Product Details
Bach Edition: Complete Works (155 CD Box Set)

Bach Edition: Complete Works (155 CD Box Set)
From Brilliant Classics

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Track Listing

Disc 1:

  1. Without tempo indication
  2. Adagio
  3. Allegro
  4. Menuet - Trio I - Polonaise - Trio II
  5. Without tempo indication
  6. Andante
  7. Allegro assai
  8. Without tempo indication
  9. Adagio
  10. Allegro

Disc 2:

  1. Allegro
  2. Andante
  3. Presto
  4. Allegro
  5. Affettuoso
  6. Allegro
  7. Without tempo indication
  8. Adagio ma non tanto
  9. Allegro

Disc 3:

  1. I. Ouverture
  2. II. Courante
  3. III. Gavotte I & II (alternativement)
  4. IV. Forlane
  5. V. Menuet I & II (alternativement)
  6. VI. Bourée I & II (alternativement)
  7. VII. Passepied I & II
  8. Sinfonia
  9. I. Ouverture
  10. II. Rondeau
  11. III. Sarabande
  12. IV. Bourée I & II (alternativement)
  13. V. Polonaise
  14. VI. Menuet
  15. VII. Badinerie

Disc 4:

  1. I. Ouverture
  2. II. Air
  3. III. Gavotte I & II
  4. IV. Bourée
  5. V. Gigue
  6. Wir müssen durch viel Trübsal in das Reich Gottes eingehen
  7. I. Ouverture
  8. II. Bourée I & II
  9. III. Gavotte
  10. IV. Menuet I & II (alternativement)
  11. V. Réjouissance

Disc 5:

  1. Allegro
  2. Adagio
  3. Allegro
  4. Allegro
  5. Adagio
  6. Allegro assai
  7. Allegro
  8. Largo
  9. Presto
  10. Allegro
  11. Andante
  12. Allegro assai
  13. Allegro
  14. Adagio
  15. Allegro

Disc 6:

  1. Allegro
  2. Adagio
  3. Allegro
  4. Without tempo indication
  5. Siciliano
  6. Allegro
  7. Without tempo indication
  8. Adagio e piano sempre
  9. Allegro
  10. Allegro
  11. Larghetto
  12. Allegro ma non tanto

Disc 7:

  1. Without tempo indication
  2. Largo
  3. Presto
  4. Without tempo indication
  5. Andante
  6. Allegro assai
  7. Without tempo indication
  8. Andante
  9. Allegro assai
  10. Allegro
  11. Largo ovvero adagio
  12. Allegro
  13. Without tempo indication
  14. Largo
  15. Allegro

Disc 8:

  1. Without tempo indication
  2. Adagio ovvero largo
  3. Fuga
  4. Without tempo indication
  5. Andante
  6. Allegro Assai
  7. Without tempo indication
  8. Alla siciliana
  9. Allegro
  10. Without tempo indication
  11. Adagio
  12. Allegro

Disc 9:

  1. Allegro
  2. Adagio
  3. Alla breve
  4. Allegro
  5. Adagio
  6. Allegro
  7. Allegro
  8. Larghetto
  9. Allegro ma non tanto
  10. Vivace
  11. Largo
  12. Allegro

Disc 10:

  1. Adagio
  2. Fuga (allegro)
  3. Siciliana
  4. Presto
  5. Allemanda
  6. Double
  7. Corrente
  8. Double, presto
  9. Sarabande
  10. Double
  11. Tempo di Borea
  12. Double
  13. Grave
  14. Fuga
  15. Andante
  16. Allegro

Disc 11:

  1. Allemanda
  2. Corrente
  3. Sarabande
  4. Giga
  5. Ciacona
  6. Adagio
  7. Fuga
  8. Largo
  9. Allegro assai
  10. Preludio
  11. Loure
  12. Gavotee & Rondeau
  13. Menuet 1 - Menuet 2 - Menuet 1
  14. Bourrée
  15. Gigue

Disc 12:

