"Nothing much I can say about this one - the assortment of the pieces is good, but I was rather disappointed to discover that Sleepers, Wake! was not indeed the organ version I sought so hard (if you've ever heard it live, you know what I'm talking about). Music is good, but because of the variety, does not set a single mood - pieces vary in tone -- I find myself listening to one or two tracks, then switching back and forth."
A super introduction to Bach
Catherine S. Vodrey | East Liverpool, Ohio United States | 03/04/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"For someone who knows little about Bach and wants to learn something, you couldn't do better than to give them this CD. Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra give their signature warm, plush sound to the work of the great Johann Sebastian Bach, making him sound very nearly like a Romantic rather than a baroque or classical composer. This is not a bad thing--some complain that Bach, with his mathematical leanings, leaves them cold. That isn't possible with the inviting material on this CD."
A well-rounded introduction
Catherine S. Vodrey | 11/17/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I bought Vol.1 of this offering on vinyl as a poor college student some few (!) years ago. Now I am delighted to find the whole thing! It is an excellent collection with which to introduce people, especially high school students, to Bach's range of work., plus it offers performances by some of the best conductors, artists and orchestras of their day."
Teeming with classics
Nelson Aspen | Los Angeles & NYC, USA | 02/28/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I purchased this for track #10, which I'd happened to hear on the radio...it stayed in my head until I tracked down the CD. I have a relatively basic working knowledge of classical music, so this long playing collection was an excellent and surprising introduction to several of Bach's diverse works...both well known and more obscure. Certainly a worthwhile addition to your classical collection."
The right kind of classical (actually, Baroque) greatest hit
David A. Baer | Indianapolis, IN USA | 12/26/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"There are two things you should know before buying a greatest hits album by one of the legendary composers whose music we often call 'classical'.
First, the purists hate them. Their ire is understandable. Art music is so enriched by an understanding of its historical moment, its place in a composer's career, the history of its performance, and the like that it seems almost barbaric to strip out a few listen-able tunes and flog them on an album that provides none of this context. These are portions of long pieces, not the four-and-a-half minute stand-alone tunes to which we've become familiar (and learned both to love and to consider normal) in pop music.
Second, the big box stores are full of 'greatest hits' albums performed by fourth-tier, no-name orchestral groups with little personality and unrecognizable roots. Don't buy them if your entree into, say, Bach is really an entrance to something larger rather than just a need to fill the house with a little background music (which is not a bad thing on its own terms and beats hearing the doors squeak on their hinges or the frozen pizza sizzle on its lard-ish pan).
The Sony Classical series of greatest hits album is not what I've just described. Bach: Greatest Hits is one album of a splendid series with an appealing common genre of artwork, entry-level time lines on the CD liner notes and--here's the Big Thing-selections from the very best performing ensembles in the world.
Not *that's* a greatest hits album. If your interest in classical music is at a beginner's stage, buy the whole series. If that's a stretch, you won't regret starting out by snagging Bach: Greatest Hits.