Bach: The 6 French Suites

There’s nothing particularly “French” about Bach’s French Suites. Which means that listeners can simply sit back and enjoy the expressive and contrapuntal range in these wonderful keyboard dances, rather than speculate on any “Frenchness” in the music. Francesco Tristano plays a Yahama grand, its crisp, immediate tone enabling him to elucidate the music’s more intricate moments such as in the famous joyful “Gigue” to Suite No. 5 (Track 34). At the same time, there’s a distinct lack of sentiment to Bach’s sublimely meditative Sarabandes, particularly from Suite No. 3. Instead, Tristano imbues these gentle dances with a quiet stateliness, as if each were carved from marble rather than wood. Elsewhere, Tristano injects the music with a satisfying motoric energy, especially in many of the Courantes, and the recorded sound is universally excellent, complementing Tristano’s playing style by being clear without straying into harshness.