  1. Prelude
  2. Allemande
  3. Courante
  4. Sarabande
  5. Minuet I & II
  6. Gigue
  7. Prelude
  8. Allemande
  9. Courante
  10. Sarabande
  11. Bourrée I & II
  12. Gigue
  13. Prelude
  14. Allemande
  15. Courante
  16. Sarabande
  17. Gavotte I & II
  18. Gigue

Disc 13:

  1. Prelude
  2. Allemande
  3. Courante
  4. Sarabande
  5. Minuet I & II
  6. Gigue
  7. Prelude
  8. Allemande
  9. Courante
  10. Sarabande
  11. Bourrée I & II
  12. Gigue
  13. Prelude
  14. Allemande
  15. Courante
  16. Sarabande
  17. Gavotte I & II
  18. Gigue

Disc 14:

  1. Andante
  2. Largo e dolce
  3. Presto
  4. Allegro moderato
  5. Siciliano
  6. Allegro
  7. Vivace
  8. Largo e dolce
  9. Allegro

Disc 15:

  1. Andante
  2. Allegro
  3. Adagio
  4. Menuet 1 & 2
  5. Adagio ma non tanto
  6. Allegro
  7. Andante
  8. Allegro
  9. Adagio ma non tanto
  10. Allegro
  11. Siciliano
  12. Allegro assai
  13. Allemande
  14. Corrente
  15. Sarabande
  16. Bourrée anglaise

Disc 16:

  1. Prelude
  2. Allemande
  3. Courante
  4. Sarabande
  5. Gavotte 1 & 2
  6. Gigue
  7. Prelude
  8. Allemande
  9. Courante
  10. Sarabande
  11. Bourrée
  12. Gigue
  13. Prelude
  14. Fugue
  15. Sarabande
  16. Gigue-double

Disc 17:

  1. Prelude
  2. Fugue
  3. Allegro
  4. Prelude
  5. Loure
  6. Gavotte en rondeau
  7. Menuet 1 & 2
  8. Bourrée
  9. Gigue

Disc 18:

  1. Adagio
  2. Allegro ma non tanto
  3. Andante
  4. Allegro moderato
  5. (Adagio)
  6. (Allegro)
  7. Andante
  8. Allegro
  9. Prelude
  10. Fugue
  11. Vivace
  12. Adagio
  13. Allegro

Disc 19:

  1. Musical Offering. Ricercare a 3
  2. Musical Offering. Ricercare a 6
  3. Sonata sopr'il Soggetto Reale a Traversa, Violino e Continuo. Largo
  4. Sonata sopr'il Soggetto Reale a Traversa, Violino e Continuo. Allegro
  5. Sonata sopr'il Soggetto Reale a Traversa, Violino e Continuo. Andante
  6. Sonata sopr'il Soggetto Reale a Traversa, Violino e Continuo. Allegro
  7. Thematis Regii, Elaborationes Canonicae. Canon a 2 cancrizans
  8. Thematis Regii, Elaborationes Canonicae. Canon a 2 in unisono
  9. Thematis Regii, Elaborationes Canonicae. Canon a 2 motum contrarium
  10. Thematis Regii, Elaborationes Canonicae. Canon a 2 per augmentationum, contrario motu
  11. Thematis Regii, Elaborationes Canonicae. Canon a 2 per tonos
  12. Thematis Regii, Elaborationes Canonicae. Fuga canonica in Epidiapente
  13. Thematis Regii, Elaborationes Canonicae. Canon perpetuus super Thema Regium
  14. Thematis Regii, Elaborationes Canonicae. Canon a 2
  15. Thematis Regii, Elaborationes Canonicae. Canon a 4
  16. Thematis Regii, Elaborationes Canonicae. Canon perpetuus
  17. [Part 1]
  18. [Part 2]
  19. Canon simplex
  20. All'roverscio
  21. Beide sugleich, motu recto e contrario
  22. Motu contrario e recto
  23. Canon duplex a 4
  24. Canon simplex über besagtes
  25. Idem a 3
  26. Canon simplex a 3
  27. Canon in unisono post semi fugam a 3
  28. Alio modo
  29. Evolutio
  30. Canon duplex a 5
  31. Canon duplex a 5
  32. Canon duplex a 6
  33. Canon a 4 augmentationem et diminutionem

