Johann Sebastian Bach: French Suites Bwv 812 - 817 (2cd) [CD]

These are the most outstanding clavier works of Johann Sebastian Bach' - so declared Bach's first biographer, Johann Nikolaus Forkel, in 1802. Possibly conceived as a wedding gift for the composer's second wife, Anna Magdalena Bach, the six so-called 'French Suites' exemplify the Style Galante and are prized for their elegance and exquisite melodic refinement. In this new recording, the acclaimed early keyboard specialist, Andrew Arthur, takes us on a captivating journey through these cornerstone suites of the Baroque keyboard repertoire. Drawing upon an extensive re-examination of the intriguing array of primary sources, he performs on two exceptional harpsichords by Andrew Garlick and Keith Hill, built after distinguished eighteenth-century models by the celebrated Parisian makers, Jean-Claude Goujon (1749) and Pascal Taskin (1769).