J. S. Bach: Suites anglaises (English Suites)

CML call number: CD/CLASSICAL/Bach
Performer: Christophe Rousset, harpsichord.
Contents: Disc 1: Suite No. 2, BWV 807; Suite No. 4, BWV 809; Suite No. 6, BWV 811; Disc 2: Suite No. 1, BWV 806; Suite No. 3, BWV 808; Suite No. 5, BWV 810.
From Mr. Rousset's notes: "The 6 harpsichord suites BWV806-811 are known as the English Suites for reasons that remain obscure. The name appears to have been used for the first time by Johann Nikolaus Forkel, Bach's first biographer … with the explanation that the pieces 'were composed for an English nobleman.' … The fact is that only one of the manuscripts that have come down to us is described as … 'made for the English.' … [T]he English Suites were written … between 1718 and 1720. … Forkel tells us that … 'Bach took the genre much further than his predecessors or contemporaries. … [D]espite their complex structure, he managed to give his fugues an amazing rhythmic character … as flowing and continuous as if they were minuets.'"
Released in 2003, new to our collection. Our thanks to the anonymous donor!