Disc 20:

  1. Adagio
  2. Allegro
  3. Andante
  4. Allegro
  5. Without tempo indication
  6. Allegro assai
  7. Andante
  8. Presto
  9. Adagio
  10. Allegro
  11. Adagio ma non tanto
  12. Allegro

Disc 21:

  1. Siciliano, largo
  2. Allegro
  3. Adagio
  4. Allegro
  5. Largo
  6. Allegro
  7. Adagio
  8. Vivace
  9. Allegro
  10. Largo
  11. Allegro
  12. Adagio
  13. Allegro
  14. 3rd Movement. Cantabile, ma un poco adagio
  15. 4th Movement. Adagio

Disc 22:

  1. Aria
  2. Präludium
  3. Rezitativ und Arie: Ich habe genug

Disc 23:

  1. (Prelude) - adagio ma non tanto
  2. Allemande
  3. Gigue
  4. Adagio
  5. Vivace
  6. Largo
  7. Presto
  8. Adagio
  9. Allegro ma non presto
  10. Adagio e piano
  11. Presto
  12. Largo
  13. Vivace
  14. Adagio
  15. Presto

Disc 24:

  1. Prelude & Fugue No. 1 in C major. Praeludium
  2. Prelude & Fugue No. 1 in C major. Fuga
  3. Prelude & Fugue No. 2 in C minor. Preludium
  4. Prelude & Fugue No. 2 in C minor. Fuga
  5. Prelude & Fugue No. 3 in C sharp major. Praeludium
  6. Prelude & Fugue No. 3 in C sharp major. Fuga
  7. Prelude & Fugue No. 4 in C sharp minor. Praeludium
  8. Prelude & Fugue No. 4 in C sharp minor. Fuga
  9. Prelude & Fugue No. 5 in D major. Praeludium
  10. Prelude & Fugue No. 5 in D major. Fuga
  11. Prelude & Fugue No. 6 in D minor. Praeludium
  12. Prelude & Fugue No. 6 in D minor. Fuga
  13. Prelude & Fugue No. 7 in E flat major. Praeludium
  14. Prelude & Fugue No. 7 in E flat major. Fuga
  15. Prelude & Fugue No. 8 in E flat minor. Praeludium
  16. Prelude & Fugue No. 8 in E flat minor. Fuga
  17. Prelude & Fugue No. 9 in E major. Praeludium
  18. Prelude & Fugue No. 9 in E major. Fuga
  19. Prelude & Fugue No. 10 in E minor. Praeludium
  20. Prelude & Fugue No. 10 in E minor. Fuga
  21. Prelude & Fugue No. 11 in F major. Praeludium
  22. Prelude & Fugue No. 11 in F major. Fuga
  23. Prelude & Fugue No. 12 in F minor. Praeludium
  24. Prelude & Fugue No. 12 in F minor. Fuga

Disc 25:

  1. Prelude & Fugue No. 13 in F sharp major. Praeludium
  2. Prelude & Fugue No. 13 in F sharp major. Fuga
  3. Prelude & Fugue No. 14 in F sharp minor. Praeludium
  4. Prelude & Fugue No. 14 in F sharp minor. Fuga
  5. Prelude & Fugue No. 15 in G major. Praeludium
  6. Prelude & Fugue No. 15 in G major. Fuga
  7. Prelude & Fugue No. 16 in G minor. Praeludium
  8. Prelude & Fugue No. 16 in G minor. Fuga
  9. Prelude & Fugue No. 17 in A flat major. Praeludium
  10. Prelude & Fugue No. 17 in A flat major. Fuga
  11. Prelude & Fugue No. 18 in G sharp minor. Praeludium
  12. Prelude & Fugue No. 18 in G sharp minor. Fuga
  13. Prelude & Fugue No. 19 in A major. Praeludium
  14. Prelude & Fugue No. 19 in A major. Fuga
  15. Prelude & Fugue No. 20 in A minor. Praeludium
  16. Prelude & Fugue No. 20 in A minor. Fuga
  17. Prelude & Fugue No. 21 in B flat major. Praeludium
  18. Prelude & Fugue No. 21 in B flat major. Fuga
  19. Prelude & Fugue No. 22 in B flat minor. Praeludium
  20. Prelude & Fugue No. 22 in B flat minor. Fuga
  21. Prelude & Fugue No. 23 in B major. Praeludium
  22. Prelude & Fugue No. 23 in B major. Fuga
  23. Prelude & Fugue No. 24 in B minor. Praeludium
  24. Prelude & Fugue No. 24 in B minor. Fuga

