Hyperion Records | Bach J S: Italian Concerto & French Overture

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A Panoramic View of Rome from Monte Mario (detail) (1749) by Giovanni Paolo Panini (1691-1765)

CDA67306

Buy? £13.99

Recording details: October 2000
Henry Wood Hall, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Ludger Böckenhoff
Engineered by Ludger Böckenhoff
Release date: January 2001
Total duration: 71 minutes 5 seconds
Available for download on iTunes: Yes

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GRAMOPHONE 'EDITOR’S CHOICE’
GRAMOPHONE CRITICS' CHOICE
LUISTER 10

'Hewitt's playing radiates joy, wit and profound understanding of the composer's keyboard style. This series is one of the record glories of our age' (The Sunday Times)

'This enticing collection once again confirms Angela Hewitt's reputation for playing Bach on the piano' (The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs)

'Hyperion’s good sense in signing Angela Hewitt deserves yet another round of applause. Hot on the heels of her superlative account of the Goldberg Variations comes another disc that proves her status as one of today’s finest Bach interpreters' (International Piano Quarterly)

'Hewitt remains today's finest exponent of Bach's keyboard music' (Gramophone)

'Stunningly beautiful … interpretations that are winning in every way. Not a note is slighted, not a phrase undernourished. She possesses a wonderful command of the music's overall architecture and wastes no time in letting us know what it is all about.'

(Fanfare, USA)

'One of the most convincing Bach pianists at the present time. These performances rate highly in my league table and deserve ‘benchmark’ status' (BBC Music Magazine)

'Captivating' (The Times)

'This disc is one of the finest volumes in Hewitt’s continuing Bach cycle, with marvellous engineering to match. Highly recommended' (International Record Review)

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Italian Concerto & French Overture

Angela Hewitt (piano)

		Italian Concerto in F major, BWV971
1		Movement 1: [untitled] [3:41]
2		Movement 2: Andante [5:38]
3		Movement 3: Presto [3:25]
		Capriccio in B flat major 'on the Departure of his Beloved Brother', BWV992
4		Movement 1: Arioso [1:58]
5		Movement 2: Andante. Fugato [1:09]
6		Movement 3: Adagissimo [3:17]
7		Movement 4: Aria Introduction [0:28]
8		Movement 5: Aria di postiglione. Adagio poco [1:04]
9		Movement 6: Fuga all' imitazione della cornetta di postiglione [2:11]
10		Capriccio in E major 'in honorem Johann Christoph Bachii Ohrdrufiensis', BWV993 [5:13]
11		Duet in E minor, BWV802 [2:45]
12		Duet in F major, BWV803 [2:32]
13		Duet in G major, BWV804 [3:24]
14		Duet in A minor, BWV805 [2:01]
		French Overture in B minor, BWV831
15		Movement 01: Ouverture [12:09]
16		Movement 02: Courante [2:27]
17		Movement 03: Gavotte I [1:23]
18		Movement 04: Gavotte II [1:25]
19		Movement 05: Gavotte I da capo [0:46]
20		Movement 06: Passepied I [1:09]
21		Movement 07: Passepied II [0:56]
22		Movement 08: Passpied I da capo [0:43]
23		Movement 09: Sarabande [4:00]
24		Movement 10: Bourrée I [0:52]
25		Movement 11: Bourrée II [1:03]
26		Movement 12: Bourrée I da capo [0:29]
27		Movement 13: Gigue [2:32]
28		Movement 14: Echo [2:25]

Angela Hewitt's recordings of J S Bach's keyboard works are rapidly being seen as the definitive modern survey on the piano. Such is her natural affinity for Bach's style, her aliveness to his dancing rhythms and her sensitive use of the modern instrument, that she is the natural successor to a prestigious line of great Bach pianists.

This disc includes works from the second and third volumes of Bach's Clavierübung (Keyboard Practice). In the Italian Concerto and French Overture Bach demonstrates not only his skill as translating to the keyboard two of the most popular orchestral genres of the time, but also his natural assimilation of their respective national characteristics, while remaining true to his own style. These are among his happiest inspirations. The Italian Concerto brims with joyous thematic invention and allusions to solo and orchestral contrasts, while the French Overture (often called a Partita) is a lively dance suite. The Four Duets, rather like more mature Two-part Inventions, and the youthful Capriccios complete a sunny and inspirational disc.