Essential Bach
Essential Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) had many professional responsibilities and relationships with patrons and other musicians throughout his life that involved writing special music. The prolific composer was himself a virtuoso keyboard player and violinist who excelled in writing instrumental music, and he was a church musician and man of devout Christian faith who composed a variety of eloquent sacred music. As a result, Bach left a significant body of work.
To acquire a complete recording collection of Bach’s compositions would be a dramatic commitment of time and financial resources. Therefore, I’ve jotted down this broad overview of “Essential Bach” music and some suggested recordings. It is NOT intended to be a conclusive, exhaustive or definitive survey of his work. Rather, I propose it as a starting point to explore Bach’s extraordinary legacy and some of the musicians who do justice to it, in my opinion. It’s meant to augment the previous playlists for the Sunday Baroque Bach Birthday Bash, so you can assume everything on the playlists is also worth your consideration. This list is, by definition, highly subjective – these are my opinions and suggestions for where to begin and which performers I admire. It is also an incomplete list, because Bach’s output is too far-reaching and enormous to encapsulate in one simple list. I consider this an open-ended recommendation that will undoubtedly change and expand with new and alternate performances of these and other Bach compositions.
Art of Fugue BWV 1080
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields – Philips 442556
Amsterdam Loeki Stardust Quartet – Channel Classics CCS 12698
Rachel Podger, Brecon Baroque – Channel Classics CCS SA 38316
Bernard Labadie, Les Violons du Roy – Dorian 90297
Brandenburg Concertos BWV 1046-1051
Akademie Fur Alte Musik Berlin – Harmonia Mundi 901634/35
Jeannette Sorrell, Apollo’s Fire – AVIE AV2207
Ensemble Caprice – Analekta AN 9996-7
Orchestra Mozart – Deutsche Grammophon 4778908
Christmas Oratorio BWV 248
Jordi Savall, La Capella Reial de Catalunya, Le Concert des Nations, Katja Stuber – soprano, Raffaele Pé – countertenor, Martin Platz – tenor – Alia Vox AVSA9940
Collegium Vocale, Soprano Barbara Schlick, Michael Chance – alto, Howard Crook – tenor, Peter Kooy – bass – Erato 96334
Greg Funfgeld, Bach Choir of Bethlehem, Bach Festival Orchestra, Marietta Simpson – mezzo-soprano, Benjamin Butterfield – tenor, Christopheren Nomura – baritone, Tamara Matthews – soprano – Dorian 93183
Concentus Musicus Vienna, Paul Esswood – alto, Kurt Equiluz – tenor, Siegmund Nimsgern – bass – Teldec 77610
John Eliot Gardiner, Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists, Anthony Rolfe Johnson – tenor, Anne Sofie von Otter – Mezzo Soprano, Nancy Argenta – Soprano, Hans-Peter Blochwitz – Tenor, Olaf Bär – Bass, Ruth Holton – Soprano, Katie Pringle – Soprano – EMI 423232
Mass in b minor BWV 232
Greg Funfgeld, Bach Choir of Bethlehem & Bach Festival Orchestra, Tamara Matthews, Soprano
Rosa Lamoreaux – Soprano, Marietta Simpson – Mezzo-Soprano, Frederick Urrey – Tenor, William Sharp – Baritone, Daniel Lichti – Bass-Baritone – Dorian 90253
Martin Pearlman, Boston Baroque, Nicole Heaston – soprano, Theodora Hanslowe – mezzo-soprano, Ellen Rabiner – contralto, Mark Tucker – tenor, Nathan Berg – bass-baritone – Telarc 80517
Philippe Herreweghe, Collegium Vocale Chorus & Orchestra, Johannette Zomer – soprano, Véronique Gens – soprano, Andreas Scholl – countertenor, Christoph Prégardien – tenor, Peter Kooy – bass, Hanno Müller-Brachmann–bass – Harmonia Mundi 901614/5
Orchestral Suites BWV 1066-1069
Masaaki Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan – BIS 1431
Martin Pearlman, Boston Baroque – Telarc 80619
Céline Frisch, Café Zimmermann – Alpha 181
Monica Huggett, Ensemble Sonnerie – AVIE 2171
St John Passion BWV 245
Jeannette Sorrell, Apollo’s Fire , Nicholas Phan – tenor, Jesse Blumberg – baritone, Jeffrey Strauss – baritone, Amanda Forsythe – soprano, Terry Wey – countertenor, Christian Immler – bass-baritone – AVIE AV 2369
Greg Funfgeld, Bach Choir of Bethlehem, Bach Festival Orchestra, Charles Daniels – tenor, William Sharp – bass-baritone, Julia Doyle – soprano, Daniel Taylor – countertenor, Benjamin Butterfield – tenor, Christòpheren Nomura – bass-baritone, David Newman – baritone – Analekta AN 2 9890-1
