Hyperion Records

The Partie in A major, BWV832, could and has been called ‘Suite’. Two of its movements (the Allemande and the Air) appear in the Möller Manuscript (another collection of keyboard works put together by Johann Christoph Bach) under that title. It is definitely a suite in the French style – a precursor to the French Suites – with its standard movements of Allemande, Sarabande and Gigue, to which is added a characteristic Bourrée. In place of a courante, however, Bach writes an ‘Air pour les trompettes’, which is really what made me want to play this suite. It is quite unique in Bach’s solo keyboard music and deserves to be heard. The mood reminds me of the final movements of the Capriccio on the Departure of a Beloved Brother, BWV993, and the posthorn we hear there makes another appearance in bar 21 of this Air. It is by far the most original part of the work. This suite was for a long time thought to be by Telemann.

from notes by Angela Hewitt © 2004