Bach Edition – Complete Works (160 CD box set, FLAC)

Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach
Audio CD
Number of Discs: 160 CD box set
Format: FLAC (tracks+m3u)
Label: Brilliant Classics
Size: 46.2 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes

CD 001-023 Vol I – Orchestral Works & Chamber Music
CD 024-046 Vol II – Keyboard Works
CD 047-076 Vol III – Cantantas
CD 077-106 Vol IV – Cantantas
CD 107-143 Vol V – Vocal Works
CD 144-160 Vol VI – Organ Works

Full Tracklist[/spoiler]

A Steal of a Deal

Imagine having everything Bach ever wrote on 153 CDs. On your shelf. In your house. I’ve had my eye on such a collection since “BACH 2000” was first released almost 2 decades ago. But fulfilling the dream always seemed just a little too pricey.

Now, for less than a dollar a disk, here’s your opportunity to live the dream. This Teldec anthology has a lot going for it – clearly numbered disks in individual color-coded sleeves, and all in one great big box with a slip cover. And the performances I’ve audited so far are good to excellent examples. I won’t be tossing my Yoyo Ma or Itzhak Perlman CDs – why would I? But it is really interesting to hear all this music played on period instruments – to imagine what it must have been like to attend a concert performance in the early 1700s. And, there are many internationally known performers represented in this collection. The vocal works I’ve listened to so far are clean, well-balanced recordings that you can listen to at high volume without distracting background noise or rumble.

There’s a good 200 or more hours of listening here, and many of the more obscure works are one’s I’ve never heard. I look forward to expanding my exposure to Bach’s entire oeuvre. I could imagine this making an excellent gift to a young person with a serious interest in classical music, and also to a seasoned classical music enthusiast.

I worry that as technology marches ahead, the spinning disk (CD) may someday soon disappear, having been supplanted by various and sundry streaming music services. That would result in a serious loss of sound quality, IMO. Many young people today consume almost all their music in MP3 or similar compressed formats, using ear buds rather than high-end sound systems. Many people say they cannot tell the difference between a well recorded CD and an MP3. I sure can.