Search - J.S. Bach, Rousset :: Christophe Rousset Box Set

A Reissue of Six Excellent CDs at a Real Price Break

J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 02/24/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This box set consists of a two-CD set of all of Bach's English Suites, another 2 CDs of his French Suites, and a final two-CD set that contains that weird collection of pieces usually called the 'Klavierbüchlein für Wilhelm Friedemann [Bach]', which in truth consists of a mélange of the two- and three-part inventions plus some early drafts of preludes later included in the Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, and some odd assorted pieces, some of them not actually by J.S. Bach himself. The 'Klavierbüchlein' was made by Bach for the use of his eldest son, Wilhelm Friedemann, whom he was teaching. Each of these two-CD sets was issued previously and they received generally favorable reviews. Christophe Rousset is best known for his recordings of French baroque harpsichord music, e.g., Forqueray: Pièces de Clavecin (Works for Harpsichord) - Christophe Rousset or Rameau: Pièces de Clavecin - Christophe Rousset, as well as for conducting baroque works such as Rameau's Hypolyte et Aricie Rameau - Overtures / Christophe Rousset, Les talens lyriques (the latter considered a benchmark recording). The Klavierbüchlein was recorded in 2002, the English Suites in 2003, and the French Suites in 2004.



There are those who prefer other harpsichordists in these works, but I find Rousset's playing to be a unique combination of technical polish, emotional depth and suavity of presentation and I quite like all these performances. Recorded sound is good. At the time of this review these six CDs are available new at about $8 per disc, a real bargain.



Scott Morrison



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