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Which are your three favorite works by J.S. Bach?

Which are your three favorite works by J.S. Bach?

3K views 29 replies 20 participants last post by  tdc 
#1 · (Edited)
The works are ordered by date of composition/publication.
 
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#8 · (Edited)
I listened again last night to Netherlands Bach Society's "St. John Passion". I posted their All of Bach website here earlier. The performers are all under 35 (except conductor and leaders) and what splendid musicians they are. This work has increasing appeal to me and I'm now thinking it's a more varied and dramatic work than the "St. Matthew Passion". I absolutely love this: a story of betrayal and guilt - a shining light for humanity and a profoundly moving narrative. 32:53 here, and following:

https://www.bachvereniging.nl/en/bwv/bwv-245/

Does anybody know if Bach set entirely new texts to the Chorales used here? Those melodies would have been familiar to the Lutheran congregations of the time. Possibly still so today.

The incredible complexity, counterpoint and melismas in this work are just phenomenal.
 
#24 ·
I'm maybe a bit of an oddball in that I listen to the keyboard suites the most: the English suites first for it's pure joy and dance and virtuosity. Then the cello suites have some of the deepest, most profound music ever written, plumbing emotions that I can't even express. And finally something from the cantatas, which is the third genre of Bach's that I explore the most, perhaps BWV 140 "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme" with its mystical, gorgeous, utterly gorgeous chorales.
 
#30 · (Edited)
So many great works very difficult choice. I like to see both books of WTC grouped together, but if forced to choose between books I'm in the minority that prefers book I - more gravitas! Hard to beat the perfection of the C major prelude, a priceless gift to all the unvirtuosic pianists of the world to be able to play such a masterpiece. Listen to that monumental fugue in C# minor, or compare the concluding B minor preludes and fugues from both books, the B minor pair from Book I is so much more substantial in my view. Book I starts and concludes in a more convincing fashion, I think.

That said over all both books are very close. I also chose the organ trios and 'other' because I can't really decide which other work I like best.

All of the works on the list are amazing.
 
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