Customer Reviews

Bach 2000: The Complete Bach Edition (Includes Commemorative Book) (Box Set)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Having listened to the complete set, I can confidently recommend it, if you would use a complete set of Bach's works.

If you really like Bach, it is well worth getting. You will read disparaging reviews which will tell you that there are better performances of individual works. But this is a great opportunity for a Bach lover to get very good versions of his entire oeuvre.

In the set of 60 CDs of sacred cantatas, there are about 6 duds, which feature out of tune boy sopranos! If you are not crazy about sacred cantatas, you can buy a set which omits them, which may be advised!

I love the version of the Mass in B minor, though it is very different from our set by Munchinger [which we really enjoy].

The Brandenburgs are great. THe first movement of the first concerto is a knock out! Very brassy and bombastic: quite different from the 3 or 4 other versions I have previously enjoyed.

We are a piano family and have many CDs of Bach keyboard works played on piano [though we also have the Well Tempered Clavier on harpsichord and clavichord] The keyboard performances in the set are all on harpsichord and are lively and very enjoyable.

It takes some getting used to the authentic Baroque flute performances: especially occasional out-of-tuneness. But these are also interesting and musically played.

If you would use a set of all of Bach's extant works, it is a great choice. It is competitively priced and I love the packaging.

In contrast to the review by "A Bach Lover", I assert that Ton Koopman's performance in this set is wonderful. I do encourage you to buy the sampler and listen to Toccatta and Fugue in Dmin. This is the only performance of the piece I've ever heard where the performer actually tried to recreate not just the notes on the page, but the SPIRIT of the music--Koopman tries to actually get inside Bach's head. There are many nuances and articulations that performer-composers leave unwritten in a piece, especially Bach. The question then arises "Given what's written, what would he have actually played?" A particular trill articulation may have different meanings to different people, and perhaps have even been played differently every time Bach himself performed the piece. That single little trill mark at the beginning of Tocata and Fugue in Dmin may have just been a note Bach made to himself to play "some embelished series of notes"--or it may have indicated the precise A-G-A triple note series traditionally played--we will never know. While you may disagree on precisely what interpretations Bach may have used, there is no right or wrong in music--it is about the spirit. For the spirit and effort of trying to answer the question "Now what would Bach have actually played?", Ton Koopman should be applauded. Besides that, the organ works are very clear recordings on wonderful Baroque Dutch and German instruments which are just a thrill to listen to.

This set is the culmination of several decades of work on the part of the West German record label Teldec (formerly known as Telefunken-Decca). With their early-music subdivision Das Alte Werk (similar to DG's Archiv or Decca's L'Oiseau-Lyre), Teldec have been in the forefront of exploring the world of period instruments and authentic performance practice, with special emphasis on the works of J.S.Bach. The lion's share of recordings here was originally made for Das Alte Werk, with the odd exception here and there licensed from other labels in order to fill in the gaps. The centerpiece of the set is the famous recording of the 199 church cantatas by Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Gustav Leonhardt. If you're not familiar with the cantatas, there's a whole world of drama, color and expression right here waiting for you. You'll also be surprised to learn how many of the "tunes" you know from popular arrangements, like "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" and "Sleepers Awake" are actually movements from cantatas. The names of Harnoncourt and Leonhardt pop up again and again; they were both mainstays of the Teldec roster. Leonhardt gives us his 1965 Goldberg Variations on a Dulcken harpsichord whose every tone is like a bell, and Harnoncourt's "home" recording of the Cello Suites (never intended for general release) shows the ferment of a great musical mind. Ton Koopman gives us his provocative and controversial re-thinkings of the organ works, and Thomas Zehetmair's performances of the unaccompanied violin sonatas and partitas are like dramatic scenes spoken by a solo violin. Here are the uniquely bizarre Brandenburg Concertos by Il Giardino Armonico; the rhetorical and transparent performance of the motets conducted by Harnoncourt (perhaps his best-ever recording); Leonhardt's relaxed and smiling versions of the harpsichord concertos; Alice Harnoncourt's tawny, leonine performances of the sonatas for violin and harpsichord; Harnoncourt's chiaroscuro-filled performance of the Christmas Oratorio, and so on. This set is one of the most worthwhile CD buys you could make. You will never be bored with this to dip into over the years.

