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Recordings of Bach's French Suites, not so named by the composer, are abundant, but this one made classical best-seller lists in the autumn of 2023. One draw may have been that it includes three suites not generally grouped with the French Suites on recordings; two of these are beset by textual problems, and one, BWV 822, is probably not by Bach at all (it comes down from a late 18th century manuscript that attributes it simply to "Bach"). Keyboardist Mahan Esfahani forthrightly declares that his motivation for including it was that he finds it charming, and indeed it is, but more important are the bold treatments of the canonical works here. Many fresh features have been added to Esfahani's usual thorny but gripping style. The most immediately apparent is that he uses a clavichord in five of the suites. This is certainly defensible in terms of 18th century practice, even if the clavichord would not have been taken into a church as it is here; it was a domestic instrument. The clavichord was a pandemic-era project for Esfahani, and it will be interesting to see how he develops its use in future Bach projects. It seems to fit well with the crunchy 18th century German tunings used here and with his usual inward but tough style. In the end, it simply adds more colors to the large variety that is always present in Esfahani's playing. The dance rhythms are there in these readings, but they're hardly the main thing. Esfahani also draws on a variety of textual sources for most of the pieces, with the result that listeners will be hearing French Suites that have never quite been heard before. However, this is always true with this adventurous player, whose fans will be delighted with this 2023 release.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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French Suite No. 1 in D Minor, BWV 812 (Johann Sebastian Bach)
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
French Suite No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 813 (Johann Sebastian Bach)
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
French Suite No. 3 in B Minor, BWV 814 (Johann Sebastian Bach)
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Suite in E-Flat Major, BWV 819 (Johann Sebastian Bach)
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Suite in G Minor, BWV 822 (Johann Sebastian Bach)
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
French Suite No. 4 in E-Flat Major, BWV 815a (Johann Sebastian Bach)
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
French Suite No. 5 in G Major, BWV 816 (Johann Sebastian Bach)
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Simon Perry, Producer, Executive Producer - Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer - Mark Brown, Producer, Recording Producer - David Hinitt, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mahan Esfahani, Harpsichord, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
Album review
Recordings of Bach's French Suites, not so named by the composer, are abundant, but this one made classical best-seller lists in the autumn of 2023. One draw may have been that it includes three suites not generally grouped with the French Suites on recordings; two of these are beset by textual problems, and one, BWV 822, is probably not by Bach at all (it comes down from a late 18th century manuscript that attributes it simply to "Bach"). Keyboardist Mahan Esfahani forthrightly declares that his motivation for including it was that he finds it charming, and indeed it is, but more important are the bold treatments of the canonical works here. Many fresh features have been added to Esfahani's usual thorny but gripping style. The most immediately apparent is that he uses a clavichord in five of the suites. This is certainly defensible in terms of 18th century practice, even if the clavichord would not have been taken into a church as it is here; it was a domestic instrument. The clavichord was a pandemic-era project for Esfahani, and it will be interesting to see how he develops its use in future Bach projects. It seems to fit well with the crunchy 18th century German tunings used here and with his usual inward but tough style. In the end, it simply adds more colors to the large variety that is always present in Esfahani's playing. The dance rhythms are there in these readings, but they're hardly the main thing. Esfahani also draws on a variety of textual sources for most of the pieces, with the result that listeners will be hearing French Suites that have never quite been heard before. However, this is always true with this adventurous player, whose fans will be delighted with this 2023 release.
© James Manheim /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 70 track(s)
- Total length: 02:28:58
- 1 Digital booklet
- Main artists: Mahan Esfahani
- Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach
- Label: Hyperion
- Genre: Classical
© 2023 Hyperion Records Limited ℗ 2023 Hyperion Records Limited
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