Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach
Performer: Vladimir Ashkenazy
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Decca
Catalogue: 4832150
Release: 2017
Size: 1.34 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
French Suite No. 1 in D minor, BWV 812
01. 1. Allemande
02. 2. Courante
03. 3. Sarabande
04. 4. Menuet I-II
05. 5. Gigue
French Suite No. 2 in C minor, BWV 813
06. 1. Allemande
07. 2. Courante
08. 3. Sarabande
09. 4. Air
10. 5. Menuet
11. 6. Gigue
French Suite No. 3 in B minor, BWV 814
12. 1. Allemande
13. 2. Courante
14. 3. Sarabande
15. 4. Menuet I-II
16. 5. Gavotte
17. 6. Gigue
French Suite No. 4 in E flat, BWV 815
18. 1. Allemande
19. 2. Courante
20. 3. Sarabande
21. 4. Gavotte
22. 5. Air
23. 6. Menuet
24. 7. Gigue
French Suite No. 5 in G, BWV 816
25. 1. Allemande
26. 2. Courante
27. 3. Sarabande
28. 4. Gavotte
29. 5. Bourrée
30. 6. Loure
31. 7. Gigue
French Suite No. 6 in E, BWV 817
32. 1. Allemande
33. 2. Courante
34. 3. Sarabande
35. 4. Gavotte
36. 5. Menuet Polonaise
37. 6. Bourrée
38. 7. Petit Menuet
39. 8. Gigue
Even though Vladimir Ashkenazy has been on the “piano market”. for over half a century, this recording of Bach’s French Suites is a brand new one : March 2016 and April 2017, thus it is not some kind of reprint or re-issue, but the fruit of a long maturation. Over the past twelve years, the pianist has increasingly turned to the music of J. S. Bach, starting with the two books of the Well-Tempered Clavier, which he recorded in 2005. Working essentially from the Peters Urtext Edition, with a few suggestions of alternative readings from other sources, Ashkenazy makes clarity of sound his goal: “It was a privilege to do more Bach, and I tried to have a sound as clear as possible. The music is transparent, and Bach’s own instrument was terribly clear, so this has to be taken into account in pieces where there are lower bass lines, and a more involved texture. I use very few ornaments and don’t think of the sound of the harpsichord – the piano is what we have today. What I try to do is play on what we have today, and make the combination of voices as clear as possible”. This will hopefully put an end to any – useless and sterile anyway – discussion regarding whether Bach can or even should be played on anything else than the harpsichord, or be “allowed” onto modern or even ancient pianos.