BACH- Expressive, Dramatic, and yes ,even ROMANTIC!
Eric Spray | Chico, CA United States | 07/18/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I don't mean to be rude either, but how could someone think of Bach's music as being unexpressive? Bach is one of the most expressive composers EVER,and this excellent compilation combines some of his most popular works with mostly stunning performances to make a "greatest hits" cd that for once is worth more then a throw away introduction to be discarded once the listener has moved on to full, indivdual works. Anyway, to continue on about emotion,...true..., Bach's music doesn't bash you on the head like a great Romantic era symphony, but to compose such works as the Chaccone, Passacaliga and Fugue,Goldberg Variations, and the amazing Mass in B minor, takes the full and unrestrained outpouring of one's soul and being.His music is profoundly complex, sublime, and enigmatic. Bach is a thunderer, a poet, and a mystic, all rolled into one. Continuing...,even with my extensive Bach collection, I still go back to this cd every now and again for it's quality and variety. Thats more than I can say for some of my other "greatest hits" type cds that are now collecting dust. Almost every recording is excellent, the one exception being the opening to the Saint John's Pasion which is sung waaay too fast and unexpressivley.The Passacaliga is played VERY intensely, if a bit flamboyantly.The three selections from the Mass are so moving, especially Crucifixus. The Chaccone is absolute perfection. It is, in my opinion, the most dramatic, gut wrenching, beautiful piece of music ever composed.Who else but Bach could conjure such incredible technique and emotion, sustain it for so long, and convey it with only ONE mere violin! I can't imagine Bach himself performing it any other way as it is here. All that aside, I know Glenn Gould is a great favorite, but his humming is a bit distracting and his interpretation is not to my liking. I prefer Angela Hewitt.To conclude, I can't think of a better introduction to Bach- great selection of compositions, variety,and superb performances."