French Suites For Harps [Import]

Professor Davitt Moroney is one of today's leading experts on Johann Sebastian Bach's harpsichord music and is particularly celebrated for his complete recording of Bach's "Art of Fugue" for Harmonia Mundi. Moroney studied with Kenneth Gilbert and has a penchant for strict authenticity and accuracy. That may be why this recording of Bach's French Suites is longer than most: Moroney includes every note including all the repeats and even the recently-discovered second Gavotte from Suite Number 4. As this 1990 Virgin Classics recording is exemplary in its clarity, the whole makes for some edifying and even exciting listening for those who love Bach in period performance. (You would hardly know you were listening to the same music that Glenn Gould recorded in his inimitable style on a modern piano.)

I do have a couple of quibbles, however. The choice of a copy of the famous Ruckers/Taskin harpsichord of 1780 by John Phillips does yield a beautiful tone throughout, yet this harpsichord is of strictly French provenience and would, in my opinion, be more suited to Rameau than Bach, whose "French Suites" would most likely have been played by the composer himself on a German or Saxon instrument which would have sounded robuster and somewhat less elegant. In fact, the whole recording tends to turn Bach into a French composer: Moroney plays the music very much in the French style, and the music was even recorded in a French château! It should perhaps be borne in mind that Bach never travelled to France; he was firmly rooted in the Eastern-Central parts of Germany.

This budget-priced re-issue comes with practically no background information; the accompanying text is only one booklet-page long and contains nothing about the music itself except for the unqualified statement that these suites are "perfect expressions of the French harpsichord style".

There is a comparison on the web somewhere of some different renditions of the French Suites on harpsichord (and one on piano I think). The reviewer initially doesn't seem to think very highly of Davitt Moroney's interpretation, but as he goes on, Suite by Suite, begins warming up to it and finally concludes it's one of the best. I can understand that review because the playing is, in a way, unassuming. Yet, it is masterful. And quite inviting. This last quality magnifies the effect of Suite #4's opening, which, for me, is that of invitation to a magnificent realm. The playing out of that realm here reveals the integrity of the Suites and their individual characters quite nicely. Just excellent.

This is one of the best CD�s I�ve ever bought. The performer knows just how to play each piece on the harpsichord so that the ornamentation does not steal from beauty of the actual music yet so that his skill in interpreting the music is clearly displayed. Each dance�s repeats are played, allowing your ears to indulge in each dance twice. In fact, the music was recorded so well that I decided to learn Suite 3 in B minor. This collection builds the case for proving just how much of a genius Bach was.