Ah lovely! lovely indeed, lovely. Bach is my favorite with Mozart and with
Anonymous and Anon.
I think I am referring to this book:
http://books.google.com/books?id=ronZdkhQouMC&pg=PA1&ots=DsvlF9WOCO&dq=book+on+bach&sig=ypMuWM5gp2Ar9n7VSV_9_U626Kc
I read parts of it with a most beautiful student who is a harp player and a
pianist (sorry it was several years ago). I am sure you will enjoy it.
On 8/19/07, Mark Weiss <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> Yesterday the Bach Edition--Complete Works, which I had ordered from
> Amazon for $125 (86 euros on French Amazon), arrived. It's 155 CDs. I
> immediately went to pieces I know well--the Toccatta and Fuge in D
> Minor for organ (very fine), Wachet Auf (superb interpretation,
> soloists adequate), the Goldberg Variations excellent), the
> 6th Cello Suite (respectable and a bit more), the first solo violin
> partita (likewise), the B Minor Mass. I also dipped my toe into the
> Saint Matthew's Passion--difficult to turn that one off, but not
> enough time. It seemed very good indeed. Most of the work is on
> period instruments, but there's no preciosity. The Goldbergs on
> harpsichord produce nuances that the piano can't. Interesting
> mistake--the B Minor is listed on the sleeve as by a small, unknown
> to me ensemble, but it's in fact Klemoperer and the Philharmonia with
> Baker and Gedda, and I'm not complaining.
>
> All of these I alreasdy own performances off, sometimes several. The
> real fun is going to be all those pieces I've never heard. Of the
> cantatas, for instance, I know maybe 20.
>
> The first citizen reviewer at the Amazon site is Kamau Brathwaite, by the
> way.
>
> There's a CD at the end of bio, notes, and the libretti (vo, french
> and english) of all the vocal works.
>
> I can't think of a better way to spend $125. Bach's was one of the
> great minds --up there with Shakespeare, Michelangelo,Newton, and
> maybe Montaigne and not a whole lot of others. What the hell could
> the burgers of Leipzig do with the rest of Sunday after leaving
> church? Art, sex or ice cream it had to be. Me, after those hours of
> listening I hiked through my forest on one of the summer's loveliest days.
>
> Mark
>
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