I listened to the Prelude, Allemande, and Sarabande, and will hopefully listen to more. The prelude I enjoyed very much. It was very well put together, and the use of accents to take us through the music was very effective and most importantly tasteful. There was ever so slightly a tendency to rush; it's so small, and came up only in a few places, but it takes away from the overall polish and also the crucial feeling of dance.
The allemande I liked though I thought the tone was at times pushed. I don't think the emotional effects in this music are necessarily operatic, but that is the approach many of us automatically take with them. A similar thing could be said with respect to the sarabande: sometimes the effect is too operatic for my taste.
One thing about repeats, and this is not directed at anyone personally, but it is my own thoughts that I take every occasion to express, in order to refine. When we repeat Bach movements we are really taking on a great responsibility as a general musician. Personally, adding trills here and slides there doesn't do it for me. I don't think it enhances or develops the character of the piece, and I don't think it creates any substantial differentiation.
You in fact show this: in the Sarabande, on the repeats you play "Les agrements de la meme Sarabande," written out by Bach. But it is my belief, that this approach should be applied to basically all the repeats, excepting perhaps those that are more strictly contrapuntal or imitative in nature. In other words, just as Bach has recomposed the bass and soprano lines but kept the harmonic structure the same in the Sarabande, that is how other movements should be approached.
Incidentally, I think this points to an inherent fallacy in the arguments of the "authentic" community, who want to believe that there are stylistic elements fixed in stone that they have uncovered and that enlighten the Baroque music. But the ironic failure of that movement is that Baroque musicians did improvise like this. They didn't keep the pitches the same - they thought first and foremost from a harmonic standpoint (figured bass being the most obvious proof). In other words, in order for any peformance of a Baroque piece to be "authentic," a certain part of it should be re-composed.
I'm not saying you are exemplifying this or that philosophy, that was just a digression. But I would beg you to consider being as creative with the Allemande, for instance, as Bach was with the Sarabande. There are numerous other examples in the suites: the second Courante with two doubles from Suite #1; an ornamented Sarabande in suite #3; another in suite #6.
On the whole very enjoyable!
Walter Ramsey
Topic: Recital Recording - Bach English Suite No. 2