# Your favorite J.S. Bach piece **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 29, 2005, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-j-s-bach-piece/337553 "2005-12-29T05:52:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-j-s-bach-piece/337553/21 "2005-12-29T19:27:42Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > Assuming I’m talking about the same piece as **Beware of Doug** , my vote is for _Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme_, which was written for organ I believe… In fact, it was originally a Cantata, BWV 140, but also there exists a chorale prelude arranged from the 4th movement of that cantata, which is indeed for organ, BWV 645. Lots of good information about this is available [here](http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/NonEnglish/wachet_auf_ruft_uns_die_stimme.htm). As for me, I could hardly imagine doing without the Cantatas (all 215+ that exist!), the Partitas for solo keyboard, the Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin, the cello suites, the Concerto for 2 violins in D minor, the Goldberg Variations, the St. John Passion, Die Kunst der Fuge, the Well-Tempered Clavier, etc., etc. But I especially could never do without the Mass in B Minor, BWV 232 and the St. Matthew Passion, BWV 244. There is so much to discover in Bach! Truly, enough for a lifetime. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-j-s-bach-piece/337553/22 "2005-12-29T19:29:41Z")
Aaaaargh! And how could I forget the monumental Passacaglia in C Minor, BWV 582 for organ! ---
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-j-s-bach-piece/337553/23 "2005-12-29T19:41:16Z")
Goldberg Variations, Glenn Gould - but his later recordings. The earlier ones he plays much too fast for my taste. Plus his mumbling or humming or whatever it is he’s doing is much more apparent on the earlier. Brandenberg Concerto No. 3. All of them, really, but I love No. 3 the most. I have at least 10 versions of it. I’m sorry to have missed that BBC All Bach All The Time thing! ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-j-s-bach-piece/337553/24 "2005-12-29T20:14:36Z")
> [@missbunny](#): > > I’m sorry to have missed that BBC All Bach All The Time thing! All is not lost. If you go [here](http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/bach/) and click onto _Listen on the Radio Player_ You can hear the last few days of the project. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-j-s-bach-piece/337553/25 "2005-12-29T20:35:16Z")
I’m a big Bach fan: when I was learning to play the piano several of my early pieces were from Anna Magdalena’s notebook, and over the many years since then I have come to realize that he is my favorite classical composer. I hadn’t thought about my favorite work of his until this thread, and I’ll admit I’m somewhat surprised to realize that it isn’t a keyboard piece: without question, it’s the **prelude to Suite No. 1, S 1007 (G Major)** for cello (as recorded by Yo-Yo Ma in 1983). It’s short, less than 3 minutes long, but is one of my favorite pieces of music of all time, not just by Bach. As to why it’s my favorite, who can really say “why” _anything_ when it comes to music? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-j-s-bach-piece/337553/26 "2005-12-29T21:05:06Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > the St. John Passion I’m learning this at the moment for some performances next year, and, yes, it’s stunning. > [@Knorf](#): > > But I especially could never do without the Mass in B Minor, BWV 232 and the St. Matthew Passion, BWV 244. Absolutely ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-j-s-bach-piece/337553/27 "2005-12-29T21:37:31Z")
> [@Jeff Lichtman](#): > > I’m very fond of the Violin Partita No. 3 in E major (BWV 1006), especially the gavotte. Still, I wouldn’t want to choose one Bach piece as the best - so much of his work was so great. My pick is pretty close: the chaconne from Partita #2. It is not easy to choose a single selection, but the chaconne is playing in my little corner of heaven. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-j-s-bach-piece/337553/28 "2005-12-29T21:45:27Z")
Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565. But quite honestly, with Bach it’s pick a card any card. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-j-s-bach-piece/337553/29 "2005-12-29T21:51:10Z")
It’s tough to name just one, and most of my faves have been covered, including Bburg #2. I hadn’t realized it was on the Voyager disk, but it’s a great choice. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2005, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-j-s-bach-piece/337553/30 "2005-12-30T20:10:31Z")
As Radar O’Reilly said in **M_A_S\*H** , " Ahhh, Bach ! ". 😃 I think the Wedding Cantata that was played at my wedding by my [brothers-in-law](http://www.orionquartet.com/about.htm). ( The Phillips brothers, that is. The other two fellahs ain’t related. 🙂 ) Aside from that piece, I’m feeling it would be [Toccata and Fugue in D minor](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toccata_and_Fugue_in_D_Minor). Mostly because of the visual assocation with the Disney film [Fantasia](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032455/) in 1940. Truly powerful piece. Cartooniverse ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2005, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-j-s-bach-piece/337553/31 "2005-12-30T23:50:41Z")