I grew up trying to play a guitar, adoring the Beatles and The Doors. Now jazz and classical music has my attention. I love good music. This is good music. I don't think Bach ever did a crummy song. You don't have to be an expert ear to enjoy Bach. This HUGE CD project takes a year to hear...I'm almost half through it. If you plain love Bach, this is a fabulous collection. Some of the critics must have the type of ears that hear minute faults. Or they actually learned to play an instrument. I didn't. I just can't get enough of Bach! This music covers religious singing (in German, that adds to the mystical quality) that is definitely cathedral choir quality- it sends shivers through me - and operatic music, grand organs, polyphonic and counterpoint orchestral melodies that sound intelligent and clever and miraculous to me (I had to ask someone who knew about music about what the parts that I love are called). I'm one of the musically ignorant, but I'm glad I bought this. It is GRAND music. Turn it up and enjoy.

This complete Bach edition from Teldec really is an event of epic proportions. It goes back to the beginnings of the "original instrument" movement. And it comes right up to the present, with some new performances by exciting names in Bach performance today. There's no way this could be the "definitive" version of Bach's music--no matter how great a "Hamlet" you;ve seen, there's always another great interpretation waiting in the wings. But it's amazing just to have the works at your fingertips like this, and with some real highlights (especially in the choral music and keyboard volumes), this will delight you for years to come.

This is one of the most important releases of all time. All of Bach's music recorded and in one package. There are many extraordinary performances here. But even the mediocre performances still provide us with the ability to hear and love Bach's amazing music.

If you have the money, buy this set and you can spend the rest of your life listening to it. Bach's music will transform you; it is one of the most beautiful achievements of mankind.

If you love Bach, which you must if you are looking at this particular item, you probably own a couple of his works already. Perhaps some of them are on the Teldec label. There is nothing wrong with Teldec if you are just getting into "classical" music. You will probably enjoy the music thoroughly. I know I did, as one of the first "classical" releases I bought was on Teldec, and it was Bach. I was amazed how great Bach was. Then my brother showed me the same recording, performed by another group, on another label. It had a lot more passion, and the instrumentalists were obviously of a higher level. Pardon my rambling, but what I'm trying to say is, the recordings found in this boxset are not the "cream of the crop." They are perfectly acceptable, easily listenable renditions of what many consider the greatest music...EVER. Take it from me, someone who has leapt into boxset land one too many times: Save your money, buy the individual albums. Take your time, talk to record store clerks (read Amazon reviews), do your research. If you are lucky enough to have a decent record store around, listen to multiple versions of the same work. No one said you had to buy it all at once. It can take a lifetime to fully realize the potency of this music, so enjoy the discovery as long as possible.

In Antony & Cleopatra, Shakespeare wrote: "I shall see some squeaking Cleopatra boy my greatness...."

I am 99% in favor of original instrument performances, but there are limits. Just imagine if we had the same sort of thing going on with Shakespeare's plays -- men and boys playing all of the women's parts. And if we *really* wanted to be original, they would be squeaking boys "I' th' posture of a whore" (Shakespeare's words). Such performances would knock Monty Python
right out of business.

The Cantatas, which are the lion's share of this collection, are sung by boys, boys, boys. If you want to ruin boy choirs for yourself, then go for it. It might still be a novelty by the fifth CD but by the fiftieth, you will want to throw your [...] wig at the squeaking speakers, just as the exasperated Bach famously did with his own wig and his own boy choir. (For which he was reprimanded.)

Does Harnoncourt really, honestly think that Bach would have picked a boy choir if he could have had women? Does anyone seriously believe that Shakespeare would have preferred his parts played by boys instead of women?

If you buy this set, don't buy it for the Cantatas, unless (unlike Bach) you can tolerate immature voices with "wig-tossingly" inconsistent intonation. Hold out for Suzuki or Koopman. Stay away from the Richter performances, mostly because the recording quality is second and third rate by today's standards. Not that historical performances should be shunned, but you might want to think twice about 60 odd CDs worth of second rate sound.

I believe, as another reviewer has stated, Bach's music may be the best ever written. Also, I think the cantatas are not where Bach placed his heart and soul. He was, after all, employed as a canter and in a position he did not wish for, but was forced to take to feed his large family. (I recommend "Bach and the High Baroque" lecture series by TTC.) What really stands out on this collection are all works in volumes 8 and above. Some of these works are hard to find and having them all in this collection and preformed on original instruments is great. Bach is priceless and so then is this collection.

I'm pleased with most of the performances as well as the quality of the recordings. (Personal note: I am neither a musicologist nor a musician.) I prefer "historically informed" performances. Unlike some other reviewers, I enjoyed listening to the cantatas featuring boy soloists and choirs (despite the limitations of the young performers). I also own (and recommend) the competing, but much more affordable, "Bach Edition: Complete Works" by Brilliant Classics.