Disc 26:

  1. Prelude & Fugue No. 1 in C major. Praeludium
  2. Prelude & Fugue No. 1 in C major. Fuga
  3. Prelude & Fugue No. 2 in C minor. Praeludium
  4. Prelude & Fugue No. 2 in C minor. Fuga
  5. Prelude & Fugue No. 3 in C sharp major. Praeludium
  6. Prelude & Fugue No. 3 in C sharp major. Fuga
  7. Prelude & Fugue No. 4 in C sharp minor. Praeludium
  8. Prelude & Fugue No. 4 in C sharp minor. Fuga
  9. Prelude & Fugue No. 5 in D major. Praeludium
  10. Prelude & Fugue No. 5 in D major. Fuga
  11. Prelude & Fugue No. 6 in D minor. Praeludium
  12. Prelude & Fugue No. 6 in D minor. Fuga
  13. Prelude & Fugue No. 7 in E flat major. Praeludium
  14. Prelude & Fugue No. 7 in E flat major. Fuga
  15. Prelude & Fugue No. 8 in E flat minor. Praeludium
  16. Prelude & Fugue No. 8 in E flat minor. Fuga
  17. Prelude & Fugue No. 9 in E major. Praeludium
  18. Prelude & Fugue No. 9 in E major. Fuga
  19. Prelude & Fugue No. 10 in E minor. Praeludium
  20. Prelude & Fugue No. 10 in E minor. Fuga
  21. Prelude & Fugue No. 11 in F major. Praeludium
  22. Prelude & Fugue No. 11 in F major. Fuga
  23. Prelude & Fugue No. 12 in F minor. Praeludium
  24. Prelude & Fugue No. 12 in F minor. Fuga

Disc 27:

  1. Prelude & Fugue No. 13 in F sharp major. Praeludium
  2. Prelude & Fugue No. 13 in F sharp major. Fuga
  3. Prelude & Fugue No. 14 in F sharp minor. Praeludium
  4. Prelude & Fugue No. 14 in F sharp minor. Fuga
  5. Prelude & Fugue No. 15 in G major. Praeludium
  6. Prelude & Fugue No. 15 in G major. Fuga
  7. Prelude & Fugue No. 16 in G minor. Praeludium
  8. Prelude & Fugue No. 16 in G minor. Fuga
  9. Prelude & Fugue No. 17 in A flat major. Praeludium
  10. Prelude & Fugue No. 17 in A flat major. Fuga
  11. Prelude & Fugue No. 18 in G sharp minor. Praeludium
  12. Prelude & Fugue No. 18 in G sharp minor. Fuga
  13. Prelude & Fugue No. 19 in A major. Praeludium
  14. Prelude & Fugue No. 19 in A major. Fuga
  15. Prelude & Fugue No. 20 in A minor. Praeludium
  16. Prelude & Fugue No. 20 in A minor. Fuga
  17. Prelude & Fugue No. 21 in B flat major. Praeludium
  18. Prelude & Fugue No. 21 in B flat major. Fuga
  19. Prelude & Fugue No. 22 in B flat minor. Praeludium
  20. Prelude & Fugue No. 22 in B flat minor. Fuga
  21. Prelude & Fugue No. 23 in B major. Praeludium
  22. Prelude & Fugue No. 23 in B major. Fuga
  23. Prelude & Fugue No. 24 in B minor. Praeludium
  24. Prelude & Fugue No. 24 in B minor. Fuga

Disc 28:

