Ignacio Prego - Bach: The French Suites, BWV 812-817 (2014)

Tracklist

CD1
01. French Suite No. 4 in E-flat Major, BWV 815: I. Allemande
02. French Suite No. 4 in E-flat Major, BWV 815: II. Courante
03. French Suite No. 4 in E-flat Major, BWV 815: III. Sarabande
04. French Suite No. 4 in E-flat Major, BWV 815: IV. Gavotte
05. French Suite No. 4 in E-flat Major, BWV 815: V. Air
06. French Suite No. 4 in E-flat Major, BWV 815: VI. Menuet
07. French Suite No. 4 in E-flat Major, BWV 815: VII. Gigue
08. French Suite No. 2 in C minor, BWV 813: I. Allemande
09. French Suite No. 2 in C minor, BWV 813: II. Courante
10. French Suite No. 2 in C minor, BWV 813: III. Sarabande
11. French Suite No. 2 in C minor, BWV 813: IV. Air
12. French Suite No. 2 in C minor, BWV 813: V. Menuet
13. French Suite No. 2 in C minor, BWV 813: VI. Gigue
14. French Suite No. 6 in E major, BWV 817: I. Prélude
15. French Suite No. 6 in E major, BWV 817: II. Allemande
16. French Suite No. 6 in E major, BWV 817: III. Courante
17. French Suite No. 6 in E major, BWV 817: IV. Sarabande
18. French Suite No. 6 in E major, BWV 817: V. Gavotte
19. French Suite No. 6 in E major, BWV 817: VI. Menuet polonais
20. French Suite No. 6 in E major, BWV 817: VII. Bourrée
21. French Suite No. 6 in E major, BWV 817: VIII. Gigue
22. French Suite No. 6 in E major, BWV 817: IX. Petit menuet

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. French Suite No. 1 in D minor, BWV 812: I. Allemande
09. French Suite No. 1 in D minor, BWV 812: II. Courante
10. French Suite No. 1 in D minor, BWV 812: III. Sarabande
11. French Suite No. 1 in D minor, BWV 812: IV. Menuet
12. French Suite No. 1 in D minor, BWV 812: V. Gigue
13. French Suite No. 3 in B minor, BWV 814: I. Allemande
14. French Suite No. 3 in B minor, BWV 814: II. Courante
15. French Suite No. 3 in B minor, BWV 814: III. Sarabande
16. French Suite No. 3 in B minor, BWV 814: IV. Anglaise
17. French Suite No. 3 in B minor, BWV 814: V. Menuet
18. French Suite No. 3 in B minor, BWV 814: VI. Gigue



The roughly two dozen suites that Bach composed for keyboard instruments were written for private use of his students, and are predominantly French in style. The present French suites, which remained unpublished until long after his death, were composed after Bach's arrival to Cöthen, and the full collection was only completed by 1725, once he had moved to Leipzig. In the process, Bach repeatedly revised the French suites, shuffling certain works into and out of the set and altering a number of movements quite drastically. In the French suites Bach decided to say more with less, avoiding obvious virtuosity in favor of sublety and refinement, coming closer to what French composers like Couperin, whose music Bach knew well, called le bon goût. Cantus is very proud to publish this 2 CD set, masterfully performed by Ignacio Prego. He already appeared in a Cantus release as a member of ensemble La Ritirata in our DVD "Concierto Barroco", but now we can enjoy his amazing gifts as a soloist. Ignacio Prego achieves a perfect balance in his performance of Bach's French suites on revealing in a clear and luminous reading the internal architecture, the miraculous inner construction of this music, with its imitative counterpoint and characteristic armony, while adding freshness and elegance with his wonderful sense for ornamentation. In conclusion, we have one of the best versions of this music avalaible today: moving, elegant, with a clear musical direction, full of expressive nuances and perfectly well judged tempi...

This special 2 CD set for the price of one is presented in a beautiful double digipack with liner notes by David Schulenberg. The recording was done in a villa near Madrid, and benefits from a clear and warm sound engineering by Federico Prieto (Master Acoustics). No serious music lover can miss this...

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