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Gustav Leonhardt|Bach: English Suites & Keyboard Partitas

Bach: English Suites & Keyboard Partitas

Gustav Leonhardt

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The "4 Pleasure" title of this series from Virgin Classics both indicates its presumed purpose and tells you there are four CDs in the box. But it makes these sets look like they came out of Prince's classical CD library, and the photo on the cover of this set, showing a hand lining up shells on top of a mossy rock, is probably enough to get the box put in the new age bin by a hurried clerk. Thinking inside the box, however, we find a solid reissue of some classic Bach performances by Dutch harpsichordist Gustav Leonhardt. Leonhardt offered beautifully recorded Bach albums on meticulously restored harpsichords of the composer's time, and the result was harpsichord music with a big, ringing sound that got the ears of people who until then had preferred their Bach on a piano. He was never in better form than on these recordings, made in 1984 and 1986 in the Doopsgezinde Gemeente Kerk in Haarlem, the Netherlands. The English Suites (no one is quite sure why they are so called, but there's nothing particularly English about them) and Partitas are sets of mostly short, dance-inspired movements invested by Bach with dizzying, coruscating contrapuntal complexity. Leonhardt's approach is sometimes described as severe, and there are keyboard players who find more gemütlichkeit in Bach's music. But the harpsichord is probably the instrument of choice with these suites, and the tense muscularity of Leonhardt's playing makes for a very satisfyingly exciting ride in the faster movements. One problematic issue to note is that Leonhardt eliminates some repeats in some of the longer slow movements, a risky move with Bach, but this longtime scholar-performer surely had his reasons. On the whole, though there are still the Glenn Gould and Murray Perahia recordings available for those who like a sound world closer to our own, these Leonhardt discs make a very good choice for a basic Bach library and, with their low price, a good start on Bach for anybody. The liner notes are a bit spare but informative enough.

© TiVo

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Bach: English Suites & Keyboard Partitas

Gustav Leonhardt

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1
English Suite No. 1 in A Major, BWV 806: I. Prelude
00:02:05

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1985 Parlophone Records Limited

2
English Suite No. 1 in A Major, BWV 806: II. Allemande
00:02:50

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1985 Parlophone Records Limited

3
English Suite No. 1 in A Major, BWV 806: III. Courante I & II with Doubles
00:04:17

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 1985 Parlophone Records Limited

4
English Suite No. 1 in A Major, BWV 806: VII. Sarabande
00:02:25

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1985 Parlophone Records Limited

5
English Suite No. 1 in A Major, BWV 806: VIII. Bourrées I & II
00:02:45

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1985 Parlophone Records Limited

6
English Suite No. 1 in A Major, BWV 806: X. Gigue
00:01:25

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1985 Parlophone Records Limited

7
English Suite No. 2 in A Minor, BWV 807: I. Prelude
00:05:10

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1985 Parlophone Records Limited

8
English Suite No. 2 in A Minor, BWV 807: II. Allemande
00:02:19

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1985 Parlophone Records Limited

9
English Suite No. 2 in A Minor, BWV 807: III. Courante
00:00:58

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1985 Parlophone Records Limited

10
English Suite No. 2 in A Minor, BWV 807: IV. Sarabande
00:03:52

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1985 Parlophone Records Limited

11
English Suite No. 2 in A Minor, BWV 807: V. Bourrées I & II
00:02:56

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1985 Parlophone Records Limited

12
English Suite No. 2 in A Minor, BWV 807: VII. Gigue
00:01:21

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1985 Parlophone Records Limited

13
English Suite No. 3 in G Minor, BWV 808: I. Prelude
00:03:18

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1985 Parlophone Records Limited

14
English Suite No. 3 in G Minor, BWV 808: II. Allemande
00:02:22

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1985 Parlophone Records Limited

15
English Suite No. 3 in G Minor, BWV 808: III. Courante
00:01:16

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1985 Parlophone Records Limited

16
English Suite No. 3 in G Minor, BWV 808: IV. Sarabande
00:03:20

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1985 Parlophone Records Limited

17
English Suite No. 3 in G Minor, BWV 808: V. Gavottes I &II
00:01:57

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1985 Parlophone Records Limited

18
English Suite No. 3 in G Minor, BWV 808: VI. Gigue
00:01:28

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1985 Parlophone Records Limited

DISC 2

1
English Suite No. 4 in F Major, BWV 809: I. Prelude
00:04:40

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1985 Parlophone Records Limited

2
English Suite No. 4 in F Major, BWV 809: II. Allemande
00:02:16

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1985 Parlophone Records Limited

3
English Suite No. 4 in F Major, BWV 809: III. Courante
00:01:00

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1985 Parlophone Records Limited

4
English Suite No. 4 in F Major, BWV 809: IV. Sarabande
00:03:10

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1985 Parlophone Records Limited

5
English Suite No. 4 in F Major, BWV 809: V. Menuets I & II
00:02:44

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1985 Parlophone Records Limited

6
English Suite No. 4 in F Major, BWV 809: VI. Gigue
00:01:46

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1985 Parlophone Records Limited

7
English Suite No. 5 in E Minor, BWV 810: I. Prelude
00:05:23

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1985 Parlophone Records Limited

