Search - Johann Sebastian Bach, Glenn Gould :: Glenn Gould Edition - Bach: French Suites, Overture

An interpretive collaboration in the French style.

Doc Holliday | Great Northwest | 03/28/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you aren't swayed by traditional performance caveats, Gould does not disappoint. He does not seek to offer a showy rendition of Bach's French Suites, but rather an interpretive collaboration between the composer and Gould. As you replay the work, like many other Gould recordings, you hear something new on each listening, and are drawn more deeply into the soul of the style that Gould hears. The closing 'Overture in the French Style' (Partita) seems to highlight and provide a satisfying closure to the album."

Bach in the nuclear age.

Doc Holliday | 01/19/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Noone played Bach like Gould. Everyone knows this. However, even within an ouevre marked by unique interpretations, these French Suites are an especially confronting set. The Gould brashness is there as always in parts, but there is also deep contemplation and an even deeper sadness. The Sarabandes are each played with a dolefulness that is underscored by a calm steadiness in the bass, the result of which is disturbing to any of the expectations someone might bring to a listening of the pieces. This is Bach in the utter coldness of the nuclear age. A hard listen, but well worth the effort."

CINQ ETOILES

DAVID BRYSON | Glossop Derbyshire England | 09/27/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Gould's style in Bach makes no compromises. His fingering is mainly detached and non-legato, there is no use of the sustaining pedal, a tempo once set is adhered to rigidly without rubato, the volume of tone is rarely varied within any given piece, and he occasionally adopts speeds that are unusually fast or unusually slow. I find it pointless to compare him with other interpreters in Bach - we should know what to expect by now and whether we like Bach done like this or not. Myself, I find Gould's Bach compulsive. Bach is the most `absolute' musician of all the great masters, and his infinite eloquence can make itself heard without any overtly `expressive' idiom, although he can deploy that to some effect too when he sees fit. Gould displays to us the composer's `abstract' profile more or less exclusively, and just as the composer's unique greatness shines out unaccountably in this view, so does the greatness of this interpreter. What Gould has in spades is individuality. It's possible to point out the obvious such as his unique clarity and evenness of fingerwork, just as it's possible to offer platitudinous comment on the distinction of the composer's counterpoint. All that is true but superficial. The real greatness of both is much harder to define, but for me it makes a spellbinding combination.



The last two French suites were recorded in early 1971, before Gould's piano suffered damage in transit. The other four date from 1972 and 1973 after the mishap, and the liner note has some interesting comments on the matter from Gould himself. It seems that the instrument's action became heavier consequent on the repairs, and Gould chose to avoid fast tempi rather than let the heavier touch force him into a more legato delivery. The difference is very perceptible to the listener. The tone in suites 1-4 is less rich than in 5 and 6, and the earlier suites feature no rocketing speeds such as Gould takes in the courante of #6. One matter that intrigues me is which parts of the French Overture were done before the accident and which after - honesty compels me to say that so far I haven't been able to tell.



The recording is perfectly adequate if perhaps a bit over-bright - I found I got a more agreeable tone by using a slightly lower volume-setting than I normally listen to. The liner-note is interesting if slightly silly in some ways - we are given a solemn analysis of Gould's supposed interest in various composers as evinced by what he chose to record, and the text is reinforced with a parade of bar-charts. I take Gould's Bach-style as read and I don't wish to act as an advocate for it. For me it's just a matter of whether he performs well or badly within the given parameters of his approach, and I have never yet heard a Bach rendering from him that would come in the latter category. The total playing-time only just tops what could have been accommodated on a single disc, but as this enables us to hear the French Overture as well as the suites I have no problem with it. I have no problem with anything here at all."