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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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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