Bernard Roberts - Bach: The Complete French Suites (2005)

Tracklist

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 81: III. Sarabande
04. French Suite No. 1 in D Minor, BWV 812: IV. Menuet I - Menuet II
05. French Suite No. 1 in D Minor, BWV 812: V. Gigue
06. French Suite No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 813: I. Allemande
07. French Suite No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 813: II. Courante
08. French Suite No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 813: III. Sarabande
09. French Suite No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 813: IV. Air
10. French Suite No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 813: V. Menuet
11. French Suite No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 813: VI. Gigue
12. French Suite No. 3 in B Minor, BWV 814: I. Allemande
13. French Suite No. 3 in B Minor, BWV 814: II. Courante
14. French Suite No. 3 in B Minor, BWV 814: III. Sarabande
15. French Suite No. 3 in B Minor, BWV 814: IV. Anglaise
16. French Suite No. 3 in B Minor, BWV 814: V. Menuet - Trio
17. French Suite No. 3 in B Minor, BWV 814: VI. Gigue
18. French Suite No. 4 in E-Flat Major, BWV 815: I. Allemande
19. French Suite No. 4 in E-Flat Major, BWV 815: II. Courante
20. French Suite No. 4 in E-Flat Major, BWV 815: III. Sarabande
21. French Suite No. 4 in E-Flat Major, BWV 815: IV. Gavotte
22. French Suite No. 4 in E-Flat Major, BWV 815: V. Menuet
23. French Suite No. 4 in E-Flat Major, BWV 815: VI. Air
24. French Suite No. 4 in E-Flat Major, BWV 815: VII. Gigue
25. French Suite No. 5 in G Major, BWV 815: I. Allemande
26. French Suite No. 5 in G Major, BWV 815: II. Courante
27. French Suite No. 5 in G Major, BWV 815: III. Sarabande
28. French Suite No. 5 in G Major, BWV 815: IV. Gavotte
29. French Suite No. 5 in G Major, BWV 815: V. Bouree
30. French Suite No. 5 in G Major, BWV 815: VI. Loure
31. French Suite No. 5 in G Major, BWV 815: VII. Gigue
32. French Suite No. 6 in E Major, BWV 815: I. Allemande
33. French Suite No. 6 in E Major, BWV 815: II. Courante
34. French Suite No. 6 in E Major, BWV 815: III. Sarabande
35. French Suite No. 6 in E Major, BWV 815: IV. Gavotte
36. French Suite No. 6 in E Major, BWV 815: V. Polonaise
37. French Suite No. 6 in E Major, BWV 815: VI. Menuet
38. French Suite No. 6 in E Major, BWV 815: VII. Bouree
39. French Suite No. 6 in E Major, BWV 815: VIII. Gigue

As Cole Porter once said, is this the good turtle soup or merely the mock? Or, more appositely, is Bernard Roberts' recordings of Bach's French Suites the real thing, a probing and profound exploration of Bach's bottomless musical depths, or is it just another recording? While the British, in their infinite provincialism, have anointed Roberts a master of Bach and Beethoven and all things German, it is impossible to agree. Roberts is surely an able pianist with a decent technique and a warm if wan tone, but to judge by these 2004 performances, he's no Richter. In Roberts' hands, Bach's music rolls on like a river, but it is a shallow river with a weak current and nothing to disturb its placid surface. Nothing is too fast, nothing is too slow, nothing is too high, nothing is too low, nothing is too quiet, nothing is too loud, and nothing means much of anything. Nimbus' recordings are a bit too cavernous and reverberant.