Recording
Title: French Suites
Performer: Davitt Moroney
Year: 1990
Length: 2 hours 20 minutes
Review
Another set of Harpsichord suites by Bach, basically if you liked the English Suites you will probably like these equally. They are pretty much a continuation of the same kind of music through all of it, although I might marginally prefer the French Suites.
This recording is an interesting one in that it contains BWV 818a and 819a which are frequently found in the same publications as the French Suites proper, and they fit nicely in the set, and even if less well-known are equally as good.
As I have already said repeatedly, I am ready for the invention of the Piano, Bach hasn't really challenged my indifference for the Harpsichord in the same way Rameau did, for example, so it still leaves me pretty cold.
Final Grade
8/10
Trivia
From Wikipedia:
The French Suites, BWV 812-817, refer to six suites written by Johann Sebastian Bach for the clavier (harpsichord or clavichord). They were later given the name 'French' (first recorded usage by Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg in 1762) as a contrast to the English Suites (whose title is likewise a later appellation). The name was popularised by Bach's biographer Johann Nikolaus Forkel, who, in 1802, claimed they were written in the French style. This claim, however, is inaccurate: like Bach's other suites, they follow a largely Italian convention. Two additional suites, one in A minor (BWV 818), the other in E-flat Major (BWV 819), are linked to the familiar six in some manuscripts.
Aria from Suite number 2:
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