Bach: Overtures / Ouvertures: The 4 Orchestral Suites [Hybrid SACD]

Bach: Overtures / Ouvertures: The 4 Orchestral Suites [Hybrid SACD]

Bach: Overtures / Ouvertures: The 4 Orchestral Suites [Hybrid SACD]
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CD Details

Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach
Conductor: Masaaki Suzuki
Orchestra: Bach Collegium Japan Orchestra
Edition: Music CD
Format: Hybrid SACD - DSD, Import
CD Release Date: 2005-10-25
Music Label: BIS
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
  1. Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068: I. Ouverture
  2. Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068: II. Air
  3. Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068: III. Gavotte I - II - I
  4. Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068: IV. Bourrée
  5. Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068: V. Gigue
  6. Orchestral Suite No. 1 in C major, BWV 1066: I. Ouverture
  7. Orchestral Suite No. 1 in C major, BWV 1066: II. Courante
  8. Orchestral Suite No. 1 in C major, BWV 1066: III. Gavotee I - II - I
  9. Orchestral Suite No. 1 in C major, BWV 1066: IV. Forlane
  10. Orchestral Suite No. 1 in C major, BWV 1066: V. Menuet I - II - I
  11. Orchestral Suite No. 1 in C major, BWV 1066: VI. Bourrée I - II - I
  12. Orchestral Suite No. 1 in C major, BWV 1066: VII. Passepied I - II - I
  13. Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor, BWV 1067: I. Ouverture
  14. Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor, BWV 1067: II. Rondeau
  15. Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor, BWV 1067: III. Sarabande
  16. Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor, BWV 1067: IV. Bourrée I - II - I
  17. Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor, BWV 1067: V. Polonaise - Double - Polonaise
  18. Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor, BWV 1067: VI. Menuet
  19. Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor, BWV 1067: VII. Badinerie
Music CD 2
  1. Orchestral Suite No. 4 in D major, BWV 1069: I. Ouverture
  2. Orchestral Suite No. 4 in D major, BWV 1069: II. Bourrée I - II - I
  3. Orchestral Suite No. 4 in D major, BWV 1069: III. Gavotte
  4. Orchestral Suite No. 4 in D major, BWV 1069: IV. Menuet I - II - I
  5. Orchestral Suite No. 4 in D major, BWV 1069: V. Réjouissance

Music reviews of Bach: Overtures / Ouvertures: The 4 Orchestral Suites [Hybrid SACD]

Music Review: Triumphant Bach, forever young!
Rating: 5 Stars

Bach's four orchestral suites - here called "Overtures" - have faired remarkably well on disc, especially since the advent of the period instrument movement. There are too many fine interpretations of this music - from Parlman, Harnoncourt, Goebel, and Pinnock to name just a few - to state that Suzuki and his Bach Collegium Japan deliver the last word in this music, but there are several factors that weigh heavily in favor of this spectacular release.

First, this is sonically the best we've heard in this music, both in recorded sound and in playing. Sonically, the performances are crystal clear yet natural, something we've come to expect from BIS. With regards to playing, no one has mastered balance like Suzuki does here. It is a testament to Suzuki's innate sense of texture and clarity that the b-minor suite never sounds like a flute concerto. However, the beautifully toned instrument is always audible against the small, but powerful, mass of strings. At the same time, Suzuki achieves perfection in the two d-major suites, trumpets never soaring over the texture but, rather, sound like and integral - and well balanced - part of the music. That is not to say the music still isn't thrilling, far from it. Part of the utter joy of these performances is brillance of execution shown by the collegium. They not only dispatch Bach's impossibly writing with ease - does the flautist ever take a breath in the b-minor overture (?!) - but they also capture the spirit with elegant flair. The gavotte in the c-major suite sparkles with stately charm, followed by an joyous forlane. The sarabande in the b-minor suite has seldom sounded so touching while the Rejouissance in the second d-major suite is stunning. Special mention must, however, go out to the keyboardist. Many period performances of this music fail to properly integrate the harpsichord, which ends up clanging along unattractively. Here, however, the omnipresent continuo is perfectly proportioned within the instrumental fabric, never becoming distracting or annoying.

Period strings have come a long way since the early days of the Academy of Ancient Music and the Concentus Musicus Wien. The strings of collegium sound sinewy but never scrappy and are capable of a huge array of colors and dynamic levels. This is most salient in the actual overtures, with all repeats thankfully taken, where the strings are stunning not only in the fugal passages but in the great French overtures. In the second d-major suite, for example, the strings shape so truly magisterial phrases, swelling from a low dynamic into an overwhelming forte that is indescribably idiomatic and sensational.

Of course, much of this is to Suzuki's credit as well, who's painstaking detail of preparation is evident in everything from dynamics to rhythm. This pays the largest dividends in the overtures, where the fugal passages possess an unusual level of rhythmic and textual clarity. In the two d-major suites, for example, Suzuki makes sure each voice is properly heard and that the ever important dotted rhythm in the second d-major suite is always unearthed.

There are certainly other ways to play this music - the rougher hewn edges of Harnoncourt, the high-voltage energy of Fasolis, the patrician stateliness of Pinnock - but Suzuki finds so much joyous, occasional spirit in this music and marries it with technical perfection in a way that really commands your attention and, as always, reminds us all of Bach's indefatigable greatness.
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