https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6124-6392
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Jon Banks, Bach for harpsichord, piano and harp, Early Music, Volume 49, Issue 3, August 2021, Pages 463–465, https://doi.org/10.1093/em/caab052
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Bach’s keyboard music represents what is perhaps some of the best-loved Baroque repertory, known as piano music to countless young students before they rediscover it in its original context. The seven collections reviewed here duplicate very few pieces and nearly all of the music has been widely recorded before, on both harpsichord and piano, a testament to the enduring appeal as well as the sheer quantity of Bach’s work as if any were needed. Paolo Zanzu’s Johann Sebastian Bach: The English Suitesbwv806–811 (Musica Ficta mf8032/3, issued 2020, 131ʹ) is possibly the most traditional in its conception—a collection of all six played on the harpsichord, a realization of the text as Bach left it to us. However, it is so much more than that—this is a real performance, with the performer speaking through Bach as much as the other way round. Many listeners may already have their own favourite recordings of these pieces but they should still listen to this one for a passion and individuality that never strays into solipsism or gimmickry. There’s a fierce rhythmic energy about much of the playing that frames the nuances of tempo and articulation without losing shape or a sense of forward motion, and the result is gripping. The recording captures some of the warmth of the room, giving the harpsichord a bloom and a sense of space that echoes the imaginative presentation of the sleeve.
