371 Harmonized Chorales and 69 Chorale Melodies w/Figured Bass

Rating:
Summary: You need this...
Review: Bach's 371 chorales are some of the purest distillations of common-practice era tonal harmony one can find - they remain an invaluable asset to anyone studying harmony and voice-leading principles. That is not to say that these pieces are boring harmonic exercises... Bach's genius worked its way into everything he wrote, and a quick read through any of these chorales brings one a breath of fresh [tonal] air in the midst of modern music's din. Perfect for study and enjoyment. The edition is perfect as well, with clear printing (while maybe too small for those with poor eyesight), excellent binding and almost 60 pages of notes and preface.

Rating:
Summary: good for music theory or composition students
Review: If you want to learn advanced harmony, there is no better place to learn it than from the Master himself.

When I was a student at Interlochen, the last music theory assignment was to copy a German chorale melody without seeing Bach's harmonization, harmonize it, and compare one's own harmonization with Bach's harmonization.

Humiliating!

Rating:
Summary: So...many...chorales...
Review: This is a nice edition to have. Playing two Bach chorales every morning is kind of like doing some jumping jacks and eating a spoonful of codliver oil...which is to say, good for you. After playing the first 120 you can expect some chorale fatigue to set in, but all the while you'll be absorbing good voice-leading and voice-doubling technique as though by osmosis. What's more, Bach will still surprise you- there are chords so jarring and dissonant that their sudden, logical resolution is like watching a rabbit being pulled out of a hat.

On the downside, the notes are small (this edition really packs 'em in) and it can be easy to get lost on the page. No texts are provided, either, aside from the opening words, so you have to accept on faith that some of the more contorted harmonizations are justified by the text. It's still nice to have, though, and looks nice and musicological sitting on the piano.