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.
What you will find on this disc is A) contrapunctus I-IX played on two different organs in 1962; B) contrapunctus I II & IV from a1981 TV broadcast; C) contrapunctus IX XI & XIII in mono from a radio broadcast in 1967; D) the unfinished contrapunctus XIV from what may or may not be the same TV broadcast as B); and as a final filler E) a prelude and fugue on the name BACH from a studio recording in 1980. Items B)-E) are given on the piano.
There's nothing "English" about the English Suites, except for a story circulating after Bach's death that they were composed for an Englishman. These pieces are larger than Bach's French Suites, for in addition to the usual batch of dances that characterizes the suite form, they also contain a large introductory prelude, or "overture." Gould performs this music–as he does all of Bach–with the crisp style and utter digital clarity that for many people remains the way this music was meant to sound.– David Hurwitz
A busy schedule as music director of the Bach Collegium Japan and sought-after guest conductor doesn’t stop Masaaki Suzuki from returning to his first loves, the organ and the harpsichord. With the present release he adds yet another chapter to his series of Bach’s works for solo harpsichord. After acclaimed recordings of the Well-tempered Clavier, the Goldberg variations, the French Suites and other works the turn has come to the English Suites. Composed while Bach were in his thirties it precedes other sets such as the French Suites and the Toccatas, and in his liner notes, Bach scholar Yo Tomita draws attention to 'the stylistic traits of a youthful and ambitious composer wanting to make his mark through the use of counterpoint and virtuosity'.
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).
Kenneth Gilbert's vital rhythmic sense and love of refinement are qualities which can be strongly felt throughout this set.