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Formats and Editions
1. French Suite No. 1 In D Minor, Bwv 812: I. Allemande
2. French Suite No. 1 In D Minor, Bwv 812: II. Courante
3. French Suite No. 1 In D Minor, Bwv 812: III. Sarabande
4. French Suite No. 1 In D Minor, Bwv 812: IV. Menuet I & II
5. French Suite No. 1 In D Minor, Bwv 812: V. Gigue
6. French Suite No. 2 In C Minor, Bwv 813: I. Allemande
7. French Suite No. 2 In C Minor, Bwv 813: II. Courante
8. French Suite No. 2 In C Minor, Bwv 813: III. Sarabande
9. French Suite No. 2 In C Minor, Bwv 813: IV. Air
10. French Suite No. 2 In C Minor, Bwv 813: V. Menuet I & II
11. French Suite No. 2 In C Minor, Bwv 813: VI. Gigue
12. French Suite No. 3 In B Minor, Bwv 814: I. Allemande
13. French Suite No. 3 In B Minor, Bwv 814: II. Courante
14. French Suite No. 3 In B Minor, Bwv 814: III. Sarabande
15. French Suite No. 3 In B Minor, Bwv 814: IV. Angloise
16. French Suite No. 3 In B Minor, Bwv 814: V. Menuet And Trio
17. French Suite No. 3 In B Minor, Bwv 814: VI. Gigue
18. French Suite No. 4 In E-Flat Major, Bwv 815: I. Allemande
19. French Suite No. 4 In E-Flat Major, Bwv 815: II. Courante
20. French Suite No. 4 In E-Flat Major, Bwv 815: III. Sarabande
21. French Suite No. 4 In E-Flat Major, Bwv 815: IV. Gavotte
22. French Suite No. 4 In E-Flat Major, Bwv 815: V. Menuet
23. French Suite No. 4 In E-Flat Major, Bwv 815: VI. Air
24. French Suite No. 4 In E-Flat Major, Bwv 815: VII. Gigue
25. French Suite No. 5 In G Major, Bwv 816: I. Allemande
26. French Suite No. 5 In G Major, Bwv 816: II. Courante
27. French Suite No. 5 In G Major, Bwv 816: III. Sarabande
28. French Suite No. 5 In G Major, Bwv 816: IV. Gavotte
29. French Suite No. 5 In G Major, Bwv 816: V. Bourée
30. French Suite No. 5 In G Major, Bwv 816: VI. Loure
31. French Suite No. 5 In G Major, Bwv 816: VII. Gigue
32. French Suite No. 6 In E Major, Bwv 817: I. Allemande
33. French Suite No. 6 In E Major, Bwv 817: II. Courante
34. French Suite No. 6 In E Major, Bwv 817: III. Sarabande
35. French Suite No. 6 In E Major, Bwv 817: IV. Gavotte
36. French Suite No. 6 In E Major, Bwv 817: V. Polonaise
37. French Suite No. 6 In E Major, Bwv 817: VI. Menuet
38. French Suite No. 6 In E Major, Bwv 817: VII. Bourée
39. French Suite No. 6 In E Major, Bwv 817: VIII. Gigue
40. Suite In A Minor, Bwv 818: I. Allemande
41. Suite In A Minor, Bwv 818: II. Courante
42. Suite In A Minor, Bwv 818: III. Sarabande Simple
43. Suite In A Minor, Bwv 818: IV. Sarabande Double
44. Suite In A Minor, Bwv 818: V. Gigue
45. Suite In E-Flat Major, Bwv 819: I. Allemande
46. Suite In E-Flat Major, Bwv 819: II. Courante
47. Suite In E-Flat Major, Bwv 819: III. Sarabande
48. Suite In E-Flat Major, Bwv 819: IV. Bourrée
49. Suite In E-Flat Major, Bwv 819: V. Menuet I & II
More Info:
'This is superior Chopin playing by any standards,' remarked Fanfare of Yuan Sheng's Chopin collection (PCL0049) for Piano Classics in 2013. That was recorded on an 1845 Pleyel, whereas for his Bach series he has returned to the reliable pleasures of a modern Steinway. However, the qualities identified by Fanfare's reviewer in his Chopin - 'his sensitivity, his agility, his rhythmic strength' are no less evident, as one might expect from a pupil of the sovereign Bach exponent on the modern piano, Rosalyn Tureck. The French Suites are often considered poorer or at least slighter cousins to the English Suites and Partitas. And it's true that they were probably intended first and foremost for teaching purposes rather than public performance. Compiled during Bach's time as Capellmeister to the court at Cothen in the early 1720s, they satisfied a need for good, exemplary pieces to stretch his pupils as his reputation as a teacher spread farther into Germany and beyond. The title is misleading: the English Suites are more 'French' in character than the French Suites, which are more characteristic of the Italian style. 'By design the composer is here less learned than in his other suites,' remarked one early biographer, 'and has mostly used a pleasing, more predominant melody.' Just so, and the same is true of the pair of suites BWV 818 and 819 which fall outside the collection but belong with it in terms of style. To all of them Yuan Sheng brings considered tempi and precise articulation in the mold of Tureck. To Bach at his most uncomplicated, Sheng brings the virtues of simplicity and clarity.