  1. Praeludium
  2. Allemande
  3. Corrente
  4. Sarabande
  5. Menuet 1 / Menuet 2
  6. Giga
  7. Sinfonia
  8. Allemande
  9. Courante
  10. Sarabande
  11. Rondeaux
  12. Capriccio
  13. Toccata
  14. Allemanda
  15. Corrente
  16. Air
  17. Sarabande
  18. Tempo di Gavotta
  19. Gigue

Disc 29:

  1. Fantasia
  2. Allemande
  3. Corrente
  4. Sarabande
  5. Burlesca
  6. Scherzo
  7. Gigue
  8. Ouvertüre
  9. Allemande
  10. Courante
  11. Aria
  12. Sarabande
  13. Menuet
  14. Gigue
  15. Praeambulum
  16. Allemande
  17. Corrente
  18. Sarabande
  19. Tempo di Minuetto
  20. Passepied
  21. Gigue

Disc 30:

  1. Fuga, nach dem Allegro der Sonata 6 in Jan Adam Reinkens

Disc 31:

  1. Preludio

Disc 32:

  1. Allegro
  2. Largo
  3. Presto
  4. Ouvertüre
  5. Courante
  6. Gavotte 1 & 2, da capo
  7. Passepied 1 & 2, da capo
  8. Sarabande
  9. Bourrée 1 & 2. da capo
  10. Gigue
  11. Echo
  12. Fantasie
  13. Fugue

Disc 33:

  1. Aria
  2. Variatio 1
  3. Variatio 2
  4. Variatio 3, canone all'unisono
  5. Variatio 4
  6. Variatio 5
  7. Variatio 6, canone alla seconda
  8. Variatio 7
  9. Variatio 8
  10. Variatio 9, canone alla terza
  11. Variatio 10, fughetta
  12. Variatio 11
  13. Variatio 12, canone alla quarta
  14. Variatio 13
  15. Variatio 14
  16. Variatio 15, canone alle quinta, andante
  17. Variatio 16, ouverture
  18. Variatio 17
  19. Variatio 18, canone alla sesta
  20. Variatio 19
  21. Variatio 20
  22. Variatio 21, canone alla settima
  23. Variatio 22, alla breve
  24. Variatio 23
  25. Variatio 24, canone all'ottava
  26. Variatio 25
  27. Variatio 26
  28. Variatio 27, canone alla nona
  29. Variatio 28
  30. Variatio 29

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #968 in Music
  • Released on: 2006-10-17
  • Number of discs: 155
  • Format: Box set

Customer Reviews

Amazing.4
This is an amazing bargain, and if you are tempted you need not hesitate. However it is far from uniformly excellent.

The core of the set is the complete religious cantatas. There are 60 cd of these. This is done by a small Dutch group, and the results are mixed. The choir is generally good, as is the small orchestra, but sometimes the soloists are not. I like them overall. Above all they are small scale performances. Don't expect John Elliot Gardiner.

With the major vocal works -- passions, B minor, etc -- the recordings are uniformly good, with usually big name groups. No worries here. The secular cantatas are also very good.

The harpsichord music is again a bit uneven, but mostly good. This won't be a favorite WTC, but it is quite listenable. The French, Englis suites, and partitas & inventions are very good indeed. The recorded sound is outstanding throughout.

The organ survey is first rate.

The instrumental music is also a mixed bag. The chamber music fares better than the orchestral, but the suites are quite good. The harpsichord concerti are beautifully recorded but at such a slow tempo I can only call them weird.

Definitely worth the price, which factors into the rating5
[...]This Bach set is an amazing bargain. Clearly the set is geared towards the novice and you'll want to replace individual performances eventually; but much of this material is difficult or impossible to get elsewhere (except as part of one of the two other Complete Bach cycles), and you'd be unlikely to anyway. Plus, there are many very good performances, which alone would make the set worthwhile at this price.

As far as I am concerned, the Hanssler Classics complete set is the best of the complete sets. I've reviewed that one separately. However, it is ten times more expensive, if you can even find it. Your other choice, the Bach 2000 set, contains the Leonhardt-Harnoncourt cycle of Cantatas, which I cannot stand. I agree with Jim Svejda when he noted that Harnoncourt and Leonhards "gleefully take turns mauling the luckless pieces beyond recognition."