1. Orchestral Suite #2 in b minor 2. Brandenburg Concerto #4 3. Mass in b minor (especially Kyrie eleison, Domnie deus, Et in spiritum, Sanctus, Agnus dei, and Dona nobis pacem) 4. English suite #2 in a minor 5. Double violin concerto in D Major Why? Lots of reasons. The Orchestral Suite #2, because of the perfect blend of sounds (especially the woody transverse flute), the gorgeous melodies, the early baroque overall feel but with late baroque dancy courtliness… ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2005, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-j-s-bach-piece/337553/32 "2005-12-31T21:48:59Z")
> [@Robot Arm](#): > > **Zebra** , that wouldn’t be the Billy Tipton Memorial Saxophone Quartet by any chance, would it? No, just something I did for a class assignment my freshman year in college. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2005, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-j-s-bach-piece/337553/33 "2005-12-31T22:15:32Z")
I’ve always been obsessively fond of the G Major Fugue “a la gigue” (BWV 577). It’s just so damned _cheerful_. ---
**Author:** ![CheapBastid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8baadc/32.png) [@CheapBastid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CheapBastid)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2005, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-j-s-bach-piece/337553/34 "2005-12-31T23:27:13Z")
**C-Major Prelude From The Well Tempered Clavier** specifically as performed by Darron Flagg. Easily my favorite piece of music. I had it all set up for a pivotal moment in our outdoor wedding but the tape wasn’t set properly so she walked down the aisle to silence. Interestingly we got dozens of comments on how powerful that silent moment was. ---
**Author:** ![Cheez\_Whia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d26b3c/32.png) [@Cheez\_Whia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheez_Whia)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2005, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-j-s-bach-piece/337553/35 "2005-12-31T23:28:45Z")
Little Fugue in G Minor. Brandenburg Concertos. Pick one. Any one. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2006, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-j-s-bach-piece/337553/36 "2006-01-01T23:37:24Z")
I’m not sure if anyone’s still following this thread but … … lots of great choices already listed including the Goldberg Variations, English and French suites, and some of the partitas. Interestingly, nobody’s selected my Bach fave - Concerto for Oboe in D minor. So sweet, so touching. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2006, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-j-s-bach-piece/337553/37 "2006-01-02T00:11:38Z")
Brandenberg Concerto No. 5. I love the harpsicord solo. Also No. 2 (those lovely French horns), Nos. 3, 4, and 6, and one of the violin concertos, but I’m not certain which it is. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2006, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-j-s-bach-piece/337553/38 "2006-01-02T18:10:36Z")
In the chorales, _Komm Susser Tod_. This chorale is in the TubaChristmas book; it’s the only non-Christmasy-carol thing we do on the program. It was the favorite Bach piece of William Bell, one of the greatest tubists of our time and most revered teachers. If it wasn’t for Bill Bell, we wouldn’t even have TubaChristmas. (He was also born on Christmas Day, which makes it even more appropriate!) You haven’t lived until you’ve been in the middle of a group of multiple tubas playing this thing, it’s like the world’s biggest organ chord; the majesty and beauty in it will make you cry. It always makes me cry, anyway, it touches my heart and that’s what great music is all about. Bach does that. Jenny reporting in from the tuba section ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2006, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-j-s-bach-piece/337553/39 "2006-01-02T18:33:25Z")
> [@](#): > > I have always been fond of the ‘Little’ fugue in G minor. > I love fugues in general and I arranged that one for a sax quartet. It was really interesting to get inside that music that way. I came in to add precisely this one. Although i like all thwe Brandenburgs, and Toccatta and Fugue in D Minor (probably because I’ve heard it more often than any other), this one can send chills up my spine. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2006, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-j-s-bach-piece/337553/40 "2006-01-02T18:53:29Z")
I’m surprised at all the love being given to Brandenburg #3 when #2 is such an obviously superior piece, especially the third movement. 😉 Passacaglia and Fugue in C (minor?), especially as played by E. Power Biggs on the Flentrop organ at Harvard. Concerto for Four Harpsichords, BWV 1065. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-j-s-bach-piece/337553.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-j-s-bach-piece/337553.md?page=3)