Bach: The Essentials
Review by James Leonard Harmonia Mundi's two-disc set called The Essential Bach does indeed provide a clear view of the essential Bach in a compact package even if it cannot hope to represent the fullness of the composer's output. Starting with a suitably sparkling performance of the opening movement of the Fifth Brandenburg Concerto by the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin is a good move, and following that with an appropriately gloomy performance of the closing movements of the St. Matthew Passion by the Choeur et Orchestre du Collegium Vocale Ghent is a brilliant countermove. From there on, things get a bit dodgy: a moody performance of the Prelude from the C minor Cello Suite by Jean-Guihen Queyas followed by a meditative performance of the first Prelude and Fugue from the First Book of the Well-Tempered Clavier by harpsichordist Richard Egarr, then followed by a wild and wooly performance of the Toccata and Fuge in D minor arranged for solo violin with daredevil aplomb by Andrew Manze. And that's only halfway through the first disc with many more delights and surprises to come. Some may question a few of the choices. Why all of the Cantata Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen? Why just the sixteenth variation from the Goldberg Variations? Why, after all period instruments performances, close with the Pastorale in C minor played on a Steinway grand? These questions are unanswerable to the listener. But to the question "does this two-disc set provide a view of the essential Bach?" The answer is yes. The Bach who emerges here piece by piece and performance by performance is the essential Bach: a virtuoso, a man, a mystic, and a composer of profound greatness.
专辑歌曲列表
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cantus cölln、Konrad Junghänel 2523161 02:37
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cantus cölln、Konrad Junghänel 5718519 05:57
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Jean-Guihen Queyras 5814986 06:03
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Richard Egarr 2436284 02:32
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cantus cölln、Konrad Junghänel 2023780 02:06
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Richard Egarr 2265752 02:21
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cantus cölln、Konrad Junghänel 3929220 04:05
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Juan-Manuel Quintana、Céline Frisch 5187211 05:24
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Kenneth Gilbert 2184150 02:16
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andreas staier 1202446 01:15
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Kenneth Gilbert 2599664 02:42
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andreas staier 2557890 02:39
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andreas staier 1141428 01:11
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andreas staier 677491 00:42
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andreas staier 1539321 01:36
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paul o'dette 4938091 05:08
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andreas staier 876858 00:54
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andreas staier 994724 01:02
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andreas staier 1879964 01:57
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andreas staier 2672411 02:46
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Collegium Vocale Gent、Philippe Herreweghe 5112808 05:19
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Fretwork 3067302 03:11
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Alexandre Tharaud 2499727 02:36
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Akademie fur Alte Musik Berlin 4116424 04:17
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