunately the date of recording is included.2. There is no information about the actual recording - although there is a lot of information about the organs and harpsichords used. I missed what used to be called sleeve notes. But, more significantly, there are no librettos. I am aware that including them would significantly increase the documentation - but surely a simple URL could be set up for these, and the sleeve notes included with the original recordings. I am forced to use the libretti from the Bach Edition from Brilliant Classics.3. Again, a documentation point - there is no overall view of the production - it would be useful to understand the aims and scope of the production. There are several works that are missing from the set - for example it does not include the Mark or Luke passions. That should be at least mentioned in the overall documentation of the set - to my mind it is not a full set - so the title "The Complete Bach Edition". is misleading,4. There is no listing of work to CD number. With such a large number of works and CD's an index is surely invaluable, and is sadly lacking. Such a listing could include cross referencing of the Sacred Cantatas to the specific Sundays or Feast Day they were written to commemorate.5. Although the standard of performance is very high, there are some recordings of the orchestral works that have a distinct lack of clarity.So on purchasing this set you need to be aware that the documentation leaves a lot to be desired and that performances. although generally of high standard, can be wooden or disappointing.
P**S
Prima Sorglospaket
Ich war mir unsicher bzgl. der „besten“ Wahl für eine JSB-Gesamtausgabe und habe mich letztendlich für diese hier entschieden da sie preislich etwa im Mittelfeld zwischen den günstigsten und der neueren „333“ Box(en) von Gardiner lag. Fazit bisher: Alles richtig gemacht: sinnvolle Präsentation, gute Interpreten und ein PLV welches wahrscheinlich kaum zu toppen ist (<1€ pro CD).Zwei kleine Wermutstropfen gibt es dennoch: Es fehlt ein Verzeichnis nach BWV-Nummern (da innerhalb einer Kompositionsgattung doch teilweise beträchtlich über CD-Grenzen hinweg hin und her gesprungen wird) und alle Musik für Tasteninstrumente ist auf dem Cembalo eingespielt, wo doch ein wenig Piano schon auch schön gewesen wäre. Eine DVD war bei mir - entgegen des Amazon-Produktfotos - übrigens auch nicht dabei.
S**4
Tenerlo todo en un pack, aunque añoro a Trevor Pinnock y Elliot Gardiner
Estoy en ello, eneresta musica es imperecedera, todas las mañanas me pongo algo de J S Bach ya sean las Goldberg, el Magnificat, el Oratorio, Bradenburgo, la misa en Si menor. Este pack no se acaba nunca, y si se acaba volvemos a empezar
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