8
English Suite No. 5 in E Minor, BWV 810: II. Allemande
00:02:25

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1985 Parlophone Records Limited

9
English Suite No. 5 in E Minor, BWV 810: III. Courante
00:01:11

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1985 Parlophone Records Limited

10
English Suite No. 5 in E Minor, BWV 810: IV. Sarabande
00:01:56

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1985 Parlophone Records Limited

11
English Suite No. 5 in E Minor, BWV 810: V. Passepieds I & II
00:02:19

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics release, ℗ 1985 Parlophone Records Limited

12
English Suite No. 5 in E Minor, BWV 810: VI. Gigue
00:01:38

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1985 Parlophone Records Limited

13
English Suite No. 6 in D Minor, BWV 811: I. Prelude
00:08:32

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1985 Parlophone Records Limited

14
English Suite No. 6 in D Minor, BWV 811: II. Allemande
00:02:39

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1985 Parlophone Records Limited

15
English Suite No. 6 in D Minor, BWV 811: III. Courante
00:01:11

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1985 Parlophone Records Limited

16
English Suite No. 6 in D Minor, BWV 811: IV. Sarabande
00:02:56

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1985 Parlophone Records Limited

17
English Suite No. 6 in D Minor, BWV 811: V. Gavottes I & II
00:02:44

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1985 Parlophone Records Limited

18
English Suite No. 6 in D Minor, BWV 811: VI. Gigue
00:02:00

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1985 Parlophone Records Limited

DISC 3

1
Keyboard Partita No. 1 in B-Flat Major, BWV 825: I. Praeludium
00:02:03

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1987 Parlophone Records Limited

2
Keyboard Partita No. 1 in B-Flat Major, BWV 825: II. Allemande
00:02:24

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1987 Parlophone Records Limited

3
Keyboard Partita No. 1 in B-Flat Major, BWV 825: III. Courante
00:01:30

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1987 Parlophone Records Limited

4
Keyboard Partita No. 1 in B-Flat Major, BWV 825: IV. Sarabande
00:02:37

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1987 Parlophone Records Limited

5
Keyboard Partita No. 1 in B-Flat Major, BWV 825: V. Menuets I & II
00:02:21

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1987 Parlophone Records Limited

6
Keyboard Partita No. 1 in B-Flat Major, BWV 825: VI. Gigue
00:01:41

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1987 Parlophone Records Limited

7
Keyboard Partita No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 826: I. Sinfonia. Grave
00:04:32

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1987 Parlophone Records Limited

8
Keyboard Partita No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 826: II. Allemande
00:02:58

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1987 Parlophone Records Limited

9
Keyboard Partita No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 826: III. Courante
00:01:20

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1987 Parlophone Records Limited

10
Keyboard Partita No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 826: IV. Sarabande
00:01:54

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1987 Parlophone Records Limited

11
Keyboard Partita No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 826: V. Rondeau
00:01:27

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1987 Parlophone Records Limited

12
Keyboard Partita No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 826: VI. Capriccio
00:02:04

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1987 Parlophone Records Limited

13
Keyboard Partita No. 3 in A Minor, BWV 827: I. Fantaisie
00:03:07

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1987 Parlophone Records Limited

14
Keyboard Partita No. 3 in A Minor, BWV 827: II. Allemande
00:02:04

Gerd Berg, Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Gustav Leonhardt, Harpsichord, MainArtist

A Warner Classics/Erato release, © 2011 Parlophone Records Limited A Warner Classics/Erato release, ℗ 1987 Parlophone Records Limited

Album review

The "4 Pleasure" title of this series from Virgin Classics both indicates its presumed purpose and tells you there are four CDs in the box. But it makes these sets look like they came out of Prince's classical CD library, and the photo on the cover of this set, showing a hand lining up shells on top of a mossy rock, is probably enough to get the box put in the new age bin by a hurried clerk. Thinking inside the box, however, we find a solid reissue of some classic Bach performances by Dutch harpsichordist Gustav Leonhardt. Leonhardt offered beautifully recorded Bach albums on meticulously restored harpsichords of the composer's time, and the result was harpsichord music with a big, ringing sound that got the ears of people who until then had preferred their Bach on a piano. He was never in better form than on these recordings, made in 1984 and 1986 in the Doopsgezinde Gemeente Kerk in Haarlem, the Netherlands. The English Suites (no one is quite sure why they are so called, but there's nothing particularly English about them) and Partitas are sets of mostly short, dance-inspired movements invested by Bach with dizzying, coruscating contrapuntal complexity. Leonhardt's approach is sometimes described as severe, and there are keyboard players who find more gemütlichkeit in Bach's music. But the harpsichord is probably the instrument of choice with these suites, and the tense muscularity of Leonhardt's playing makes for a very satisfyingly exciting ride in the faster movements. One problematic issue to note is that Leonhardt eliminates some repeats in some of the longer slow movements, a risky move with Bach, but this longtime scholar-performer surely had his reasons. On the whole, though there are still the Glenn Gould and Murray Perahia recordings available for those who like a sound world closer to our own, these Leonhardt discs make a very good choice for a basic Bach library and, with their low price, a good start on Bach for anybody. The liner notes are a bit spare but informative enough.

© TiVo

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