English Suites

J.S. Bach - The English Suites - Carole Cerasi (2007) {2CD Set Metronome METCD 1078}
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© 2007 Metronome Recordings | MET CD 1078
Classical / Baroque / Period Instruments / Harpsichord

Recorded on a harpsichord by François-Etienne Blanchet II (Paris, 1757), restored and enlarged by Pascal Taskin (Paris, 1778), loaned by Kenneth Gilbert and recorded in the Musée des Beaux Arts, Chartres. From the rarified and somewhat recherché music of Blasco de Nebra, Carole Cerasi turns her focus on a masterpiece of the repertoire for keyboards with this new recording of the English Suites.

Bach’s English Suites are entitled in a way that is as strange as it is hard to explain, at least at first glance. Contrary to what one might assume, these works are more closely related to French suites than to English music. The title is taken from the inscription “Fait pour les Anglois”, found on a manuscript owned by Bach's youngest son. In addition to an extensive prelude and four traditional dances – Allemande, Courante, Sarabande and Gigue – each suite also contains “gallantries”, lighter dances that were fashionable at the time. In these dance movements, grace and melody play together with a compositional artistry that elevates them far beyond incidental music for courtly dances. After the Partitas published by Passacaille in 2021 (PAS 1105), Lorenzo Ghielmi, one of the most renowned Bach interpreters of our day, now releases the English Suites, recorded on a harpsichord built by Detmar Hungelbert after an instrument by Michael Mietke (ca. 1710 in Berlin).

The versatility of the suite form proved well suited to Johann Sebastian Bach in his instrumental works, and the English Suites are no exception. These are distinct from Bach’s other suites with their quasi-improvisatory opening Preludes, and further movements encompassing a wide range of moods and styles from lively dances to the pensive intensity of the slow Sarabandes. The Montenegrin Guitar Duo’s fresh and historically informed performances of these works have been acclaimed as “simply ravishing” (American Record Guide). The Montenegrin Guitar Duo is frequently invited to venues such as the Philharmonia Hall in Saint Petersburg, Manuel de Falla Hall in Madrid, and the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam. International festivals regularly engage the duo to give recitals, deliver lectures and masterclasses, and adjudicate major competitions. In 2013 their debut album was released by the Montenegrin Music Centre, featuring works by Domeniconi, Piazzolla and Bogdanovic. The first of their two volumes of Bach’s English Suites was released in 2015 and received excellent reviews.

J.S. Bach - French & English Suites and other works transcribed for recorder, viola da gamba and lute
Stefan Temmingh & Ensemble
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Label/Cat#: Oehms Classical # OC 795 | Country/Year: Germany 2011
Genre: Classical | Style: Baroque

…He's a pleasure to listen to on a disc that will have the most appeal to those with an inclination toward speculative performance styles, and he is aided by total sonic clarity from the crack Oehms engineering team.

It is something of a mystery why Bach, usually alive to opportunities to make known his mastery of various musical forms, never published the English Suites (nor, come to that, the Well-tempered Clavier or the Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue), which represent a peak of his keyboard writing particularly in the Sixth Suite that he never excelled. Colin Tilney certainly takes his assignment au grand serieux, and earns our respect for his thoughtful approach, his firm rhythmic control even in the huge initial fugue of Suite No. 6 while avoiding inflexibility (with subtle phrasing that clarifies structure), his crisp ornaments, his stylishly discreet embellishment of repeats (virtually all of which he makes), and his general air of solid command.

This is a glorious disc. Simply glorious. Anderszewski and Bach have long been congenial bedfellows and the Pole’s playing here is compelling on many different levels. To start with, there’s the sense of sharing the sheer physical thrill of Bach’s keyboard-writing. This is particularly evident in faster movements such as the fierce and brilliant fugal Gigue that concludes the Third Suite, or, in the E minor Fifth Suite, the extended fugal Prelude and the outer sections of its Passepied I. Common to all is a sense of being fleet but never breathless, with time enough for textures to tell.