J.S. Bach: 6 French Suites

Featuring

Joseph Payne
Johann Sebastian Bach

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Performer Biography

Joseph Payne, the harpsichordist on this album, was a pupil of several great musicians, including Wanda Landowska, and performs over sixty concerts yearly on both organ and harpsichord.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Bach's Inventions were not primarily about originality or mood expression, but about cultivating the ability to artfully develop and combine musical material, with self-expression being a secondary aspect.

Composer Biography

Johann Sebastian Bach became Kapellmeister to Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen in 1717, a position that offered him freedom from artistic conflict and the pressure of composing for religious services.

Composition History

The 'French Suites' were not named by Bach himself; the nickname originated from 18th-century manuscripts and was later referenced by Bach's biographer J.N. Forkel in 1802.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Bach's approach to musical education inspired many pedagogical works, such as the Six Little Preludes and the Two-part Inventions, which were intended to teach students the inner construction of harmony.

Compositional Technique

The stylization and contrapuntal writing in Bach's French Suites go beyond other harpsichord suites of the time, leading Manfred F. Bukofzer, in his work Music in the Baroque Era, to call Bach's art a "fusion of national styles."

Composition History

The first drafts of the Two-part Inventions appear in the Clavier-Büchlein, a book Bach began in 1720 as an instruction manual for his eldest son, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, who may have co-composed some pieces.