BACH: The English Suites - Angela Hewitt (2 CDs)

  
English Suite No 1 in A major BWV806[27'57]
CD1
1
Prelude[2'08]
2
Allemande[4'31]
3
Courante I[1'58]
4
Courante II[7'14]
5
Sarabande[5'14]
6
Bourrée I and II[4'00]
7
Gigue[2'52]
English Suite No 2 in A minor BWV807[21'13]
8
Prelude[4'09]
9
Allemande[4'04]
10
Courante[2'15]
11
Sarabande et les agréments de la même Sarabande[3'30]
12
Bourrée I and II[4'04]
13
Gigue[3'11]
English Suite No 3 in G minor BWV808[22'16]
14
Prelude[3'14]
15
Allemande[4'12]
16
Courante[2'53]
17
Sarabande et les agréments de la même Sarabande[5'39]
18
Gavotte I and II[3'31]
19
Gigue[2'47]
English Suite No 4 in F major BWV809[20'35]
CD2
20
Prelude[4'33]
21
Allemande[3'23]
22
Courante[1'56]
23
Sarabande[3'52]
24
Menuet I and II[3'41]
25
Gigue[3'10]
English Suite No 5 in E minor BWV810[20'31]
26
Prelude[4'37]
27
Allemande[4'18]
28
Courante[2'30]
29
Sarabande[3'01]
30
Passepied I and II[3'19]
31
Gigue[2'46]
English Suite No 6 in D minor BWV811[31'05]
32
Prelude[7'23]
33
Allemande[4'49]
34
Courante[2'51]
35
Sarabande[8'09]
36
Gavotte I and II[4'29]
37
Gigue[3'24]

With the English Suites (the 'English' is not Bach's and there is nothing particularly English about them) Angela Hewitt all but completes her survey of Bach's keyboard works (there will be one further CD mopping up various odds and ends). These six suites, along with the French Suites and the six Partitas, present Bach's mature thoughts on the standard baroque suite of dances and as such are the greatest examples of the form.

Unlike the smaller scale French Suites the English all begin with a large-scale prelude, often rather concerto-like and very virtuosic; these are works for a very accomplished professional player rather than the amateur that much keyboard music of the 18th century would have been aimed at.

Angela Hewitt rises to all the challenges in her usual superb style and needless to say these performances will meet with the acclaim of her previous Bach recordings.

All of the music on this album is also available as part of the specially priced box set Angela Hewitt plays Bach: 'A magnificent retrospective of Angela Hewitt’s achievement as a pianist in the keyboard works of J S Bach … this remarkable set of recordings marks something of a milestone for everyone involved with classical music, as well as for Hyperion' (MusicWeb International).