Reviews of some of the original recordings that make up this set: Italian Concerto, BWV 971; Toccatas, BWV 912 & 913; Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue,...

Reviews of some of the original recordings that make up this set:

Italian Concerto, BWV 971; Toccatas, BWV 912 & 913; Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue, BWV 903
Performance: 5 (out of 5); Sound: 5 (out of 5). After years of comparative obscurity, several of Gustav Leonhardt’s most interesting solo keyboard recitals are once again seeing the light of day. This two-CD set is one of them. The contents of the first disc, which includes the Italian Concerto, two toccatas, a fantasias and a fugue, have previously been available on CD; but the music on the second disc has not been reissued since the LP era. The recordings were made around 20 years ago and reveal two aspects of Leonhardt’s musicianship, those of performer and arranger. The Italian Concerto and Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue are played with rhythmic suppleness and a fine sense of virtuosity and rhetoric. The Suites, on the other hand, are fascinating, if not in the end altogether satisfying arrangements of the Fourth Suite for unaccompanied cello and a lute Suite in G minor. Both the playing and the fine sounding harpsichord by Christian Zell are well worth a detour.

– Nicholas Anderson, BBC Music Magazine

Inventions, BWV 772-86; Sinfonias, BWV 787-801
Performance: 5 (out of 5); Sound: 5 (out of 5). In the early 1720s, Bach composed 15 two-part ‘praeambulae’ and 15 three-part ‘fantasias’ as learning aids for his son Wilhelm Friedemann. In 1723 he made a fair copy of the pieces, which he revised, reordered and renamed inventions and sinfonias. He also underlined their didactic purpose, the title-page describing them as ‘straightforward instruction’ in playing in two and three voices, in developing good compositional ideas and, in particular, in perfecting a ‘cantabile manner’.

Bach’s stress on educational function should not obscure the fact that the inventions and sinfonias are extremely engaging works. From bravura exuberance (Inventions 8 and 12, Sinfonia 15) to delicate filigree (Inventions 6 and 11, Sinfonia 11), these brief pieces offer a treasurehouse of lively, attractive music that also, in the anguished F minor Sinfonia, touches on more tragic and profound emotions.

Although there are several good piano versions available (the benchmark here being Angela Hewitt’s 1994 Hyperion recording), the withdrawal from UK circulation of Ton Koopman’s highly regarded Capriccio disc means there is no comparable benchmark among harpsichordists. Fortunately, either of these two new releases could fill that gap. Gustav Leonhardt’s 1974 recording exhibits his trademark clarity and thoughtfulness; some may detect a hint of the pedagogue in his playing, but this is a sparkling account. Masaaki Suzuki favours a softer-toned instrument, has a more lyrical touch and sounds completely at ease with the music. He doesn’t always match Leonhardt’s rigour in articulating the music’s inner workings, but his ‘cantabile manner’ comes close to perfection.

– Graham Lock, BBC Music Magazine

French Suites, BWV 812, 813, 815, 816, 817
"Initially composed in 1722 as practice pieces for his wife Anna Magdalena, Bach’s French Suites are among his most popular keyboard works – concise, easy to play and delightfully melodic. Despite the suites’ title (which was not Bach’s own), French, Italian and German influences are all discernible, though Bach integrates them within a refined and highly cogent personal style.

Gustav Leonhardt’s 1975 performances, precise yet vigorous, continue to ring with an exhilarating authority."

– Graham Lock, BBC Music Magazine