Most Helpful Customer Reviews
33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Major Accomplishment!, February 9, 2001
This review is from: Complete Works of Bach Hanssler Edition Bachakademie 172 CD Box Set (Audio CD)
Here it is...every surviving work attributed to the extremely prolific J.S. Bach. I've lived with these recordings for over a year now and will likely spend the rest of my life (and beyond, God willing) getting joy and pleasure from them. For a project of this magnitude the quality is at a consistantly high level. Of course, Helmuth Rilling's Cantatas and orchestral works have been getting high praise for some time now, and several of his other recordings (the Magnificat, the Motets, the B Minor Mass, and the Passions) get frequent mention on critical "Want Lists." Other highlights include Robert Levin's "Well Tempered Clavier" played on a multitude of keyboard instruments (organ, various harpsichords, clavichord, and forte-piano) making a rich aural treat from this sometimes austere music, eight volumes dedicated to hymns and chorales that are not connected to (existing) larger works which contain some of Bach's most heart-felt music (imagine the "complete" Orgel-Buchlein, but with words) and some rarely heard but fasinating early harpsichord pieces played with style and flair by Robert Hill. My only complaint is that some of the organ recordings tend towards the slow and weighty side (and could sometimes use more timbral variety). But overall I love this set and I'm not sorry I put off getting the new car and vacation to purchase it!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best of the best, February 4, 2005
This review is from: Complete Works of Bach Hanssler Edition Bachakademie 172 CD Box Set (Audio CD)
I offer you two apparently contradictory conclusions: as a Bach lover, I find some of the tempi of some of the pieces, for example the 48 Preludes and Fugues to be far from ideal. The tempo, the speed, is the one that best fits the music, and some of us argue about it for a lifetime. Other works, for various reasons, you might think below par and you might reject them as single items.
Taken as a whole, I would say that you have a definitive collection of some of the best performances of the most accomplished composer the world has ever seen, and the cost of purchase can be balanced out over a lifetime. Bach's music is timeless: unlike most things it doesn't depreciate at all.
The best feature, in my view, is the exuberance of the choral and orchestral passages in the cantatas.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Major Accomplishment!, February 9, 2001
This review is from: Complete Works of Bach Hanssler Edition Bachakademie 172 CD Box Set (Audio CD)
Here it is...every surviving work attributed to the extremely prolific J.S. Bach. I've lived with these recordings for over a year now and will likely spend the rest of my life (and beyond, God willing) getting joy and pleasure from them. For a project of this magnitude the quality is at a consistantly high level. Of course, Helmuth Rilling's Cantatas and orchestral works have been getting high praise for some time now, and several of his other recordings (the Magnificat, the Motets, the B Minor Mass, and the Passions) get frequent mention on critical "Want Lists." Other highlights include Robert Levin's "Well Tempered Clavier" played on a multitude of keyboard instruments (organ, various harpsichords, clavichord, and forte-piano) making a rich aural treat from this sometimes austere music, eight volumes dedicated to hymns and chorales that are not connected to (existing) larger works which contain some of Bach's most heart-felt music (imagine the "complete" Orgel-Buchlein, but with words) and some rarely heard but fasinating early harpsichord pieces played with style and flair by Robert Hill. My only complaint is that some of the organ recording tend towards the slow and weighty side (and could sometimes use more timbral variety). But overall I love these recordings and I'm not sorry I put off getting the new car and vacation to purchase it!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
