Eagerly pursuing his exploration of Bach’s corpus for solo keyboard, Benjamin Alard focuses here on works associated with the composer’s first wife, Maria Barbara, and her untimely death in 1720. This instalment therefore includes both the Inventions and Sinfonias, a collection of teaching pieces brimming with freshness and invention, and the prodigious French Suites, one of the peaks of Bach’s years in Cöthen.
Intégrale de l’Œuvre pour Clavier / Das Klavierwerk Köthen, 1717-1723 – For Maria BarbaraJOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685-1750)
CD 1
· Sonata in D minor BWV 964
Ré mineur / d-Moll (after the Violin Sonata No. 2 in A minor, BWV 1003)
· I. Adagio (4’05)
· II. Fuga. Allegro (7’58)
· III. Andante (5’13)
· IV. Allegro (5’59)· Chaconne in D minor
Ré mineur / d-Moll (after the fifth movement of the Partita for Solo Violin No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004) (13’17)· Prelude and Fugue* in D minor BWV 539
Ré mineur / d-Moll (* after the second movement of the Violin Sonata No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001)
· 1. Prelude (1’15)
· 2. Fugue (5’27)· Adagio in G major BWV 968
Sol majeur / G-Dur (after the first movement of the Violin Sonata No. 3 in C minor, BWV 1005) (3’16)· Pedal-Exercitium BWV 598 *
G minor / Sol mineur / g-Moll (2’13)· Fantasia in G minor *
Sol mineur / g-Moll (from the Great Fantasia and Fugue in G minor, BWV 542) (5’00)CD 2
Johann Sebastian BACH
· Invention in C major / Do majeur / C-Dur BWV 772 (1’22)
· Sinfonia in C major / Do majeur / C-Dur BWV 787 (1’22)
· Invention in F major / Fa majeur / F-Dur BWV 779 (0’56)
· Sinfonia in F major / Fa majeur / F-Dur BWV 794 (1’20)
· Invention in D minor / Ré mineur / d-Moll BWV 775 (1’15)
· Sinfonia in D minor / Ré mineur / d-Moll BWV 790 (1’47)
· Invention in G major / Sol majeur / G-Dur BWV 781 (0’56)
· Sinfonia in G major / Sol majeur / G-Dur BWV 796 (1’20)
· Invention in E minor / Mi mineur / e-Moll BWV 778 (1’36)
· Sinfonia in E minor / Mi mineur / e-Moll BWV 793 (2’19)
· Invention in A major / La majeur / A-Dur BWV 783 (1’35)
· Sinfonia in D major / Ré majeur / D-Dur BWV 789 (1’31)
· Invention in D major / Ré majeur / D-Dur BWV 774 (1’25)
· Invention in B minor / Si mineur / h-Moll BWV 786 (1’38)
· Sinfonia in B minor / Si mineur / h-Moll BWV 801 (1’32)François COUPERIN (1668-1733)
Prelude in D minor
Ré mineur / d-Moll (from L’Art de toucher le clavecin) (1’19)Johann Sebastian BACH
French Suite No. 1 in D minor BWV 812
Ré mineur / d-Moll
· I. Allemande (3’35)
· II. Courante (2’10)
· III. Sarabande (2’21)
· IV. Menuets I & II (2’57)
· V. Gigue (2’06)· François COUPERIN
Prelude in G minor
Sol mineur / g-Moll (from L’Art de toucher le clavecin) (0’54)French Suite No. 5 in G major BWV 816
Sol majeur / G-Dur
· I. Allemande (3’09)
· II. Courante (1’55)
· III. Sarabande (3’56)
· IV. Gavotte (1’16)
· V. Bourrée (1’18)
· VI. Loure (2’00)
· VII. Gigue (3’24)Prelude in B minor
Si mineur / h-Moll (from L’Art de toucher le clavecin) (1’41)French Suite No. 3 in B minor BWV 814
Si mineur / h-Moll
· I. Allemande (3’16)
· II. Courante (2’19)
· III. Sarabande (2’53)
· IV. Anglaise (1’35)
· V. Menuet – Trio (3’02)
· VI. Gigue (2’34)CD 3
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
· Sinfonia in E-flat major / Mi bémol majeur / Es-Dur BWV 791 (1’50)
· Invention in E-flat major / Mi bémol majeur / Es-Dur BWV 776 (1’45)
· Sinfonia in C minor / Do mineur / c-Moll BWV 788 (1’51)
· Invention in C minor / Do mineur / c-Moll BWV 773 (1’59)
· Sinfonia in F minor / Fa mineur / f-Moll BWV 795 (3’03)
· Invention in F minor / Fa mineur / f-Moll BWV 780 (1’32)
· Sinfonia in B-flat major / Si bémol majeur / B-Dur BWV 800 (1’56)
· Invention in B-flat major / Si bémol majeur / B-Dur BWV 785 (1’17)
· Sinfonia in G minor / Sol mineur / g-Moll BWV 797 (2’26)
· Invention in G minor / Sol mineur / g-Moll BWV 782 (1’29)
· Sinfonia in E major / Mi majeur / E-Dur BWV 792 (1’25)
· Invention in E major / Mi majeur / E-Dur BWV 777 (3’12)
· Sinfonia in A minor / La mineur / a-Moll BWV 799 (1’41)
· Invention in A minor / La mineur / a-Moll BWV 784 (1’20)
· Sinfonia in A major / La majeur / A-Dur BWV 798 (1’46)· Prelude in E-flat major
Mi bémol majeur / Es-Dur (from the French Suite No. 4 in E-flat major, alternate version BWV 815a) (1’23)· French Suite No. 4 in E-flat major BWV 815
Mi bémol majeur / Es-Dur
· I. Allemande (2’54)
· II. Courante (1’57)
· III. Sarabande (3’01)
· IV. Gavotte (1’14)
· V. Menuet (0’45)
· VI. Air (1’52)
· VII. Gigue (2’38)· Prelude in C minor BWV 999
Do mineur / c-Moll (1’46)· French Suite No. 2 in C minor BWV 813
Do mineur / c-Moll
· I. Allemande (2’57)
· II. Courante (2’07)
· III. Sarabande (3’00)
· IV. Air (1’41)
· V. Menuet (3’11)
· VI. Gigue (2’35)François COUPERIN
Prelude in E minor
Mi mineur / e-Moll (from L’Art de toucher le clavecin) (1’15)· Johann Sebastian BACH
French Suite No. 6 in E major BWV 817
Mi majeur / E-Dur
· I. Allemande (3’11)
· II. Courante (1’56)
· III. Sarabande (2’42)
· IV. Gavotte (1’13)
· V. Polonaise (1’06)
· VI. Bourrée (1’31)
· VII. Menuet (1’06)
· VIII. Gigue (2’41)Benjamin Alard CD 1*, Inventions and Sinfonias: Clavichord by Émile Jobin (2018), after Christian Gottfried Friederici (1773) * with a pedal board made in collaboration with Manufacture Quentin Blumenroeder (2021)Preludes and Suites: Harpsichord by Joannes Couchet (ca. 1645), ravaled by François-Étienne Blanchet (ca. 1720) / from the collection of the Musée instrumental de Provins