Bach was trained as a keyboard player and learned composition through personal study, copying music that interested him from various styles, including the French keyboard suite.
Composition History
The first person to benefit from the music that later became the French Suites was Bach's second wife, Anna Magdalena Wilcke, for whom he created a 'Clavier-Büchlein'.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Vladimir Ashkenazy believes that imposing a performer's personality or assigning a 'mood' to Bach's music diminishes its meaning, stating, 'next to Bach, I am nothing'.
Interpretation
Vladimir Ashkenazy aims for clarity of timbre in his Bach performances, using few ornaments and not trying to imitate the harpsichord, but rather making the combination of voices as clear as possible on the modern piano.
Performer Biography
Vladimir Ashkenazy, the pianist on this album, has had a recording career with Decca spanning more than half a century.
Compositional Technique
Bach's French Suites are less grand than his English Suites or keyboard Partitas, lacking a Prelude and generally being shorter and more elegant, though some movements are technically difficult.
Historical Context
The designation 'French' for these suites was a later addition, not by Bach himself, possibly to distinguish them from the 'English' Suites, which may have gotten their name because a Bach son wrote 'fait pour les Anglois' on a manuscript.
