Sergey Schepkin - Bach: The Six French Suites (2014)

Tracklist
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CD1
01. French Suite No. 1 in D Minor, BWV 812: I. Allemande
02. French Suite No. 1 in D Minor, BWV 812: II. Courante
03. French Suite No. 1 in D Minor, BWV 812: III. Sarabande
04. French Suite No. 1 in D Minor, BWV 812: IV. Menuet I
05. French Suite No. 1 in D Minor, BWV 812: IV. Menuets II-I
06. French Suite No. 1 in D Minor, BWV 812: V. Gigue
07. French Suite No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 813: I. Allemande
08. French Suite No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 813: II. Courante
09. French Suite No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 813: III. Sarabande
10. French Suite No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 813: IV. Air
11. French Suite No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 813: V. Menuet I
12. French Suite No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 813: V. Menuets II-I
13. French Suite No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 813: VI. Gigue
14. French Suite No. 3 in B Minor, BWV 814: I. Allemande
15. French Suite No. 3 in B Minor, BWV 814: II. Courante
16. French Suite No. 3 in B Minor, BWV 814: III. Sarabande
17. French Suite No. 3 in B Minor, BWV 814: IV. Anglaise
18. French Suite No. 3 in B Minor, BWV 814: V. Menuet I
19. French Suite No. 3 in B Minor, BWV 814: V. Menuets II-I
20. French Suite No. 3 in B Minor, BWV 814: VI. Gigue
21. French Suite No. 4 in E-Flat Major, BWV 815: I. Allemande
22. French Suite No. 4 in E-Flat Major, BWV 815: II. Courante
23. French Suite No. 4 in E-Flat Major, BWV 815: III. Sarabande
24. French Suite No. 4 in E-Flat Major, BWV 815: IV. Gavotte
25. French Suite No. 4 in E-Flat Major, BWV 815: V. Air
26. French Suite No. 4 in E-Flat Major, BWV 815: VI. Menuet
27. French Suite No. 4 in E-Flat Major, BWV 815: VII. Gigue

CD2
01. French Suite No. 5 in G Major, BWV 816: I. Allemande
02. French Suite No. 5 in G Major, BWV 816: II. Courante
03. French Suite No. 5 in G Major, BWV 816: III. Sarabande
04. French Suite No. 5 in G Major, BWV 816: IV. Gavotte
05. French Suite No. 5 in G Major, BWV 816: V. Bourrée
06. French Suite No. 5 in G Major, BWV 816: VI. Loure
07. French Suite No. 5 in G Major, BWV 816: VII. Gigue
08. The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Prélude No. 9 in E Major, BWV 854
09. French Suite No. 6 in E Major, BWV 817: I. Allemande
10. French Suite No. 6 in E Major, BWV 817: II. Courante
11. French Suite No. 6 in E Major, BWV 817: III. Sarabande
12. French Suite No. 6 in E Major, BWV 817: IV. Gavotte
13. French Suite No. 6 in E Major, BWV 817: V. Polonaise
14. French Suite No. 6 in E Major, BWV 817: VI. Bourrée
15. French Suite No. 6 in E Major, BWV 817: VII. Menuet
16. French Suite No. 6 In E Major, Bwv 817: VIII. Gigue
17. Fantasia and Fugue in A Minor, BWV 904: Fantasia (Hamburg Version)
18. Fantasia and Fugue in A Minor, BWV 904: Fugue (Hamburg Version)
19. Fantasia and Fugue in A Minor, BWV 904: Fantasia (New York Version)
20. Fantasia and Fugue in A Minor, BWV 904: Fugue (New York Version)
21. Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 903: Fantasia
22. Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 903: Fugue


Russian American pianist Sergey Schepkin tends to have a polarizing effect with his Bach recordings, which might be described as being like Glenn Gould without the sharp edge. In Schepkin's Bach, listeners will hear Bach, but they will also hear a lot of Schepkin; his readings have a consistent and distinctive surface that they'll be able to recognize after sampling just a small amount. He does not use a lot of pedal, but his recordings are intensely pianistic, with a clean, consistent articulation that does not let the music vary much from movement to movement and piece to piece. He tends to add a good deal of ornamentation, however, and for that reason this set of the six so-called (not by Bach) French Suites makes a good place to start with this unorthodox and, for many, compelling pianist: the case for ornamenting the repeats in these dances, which exist in multiple versions that seem to suggest that Bach himself was fooling with the ornamentation possibilities, is a strong one. With this recording Schepkin moves from the small Ongaku label to Steinway & Sons, and there is no denying the sheer pianistic beauty of Schepkin's playing in the Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue in D minor, BWV 903, even as the work's usual grandeur is pared way back. Another pianist to whom he might be compared is Vladimir Feltsman, and it would seem that a rather idiosyncratic Russian school of Bach playing - athletic, hypnotic, counter to type - has emerged. How listeners feel about it is likely to be an individual reaction.

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