One of the saddest facts of musical history is that Bach was not recognized for the genius that he was in his lifetime. His compositions were mostly occasional music that were played once. After his death, they were so little respected that much of the sheet music was sold for scrap paper and about a third of the Cantatas were lost forever. Fortunately we have what we do. That Brilliant Classics has made this wonderful music available at a price that allows a more widespread distribution makes it reason enough to purchase the set.

Brilliant Classics attempted to record the entirety of Bach's remaining compositions on period instruments utilizing the most recent Bach scholarship. 65% of the set are new recordings. The other 35% were licensed from other lables. Now some, like me, much prefer the recordings on modern instruments. I have yet to hear a harpsichord rendition of the Goldberg Variations that is superior to the top performances on piano (although it is a well-known fact that Bach hated the piano, which during his lifetime was little more than a toy). All of the keyboard works on this set are recorded on harpsichord. Pieter-Jan Belder records that Goldberg Variations. It has received fine reviews, but I simply cannot get beyond my prejudices against the harpsichord to comment meaningfully (it is quite lively, though).

That said, and with the reservation that this set is performed with nearly all period instruments, I can recommend it without hesitation at this price.

The Brilliant Classics set has an interesting history. It is based on 5-disc sets of the Cantatas sold at the Krudivat drug store chain in the Netherlands at bargain basement prices (the equivalent of pennies per Cantata). More than 100,000 sets were sold in the Netherlands alone. Pieter Jan Leusink, conductor of Holland Boys Choir and Netherlands Bach Collegium, recorded the Cantatas over a period of 15 months, an insanely short period of time. It is the first digital recording of the Cantatas. There is a consistency of performers in this cycle that is unrivaled, although not all of the performers performed at the same time. Also I find the women singers on the Rilling cycle of Cantatas better than anything a choir of boys can do, despite the unhistorical aspect of such. I doubt that female singers would have shocked Bach--after all, he married one. An interview with Leusink regarding the cycle can be found online.

Wonderful4
I will not give it 5 stars because they are not all definitive recordings of the works. However, I was very surprised with the performance level of the entire set. The organ works are amazing as are the cantatas! And I don't mean good... I mean really good! Some of the harpsichord recordings sound like someone sight reading (and not all that well), and lack that fresh excitement of a truly great recording but they are technically accurate for the most part (tempos tend to get a little shaky around difficult passages and phrase endings, something that is not written in the music) See the Well-Tempered Clavier in this set to see what I am talking about. There are a few other flaws... Mainly in recording... For example (I'll take a popular work): The organ fugue in G minor BWV 578 "Little Fugue" is surrounded with noises... Almost like the sound of footsteps on a stage (see 1:06, 2:29, 2:53 and 2:39 in this piece). However, I believe it is the sound of the air pump re-filling the organ with air! Very cool for authenticity and period sound... Definitely not needed for these recordings. We get the point with the instrumentation; I don't need an auditory time machine to recreate the moment in full. Next they will add the sounds of the people in the church chatting in 18th century German. Please... Just the music! I am glad that the recordings are all done with period instruments though and great care (almost too much) was taken in authenticity. Don't get me wrong; I didn't toss out my Andras Schiff Inventions or my modern orchestra versions of his works. Quite the contrary... You can learn a lot about the music by listening to all versions. That's not a shot at the purists... Well, maybe it is. I mean if you only had period versions of Beethoven's symphonies, he would be trampled over by Mahler, Bruckner and the rest of the gang. That's a fact. But in the case of Bach, it is almost essential that you maintain the original instrumentation. Bach's music is so based on the relationship between voices and the subtlest of contrapuntal ideals. He is not a sculptor of sound, as Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms were, but more like a musical acrobat that can do summersaults on a wire an inch thick.
I could go into details, but it would take hundreds of pages! Just get it, and "spend the rest of your life with Bach"... I can't say anything more profound.
This set of 155 CDs is a true delight, and a great investment for the dedicated music fan. Plus, it looks awesome on your CD shelf.