Bach: The English Suites

Welcome to Hyperion Records, an independent British classical label devoted to presenting high-quality recordings of music of all styles and from all periods from the twelfth century to the twenty-first.

Hyperion offers both CDs, and downloads in a number of formats. The site is also available in several languages.

Please use the dropdown buttons to set your preferred options, or use the checkbox to accept the defaults.

Don't show me this message again

SACDA67451/2

Digital booklet (PDF)

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

The English Suites

Angela Hewitt (piano)

2CDs Super-Audio CD — Deleted

Recording details: Various dates
Henry Wood Hall, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Ludger Böckenhoff
Engineered by Ludger Böckenhoff
Release date: September 2003
Total duration: 143 minutes 37 seconds

		English Suite No 1 in A major BWV806
CD1	1	Prelude [2'08]
	2	Allemande [4'31]
	3	Courante I [1'58]
	4	Courante II [7'14]
	5	Sarabande [5'14]
	6	Bourrée I and II [4'00]
	7	Gigue [2'52]
		English Suite No 2 in A minor BWV807
	8	Prelude [4'09]
	9	Allemande [4'04]
	10	Courante [2'15]
	11	Sarabande et les agréments de la même Sarabande [3'30]
	12	Bourrée I and II [4'04]
	13	Gigue [3'11]
		English Suite No 3 in G minor BWV808
	14	Prelude [3'14]
	15	Allemande [4'12]
	16	Courante [2'53]
	17	Sarabande et les agréments de la même Sarabande [5'39]
	18	Gavotte I and II [3'31]
	19	Gigue [2'47]
		English Suite No 4 in F major BWV809
CD2	1	Prelude [4'33]
	2	Allemande [3'23]
	3	Courante [1'56]
	4	Sarabande [3'52]
	5	Menuet I and II [3'41]
	6	Gigue [3'10]
		English Suite No 5 in E minor BWV810
	7	Prelude [4'37]
	8	Allemande [4'18]
	9	Courante [2'30]
	10	Sarabande [3'01]
	11	Passepied I and II [3'19]
	12	Gigue [2'46]
		English Suite No 6 in D minor BWV811
	13	Prelude [7'23]
	14	Allemande [4'49]
	15	Courante [2'51]
	16	Sarabande [8'09]
	17	Gavotte I and II [4'29]
	18	Gigue [3'24]

With the English Suites (the 'English' is not Bach's and there is nothing particularly English about them) Angela Hewitt all but completes her survey of Bach's keyboard works (there will be one further CD mopping up various odds and ends). These six suites, along with the French Suites and the six Partitas, present Bach's mature thoughts on the standard baroque suite of dances and as such are the greatest examples of the form.

Unlike the smaller scale French Suites the English all begin with a large-scale prelude, often rather concerto-like and very virtuosic; these are works for a very accomplished professional player rather than the amateur that much keyboard music of the 18th century would have been aimed at.

Angela Hewitt rises to all the challenges in her usual superb style and needless to say these performances will meet with the acclaim of her previous Bach recordings.

[Return to top of page]