Monica Huggett, Portland Baroque Orchestra, Capella Romana, Shannon Mercer – soprano, K. McCarthy – countertenor, Charles Daniels – tenor, Jacques-Olivier Chartier – tenor; Joshua Hopkins – baritone, Tyler Duncan – bass – AVIE 2236
Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin (BWV 1001–1006)
Rachel Barton Pine – AVIE AV2360
Hilary Hahn- Sonata 3, Partita 2 & 3 – Sony 92749
Hilary Hahn – Sonatas 1 & 2, Partita 1 – Decca 4833954
Viktoria Mullova – Onyx Classics 4040
Rachel Podger – Channel Classics CCS SEL 2498
Michelle Ross – Albany Records TROY1662-63
Gil Shaham – Canary Classics CC14
Chris Thile – MANDOLIN, Sonatas 1 & 2, Partita #1 – Nonesuch 535360
Violin and Harpsichord Sonatas BWV 1014-1019
Rachel Barton Pine – violin and Jory Vinikour – harpsichord – Cedille CDR 90000 177
Isabelle Faust – violin and Kristian Bezuidenhout – harpsichord – Harmonia Mundi 902256/57
Michelle Makarski – violin and Keith Jarrett – piano – ECM New Series 2230/31
Violin Concertos BWV 1041-1043
Hilary Hahn – violin, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra – Deutsche Grammophon B0000986
Joshua Bell – violin, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields – Sony 88843
Gottfried von der Goltz – violin, Freiburg Baroque Orchestra – Harmonia Mundi HMC 902145
Suites for Unaccompanied Cello BWV 1007-1012
Alban Gerhardt – cello – Hyperion CDA 68261/2
Yo-Yo Ma – cello – SIX EVOLUTIONS (Sony 190758 54652) & INSPIRED BY BACH (Sony 63203)
Janos Starker – cello – RCA 61436
Matt Haimovitz – cello – Pentatone 5186 555
St Matthew Passion BWV 244
Richard Egarr, Academy of Ancient Music, Elizabeth Watts – soprano, Sarah Connolly – mezzo soprano, James Gilchrist – tenor, Thomas Hobbs tenor, Christopher Maltman – baritone, Ashley Riches – bass, Matthew Rose – bass – AAM Records AAM004
Philippe Herreweghe, Collegium Vocale, Ian Bostridge – tenor, Susan Hamilton – soprano, Werner Güra – tenor, Dietrich Henschel – baritone, Dominik Wörner – bass, Elisabeth Hermans – soprano, Sibylla Rubens – soprano – Harmonia Mundi 951676/78
Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Concentus Musicus Vienna & Arnold Schoenberg Chorus, Christoph Prégardien – tenor, Matthias Goerne – bass, Christine Schäfer – soprano, Dorothea Röschmann – soprano, Bernarda Fink – contralto, Elisabeth von Magnus – contralto, Michael Schade – tenor, Markus Schäfer –tenor, Dietrich Henschel – bass, Oliver Widmer – bass — Teldec 81036
Goldberg Variations BWV 988
Richard Egarr – harpsichord – Harmonia Mundi 907425/46
Parker Ramsay – harp – King’s College Cambridge KGS0049
Peter Serkin – piano – RCA 68188
Simone Dinnerstein – piano – Telarc 80692
Organ Works and Cantatas – BWV various
NOTE: Bach wrote A LOT of cantatas and solo organ music, and there are a few box sets that have them all. They are fine recordings, but they are a splurge and a big commitment. For cantatas I recommend the collections by ensembles such as Bach Collegium Japan with Masaaki Suzuki, Bach-Collegium Stuttgart with Helmut Rilling, or the Bach Pilgrimage series recorded by John Eliot Gardiner with the Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists. For complete organ collections, try organists such as Ton Koopman, Marie-Claire Alain, and Simon Preston. However, if you want to tread more modestly into these arenas without breaking the bank try these:
Philippe Herreweghe, La Chapelle Royale & Collegium Vocale – Bach: The Most Beautiful Cantatas – Harmonia Mundi 2908091/95
Masaaki Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan – Bach Secular Cantatas – BIS 1411
Joshua Rifkin, Bach Ensemble – My Favorite Bach: Six Favorite Cantatas BWV 147, 80, 140, 8, 51, 78 – L’Oiseau Lyre 455706
John Eliot Gardiner, Monteverdi Choir & English Baroque Soloists – Bach: Cantatas Vol. 1 – City of London – Soli Deo Gloria 101
John Eliot Gardiner, Monteverdi Choir & English Baroque Soloists – Bach: Cantatas Vol.12 – Tooting/Winchester – Soli Deo Gloria 171
Ton Koopman – organ – Organ Spectacular: Famous Organ Works by Bach – Teldec 8573-82041-9
Masaaki Suzuki – organ – Bach Organ Works: Volume 1 – BIS 2111 & Bach Organ Works Volume 2 – BIS 2241
Peter Hurford – organ – JS Bach Great Organ Works – Decca 443 485-2
David Goode – organ – JS BACH Organ Music – Signum SIGCD261
Joan Lippincott – organ George Ritchie – organ – The Uncommon Bach – Johann Sebastian Bach Organ Works Variants, Rarities, and Transcriptions – Pro Gloria Musicae 69286-01065-2-9
Emmanuelle Haïm, Le Concert d’Astrée, Natalie Dessay – soprano, Bach: Cantatas BWV 51, 82a, 199 – Virgin Classics 50999-235004
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