Bach - French Suites [Gould]

Glenn Gould: piano

Lossless: Ape (img + cue + log) = 345 mb
Lossy: Mp3 (lame "preset standard") = 120 mb
Scans @ 300dpi = 28 mb

Total playing time: 38:54 + 46:52

Recorded: 1971-73, Eaton's Auditorium, Toronto, Canada

Released: 1994, Sony Classical SM2K 52 609

Track listing:
CD 1
1. Suite No.1 in D minor, BWV 812 - I. Allemande
2. Suite No.1 in D minor, BWV 812 - II. Courante
3. Suite No.1 in D minor, BWV 812 - III. Sarabande
4. Suite No.1 in D minor, BWV 812 - IV. Menuett I
5. Suite No.1 in D minor, BWV 812 - V. Menuett II
6. Suite No.1 in D minor, BWV 812 - VI. Gigue
7. Suite No.2 in C minor, BWV 813 - I. Allemande
8. Suite No.2 in C minor, BWV 813 - I. Courante
9. Suite No.2 in C minor, BWV 813 - III. Sarabande
10. Suite No.2 in C minor, BWV 813 - IV. Air
11. Suite No.2 in C minor, BWV 813 - V. Menuett
12. Suite No.2 in C minor, BWV 813 - VI. Gigue
13. Suite No.3 in B minor, BWV 814 - I. Allemande
14. Suite No.3 in B minor, BWV 814 - II. Courante
15. Suite No.3 in B minor, BWV 814 - III. Sarabande
16. Suite No.3 in B minor, BWV 814 - IV. Menuett -- Trio
17. Suite No.3 in B minor, BWV 814 - V. Anglaise
18. Suite No.3 in B minor, BWV 814 - VI. Gigue
19. Suite No.4 in E-flat major, BWV 815 - I. Allemande
20. Suite No.4 in E-flat major, BWV 815 - II. Courante
21. Suite No.4 in E-flat major, BWV 815 - III. Sarabande
22. Suite No.4 in E-flat major, BWV 815 - IV. Menuett (BWV 815a)
23. Suite No.4 in E-flat major, BWV 815 - V. Gavotte
24. Suite No.4 in E-flat major, BWV 815 - VI. Air
25. Suite No.4 in E-flat major, BWV 815 - VII. Gigue

CD 2
1. Suite No.5 in G major, BWV 816 - I. Allemande
2. Suite No.5 in G major, BWV 816 - II. Courante
3. Suite No.5 in G major, BWV 816 - III. Sarabande
4. Suite No.5 in G major, BWV 816 - IV. Gavotte
5. Suite No.5 in G major, BWV 816 - V. Bourrée
6. Suite No.5 in G major, BWV 816 - VI. Loure
7. Suite No.5 in G major, BWV 816 - VII. Gigue
8. Suite No.6 in E major, BWV 817 - I. Allemande
9. Suite No.6 in E major, BWV 817 - II. Courante
10. Suite No.6 in E major, BWV 817 - III. Sarabande
11. Suite No.6 in E major, BWV 817 - IV. Gavotte
12. Suite No.6 in E major, BWV 817 - V. Polonaise
13. Suite No.6 in E major, BWV 817 - VI. Menuett
14. Suite No.6 in E major, BWV 817 - VII. Bourrée
15. Suite No.6 in E major, BWV 817 - VIII. Gigue
16. Overture in the French Style, BWV 831 - I. Ouverture
17. Overture in the French Style, BWV 831 - II. Courante
18. Overture in the French Style, BWV 831 - III. Gavotte I
19. Overture in the French Style, BWV 831 - IV. Gavotte II - Gavotte I da capo
20. Overture in the French Style, BWV 831 - V. Passepied I
21. Overture in the French Style, BWV 831 - VI. Passepied II - Passepied I da capo
22. Overture in the French Style, BWV 831 - VII. Sarabande
23. Overture in the French Style, BWV 831 - VIII. Bourrée I
24. Overture in the French Style, BWV 831 - IX. Bourrée II - Bourrée I da capo
25. Overture in the French Style, BWV 831 - X. Gigue
26. Overture in the French Style, BWV 831 - XI. Echo

Reviews:
Amazon (editorial review - "Essential Recording")
Just as Bach's English Suites aren't really English, the French Suites aren't really French in any noticeable way. What they are is Bach. All suites, whatever their country of origin, consist of a chain of miscellaneous dances. This set of six is Bach's lightest collection in suite form, and Gould plays them with his usual nimbleness and quick-witted charm. It's amazing how Gould makes the music sound like he was making it up as he plays along--the humming probably contributes to that impression--and like all of his Bach, this is mandatory listening.

Gramophone 1985
Bach's 'French Suites' are relatively intimate pieces, more so, at least, than the partitas or 'English Suites', and Gould does not respond well to their most intimate and expressive movements. These are the sarabandes, and the famous one in Suite No. 5 is nearly caricatured. Yet the same work's Loure receives an intriguing and original performance, and elsewhere much superlative playing can be found. This is especially so in the allemandes and courantes which open each suite — hear the lithe grace, for example, of the initial movements of Suites Nos. 2, 3 and 5. The closing gigues, also, are quite marvellous in their exuberant clarity and intellectual fire, above all that belonging to Suite No. 5. Just as admirable are the gavottes, where they occur, Gould playing them with an exact decisiveness. Splendid, too, is the contained force of Suite No. 3's Anglaise and the Aria of No. 4.
All this we first heard a decade ago, but the French Overture is new to the local catalogue. Its recording dates from the same 1971-3 period as the suites yet creates a number of different impressions. The opening and closing grave sections of the first movement are mannered, but the long central quick section is superbly energetic and precise, tingling with excitement. Surprisingly heavy and slow are the courante and gigue, very different from their opposite numbers in the suites. In between come pairs of gavottes, passepieds and bourrees, all strongly characterized and very enjoyable.

Gramophone 1975
(click to enlarge)


Musicweb (Sony SMK 87764 edition)
This disc contains Bach’s French Suites, some of his most popular music. Gould surprises - as he often does - with a dazzling variety of tempi in these works. From the breakneck opening allemande of the first suite, he plays a delicately slow sarabande, and a subtle menuett I where the rhythm is almost picked out note by note. Gould said, "About tempo, I’ve never understood why it’s such a big deal." He points out how, for this recording, his tempi had slowed down considerably - he had his favourite piano rebuilt, and the weight of the action led to much more legato than he would have truly liked. But he said that this recording was "as deliberate and dry as any Bach" that he had recorded. Curiously, this is sometimes the case - while some movements are very fast, recalling the 1955 Goldberg Variations, others are slow and deliberate.

But listening anew to Glenn Gould play these pieces elicits such pleasure that one leaves aside the question of tempo. From the forceful gigue in the first suite and the brilliant allemande that opens the third suite, to the melodic yet syncopated approach to the menuett-trio in the same suite, to the almost excruciatingly slow sarabande of the first suite or the pointillist sarabande of the fourth suite, this disc is full of surprises. The music here is often reduced to its simplest expression, and is even more ascetic than many harpsichord performances. It is almost as if Gould is trying to turn his piano into another instrument. Yet the results show that this excellent pianist was able to transcend the music and put his personality into everything he played.

Gould gives one of the most personal performances of the French Suites available on disc. He is one of those musicians you either love or hate - either you appreciate the variety of tone and rhythm he uses, or you detest his lack of regularity. This recording remains one of the landmarks in the discography of the French Suites.

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