J.S. Bach: French Suites BWV812-817

Featuring

Wolfgang Rübsam
Johann Sebastian Bach

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Composer Biography

J.S. Bach's first exposure to French music was around 1700 during his grammar school years in Lüneburg, where French customs and music were prevalent.

Composition History

The title 'French Suites' for J.S. Bach's works does not originate from Bach himself; he called them 'Suites pour le clavessin'.

Historical Context

Georg Böhm, the organist of Saint John's Church, introduced J.S. Bach to French harpsichord music and the appropriate manner of playing it.

Performer Biography

Wolfgang Rübsam, the performer on this album, won the 1973 Grand Prix de Chartres in Interpretation and is internationally known for over a hundred recordings.

Compositional Technique

Unlike Bach's English Suites, the French Suites generally do not include preludes and are of a more modest scale, being less stylized and technically demanding.

Instruments

This recording features a lute-harpsichord, an instrument J.S. Bach is known to have owned, which produces a singing quality of tone from gut strings.