Bach 333 - The New Complete Edition

Some while ago someone posed a question: 'If you could either live in a world with all of Bach's music but nothing else or a world with everyone's music except Bach's, which would you choose?' It's a tough one but I'd be seriously tempted to choose the 'only Bach' option.If I did, this would be the vindication of my decision. It's beautifully presented, wonderfully curated, and the 222 CDs represent a range of interpretation in a plethora of wonderful recordings. For instance, the St Matthew Passion - surely one of the pinnacles of human achievement - is represented by Karl Richter's lush 1958 recording (thought by many to be better than his 1981 version, of which I am very fond), as well as John Eliot Gardiner's period instrument recording with the Monteverdi Choir & English Baroque Soloists and Paul McCreesh with a 'one to a part' version which sometimes feels a bit rushed and undramatic to me (surprising for McCreesh) and sometimes amazingly full and vital despite the small forces. And, if that wasn't enough, some excerpts from earlier recordings by Fritz Lehmann, Hermann Scherchen and Willem Mengelberg. We don't really know how Bach performed it and we certainly don't know how he would have liked to have performed it but in this box set is a wide range of possibilities.Not every work gets such comprehensive treatment, of course, but there is plenty of variety here. For instance, most of the keyboard work is available on both piano (with artists such as Schiff, Agerich, Hewitt and Perahia) and harpsichord (with Rousset, Gilbert and Hogwood) with even a bit of classic recordings from Myra Hess, George Malcolm and others. There is so much breadth of choice (I believe that DGG licensed works from about fifteen different labels) that this is undoubtedly a treasure trove which will not be exhausted any time soon.The books are very helpful and I look froward to reading the history; the 'music' book by Nicholas Kenyon is very much geared to the pieces and performances presented in this set. Works are, in general, arranged in BWV categories but within them are set in chronological order, giving a great opportunity to become familiar with the development of Bach's craft and genius.It will take me months, perhaps years, to get the measure of this vast collection but already I am satisfied that it was well worth the money.UpdateI have now had the chance to listen to most, if not all of the CDs in this set and I am still delighted. The breadth of exposition, the quality of presentation and the sheer delight in this great music will never pall.The biography and articles are good and point the way to further exploration if desired. And, in a rather nerdsih way, perhaps, I really like having the BWV catalogue, organised as it is by number, date of work and title of work - making cross-referencing easy. There is also a performer index included.If you like Bach and would like to know his music better, then buy it. I don't think you will regret it.

Let's just get this out of the way: this is more Bach than anyone needs; it costs more than most people are willing or able to pay; and finding room for the box is going to be a challenge. No amount of five star reviews are going to change these three fundamental problems.That having been said, this is a great boxed set: not because it includes all of Bach's works (it's not the first time that has been attempted) but because the decisions have been the right ones.In the first place, the two books (on Bach's music & life) are solid, hardback volumes: well organised and of a readable size. Although the text of the Music volume is based upon Kenyon's Faber Pocket Guide To Bach, that has been updated and keyed to the set itself. The Life volume is half a biography and half a collection of articles that take a deeper dive into subjects such as the organs that Bach was associated with during his lifetime. Both books are colour printed throughout. A third, paperback volume, for the detail-obsessed, contains the third BWV catalogue of works keyed to the box. Then there are a further six little paperbacks of the tracklisting (and, more importantly, the vocal texts) similar to what you would expect to see in any classical boxed set. There's a quick reference card as well in the box, which should have been laminated but wasn't.Coming to the CDs, the first thing to mention is that these are very full discs: many of them over eighty minutes. In fact, the average running time is a generous 75 minutes per disc. This is significant because the editors have used the generous running time to duck some difficult decisions. Instead of giving us keyboard works only on harpsichord or piano, they give us in many cases both and - in the case of the Goldberg Variations - three complete versions plus some bonus extracts. For The Art Of Fugue you get recordings for piano, harpsichord and chamber ensemble. Recent recordings of the Violin Sonatas (Carmignola) and Cello Suites (Watkin) are generously bolstered by selections from earlier performers.So while you may disagree with some of the performances chosen (not least in the Cantatas sections where there is usually only one selection in each case) there is no doubt that the editors have done everything they can to make this set less of a checklist of works, more of an attempt to entertain and educate throughout. This is very clear from the final sixteen discs that track Bach's influence over the ensuing centuries: it's a Quixotic attempt but I was impressed that they attempted it at all.So of course I haven't heard every CD and I doubt that I ever will but from what I have heard I feel that the task of compiling & editing such a massive undertaking has been accomplished with flair and imagination. Rather than giving us a single “authoritative” Bach, 333 gives us a particoloured Bach equally accessible to the devoted fan and the enthusiastic newcomer. It makes an adventure of Bach, and - if you're going to listen to 222 CDs devoted to a single composer - you will need that.

It looks absolutely awesome. I haven’t played any of it because Father Christmas hasn’t delivered it yet! But I know most of the versions and it will make fabulous listening.When you breath in sharply at the price, look at the number of cd’s and divide one by the other. Even without taking into account the books etc this represents fantastic value.PS Now Father Christmas has landed I have had a chance to have a good look and start to play the CD's. And it really is WOW! The layout and content certainly exceeds the Mozart 225, as good as that was, and the music quality is superb from a limited trial. A fantastic buy if you love classical music.The music of Johann Sebastian Bach is one of the truly great human achievements and this is the best way to celebrate it.