Search - Bach, Jarrett :: French Suites

Bach composed three great keyboard suite collections, today known as the French Suites, the English Suites, and the Partitas. There's absolutely nothing inherently French about the French Suites. They consist, as do all of Bach's works in this form, of a selection of dances from various countries, in this case not preceded by the usual overture or prelude. In fact, there are two movements--the Anglaise and the Polish Minuet--which are clearly not French in origin. Neither are the Gigues or the Sarabandes, for that matter. So it's best not too worry to much about the title, which did not originate with Bach anyway, and simply enjoy this charming, elegantly crafted music. Jarrett's performances are uniformly excellent. --David Hurwitz