But the glories of this collection go far beyond the numbers. Superbly curated and presented, it contains many of the most acclaimed and best-loved recordings, new and old. There are seven works never previously recorded – six alternative chorales and Beethoven's only complete arrangement – plus discs dedicated to Bach's influence on contemporary and later composers, and even one devoted to Bach and jazz. So many titanic works, gorgeous works, intimate works.

Bach (1685-1750) was not particularly famous in his lifetime, being better known as an organist. Asked about his virtuosity, Bach replied: "There's nothing remarkable about it. All one has to do is hit the right keys at the right time and the instrument plays itself." Well, indeed!

It is axiomatic that we cannot know precisely how Bach sounded in his lifetime, despite vast amounts of scholarly investigation. In the past century, grandiose orchestrations by the likes of Stokowski gave way to smaller forces, leading to Joshua Rifkin's controversial theory of one singer to each part.

Twenty-first century tastes certainly prefer a lighter, crisper texture in which the internal voices are clearer, but sometimes absurdly fast speeds render the music almost incomprehensible.

In a fascinating testament to changing styles, listeners can compare a wealth of versions of some of the greatest works – in fact, more than 50 well-filled CDs. For example the St Matthew Passion appears in Gardiner's historically informed account, Paul McCreech's one-person-per-part version, Karl Richter's revelatory 1958 performance, plus extracts from Willem Mengelberg's passionate 1939 account and a plethora of other small extracts with wonderful singers. In fact, almost every great Bach singer is in this collection somewhere.

Then there's the inexhaustible parade of great conductors and pianists, harpsichordists, violinists, cellists and soloists, from 1931 to now. The cello suites are represented by the luminous recording of David Watkin, but the hugely important 1938 recording of Pablo Casals, who rescued the suites from obscurity, is also here with Suite 1, sounding a little idiosyncratic today, but full of insight and integrity. Also here is the complete 1960 account by Pierre Fournier, long considered a benchmark, and extracts from Janos Starker and Maurice Gendron.

One particularly interesting disc, showing how Bach performances under the influence of scholarship have got ever faster, gives five versions of the concerto for two violins. The first, by David and Igor Oistrakh in 1961, takes more than 17 minutes; the latest, a 2016 account by Nemanja Radulovic and Tijana Milosevic, takes just 12-and-a-half! My ideal, Arthur Grumiaux with Herman Krebbers, takes 15-and-a-half minutes.

The works are divided into four categories: cantatas, other vocal, keyboard and orchestral/chamber. Each is arranged chronologically, with a section titled "Traditions", where the historic performances are found.

Pianist Andras Schiff (well represented here) regards the deeply religious Bach, who wrote SDG (Soli Deo Gloria – Glory to God Alone) on nearly every manuscript, as himself a manifestation of divinity. Bach 333 makes it hard to argue.

This is the best classical box set I have ever seen, surpassing the Mozart 225 (complete Mozart, 2016) and the 200-CD Philips collection of the Great Pianists of the 20th Century (1999), thanks to the amazing depth of presentation. It is the perfect encapsulation not merely of a profound composer but of music-making and recording over several generations.

At about $700 ($3 a CD) it is not cheap, but I cannot imagine a finer musical investment. BARNEY ZWARTZ

JAZZ Time Stevens Double Trio

WITH WHOM YOU CAN BE WHO YOU ARE (Rufus)

★★★★☆

Ultimately the secret lies in the integration. It is one thing to put improvising and non-improvising musicians in the same room; another to avoid one group sounding like a river, while the other sounds merely like the banks. In his first attempt at writing for a string trio Tim Stevens has succeeded superbly at allowing the banks to slide into the river, if you will. Part of his secret was not over-writing: the violin (Madeleine Jevons), viola (Phoebe Green and cello (Naomi Wileman) often slip in and out of the pieces, as if offering commentary on the piano (Stevens), bass (Marty Holoubek) and drums (Tony Floyd), rather than just providing frameworks within which the improvising occurs. He has also shaped the compositions within this seven-part suite with more sophistication than a head-solos-head format, so that there are notated dialogues between the two trios (notably on m.b.), as well as accompanying of solos. The pervading mood is elegiac, like a series of bittersweet memories of lost love, with brighter sparks sometimes flaring from the piano. The strings are especially effective against the bass solos – suggesting they could have also been used to shade some drum features. JOHN SHAND

COUNTRY The Tracking Crew

ASQUITHMAS (SBD Music)

★★★☆☆

Everyone makes a Christmas album. Elvis made two. Phil Spector made a classic. There are even Christmas albums by Bob Dylan and Weezer (fortunately not together). So it makes perfect sense that a gaggle of Australian country musicians – James Gillard (bass), Glen Hannah (guitar), Rick Mellick (keyboards) – fronted by three talented but little-known singers – Sherene, Tammy Roxanne and John Abo – and produced by Angels/GANGajang drummer Graham "Buzz" Bidstrup, should join the Christmas chorus. There's enough quirkiness here to make this a fun addition to any Christmas stocking, including a reggae-inflected version of Paul Kelly's How to Make Gravy and a wonderfully laid-back reading of Eartha Kitt's Santa Baby by Sherene, which is, unsurprisingly, much better than Kylie Minogue's forgettable, overtly vampish reading. The attempt at Darlene Love's Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) lacks the hyperbole and drama of Spector's unforgettable version (it's never wise to take on a Spector version of anything), but a sweet, acoustic rendition of White Christmas is a reminder that thoughtful, innovative production can turn a tired, tasteless turkey into something suitably delicious. BRUCE ELDER

COUNTRY Karen Craigie

MOUNTAINS OF GOLD (Buttercup)

★★★★☆

It is a simple truism: if you want to hear really great country music turn your back on the mainstream and head up the "roads less travelled".Karen Craigie is a suitable case in point. Little known, although she hails from Sydney and has worked in the local music industry, this is her third album (has anyone heard of the other two?), and it sizzles with great songs which have been recorded with sensitivity and panache and wryly delivered in a voice full of feeling and pathos. Craigie is a hugely gifted songwriter, with a sharp eye for the heartbreak of failed love, which features on songs like Bottom Line which is about arguments. So Long and Lonely Town, as their titles suggest, deal with difficult departures,and the album's masterpiece is Kill Me Now, a superb ballad about the inability to end relationships cleanly, and the nuisance of having a musician as an ex-lover who insists on coming around and singing love songs you don't want to hear. Her solution – "just kill me now" – is not an exhortation for domestic violence, it is just a sharply witty plea to be left alone. BRUCE ELDER