- Prélude 4:49
- Allemande 3:15
- Courante 1:25
- Sarabande 2:27
- Les agréments de la
même Sarabande 2:31
- Bourrée I alternativement;
Bourrée II 3:40 - Gigue 2:15
- Prélude 3:12
- Allemande 3:07
- Courante 1:51
- Sarabande 2:02
- Les agréments de la
même Sarabande 2:20 - Gavotte I alternativement;
Gavotte II ou la Musette 2:29 - Gigue 1:53
- Prélude 2:53
- Allemande 2:54
- Courante I; Courante II
avec deux Doubles 3:31 - Double I; Double II 3:12
- Sarabande 3:48
- Bourrée I; Bourrée II 3:51
- Gigue 4:35
- Fantasia 8:02
- Fuga 5:54
Suite No. 2 in A minor BWV 807 (20:43)
Suite No. 3 in G minor BWV 808 (17:12)
Suite No. 1 in A major BWV 806 (25:02)
Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue In D minor BWV 903 (14:02)
João Carlos Martins / Bach
Vol. 9
The English Suites
Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue
Labor Records is proud to announce the digital release of The English Suites (1,5,3); Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue, the ninth installment of The Complete Keyboard Works of J.S. Bach, a collection comprising 15 volumes/19 CDs. This monumental edition features the celebrated Brazilian pianist João Carlos Martins, a legend among Bachophiles.
REVIEWS
When historical music receives a modern performance, a certain amount of speculation is inevitable. No matter how meticulous the notation, a certain amount of feeling never makes it to the printed page, falling away like vocal inflections in the oral tradition. So, understandably, modern performances of Bach tend to stress the formalism and architecture of his work.
We can never know precisely the sound the composers had in mind. But we do know that Bach was one of the least concerned with the actual sound of the music. Idiomatic writing for an instrument was rarely a consideration. Bach himself recycled his own work so heavily that charting it has become almost a cottage industry.
João Carlos Martins believes that, just as the music can transcend instrumental boundaries, its architectural frame can support any era of musical history. His is by passion and conviction a very pianistic Bach, “a masculine Bach,” he has called it, “ a Bach with a very orchestral sound, not a Bach full of ornaments.” Ornaments that serve the melody remain. Those that Martins believes were written specifically with the harpsichord in mind, to sustain the sound through the instrument’s abrupt decay, often fall by the wayside.
João Carlos Martins doesn’t violate the spirit of authenticity in performance practice. He ignores it altogether. Without rigid preconceptions of what is permitted in a modern reading of Bach and what is not, Martins proceeds, in the moment of the performance itself to construct an interpretive framework from the raw materials of the printed notes and his considerable pianistic skills.
– Tom Vernier / CD ReviewTp
…rare individuality of personality…awesome skill and grandeur.
– New York Daily News
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