French Suite in G major, BWV 816 - The G major Allemande is "cooler" than
the E flat major but still a lovely piece of music. Tempo also turns out
to be important to me. Gavrilov is very fast at 2'32', and I think that's
not enough time to savor the music. Another problem for Gavrilov is that
he plays the piece in a seamless style, enhancing the warmth of the music.
Schiff, at 2'43", sounds rushed although he is sufficiently cool. Hewitt
is just a few seconds slower than Schiff, but she makes the tempo "right"
for me; hers is a gorgeous rendition. Aldwell is a little slower than
Hewitt, and his performance is just as convincing. The harpsichord
versions are the slowest and none the worse for it. Jarrett's is the
warmest of the three, but there's still plenty of bite. Moroney is the
slowest and his tempo sounds perfect. Overall, these are excellent
performances excepting for Schiff who is still enjoyable and Gavrilov
which I feel is a "throw-away" version.
It's time for joy, gaiety, and effervescence with the Italian-style
Courante. This is bubbly/bouncy music and very busy as well; the left
hand has a very active part in the proceedings. Gavrilov and Schiff
continue having problems. Schiff sometimes allows the bass notes to
overwhelm the music, and Gavrilov's seamless approach removes the bouncy
aspect of the Courante. Jarrett also has little bounce, being a little
sober in execution. Hogwood, Aldwell, and Hewitt do very well, but it's
Moroney who rises to the top with a performance that I think would be
difficult to match. It has joy, bounce, and effervescence in abundance
throughout the piece, and these qualities keep growing as the music
progresses.
I consider the G major Sarabande to be one of Bach's greatest and
most sublime creations. It is a slow-paced piece which can cover a
wide spectrum of themes and emotions in a subtle but very deep manner.
It's always hard to know why and from where certain images come into
one's mind when listening to a particular work or section. For reasons
that escape me, this Sarabande, which had me in its grasp right from the
start, connected me to a Bach funeral with the Sarabande being played at
Bach's request which he made of his family when his demise was near. The
particular themes convered by the Sarabande range from tenderness, sadness,
regret, remorse, and the remembrance of better times, to qualities of
elegance, aristocracy, drama, solemnity, and a sense of substantial weight
combined with exquisite poetry.
Above all, the music is thoroughly gorgeous. If the performer does not
fully bring out the beauty of the piece, it's thumbs-down. Fortunately,
all seven versions provide the full beauty of the Sarabande.
Among the piano versions, Aldwell and Hewitt give me the full spectrum
of the music's themes; Schiff and Gavrilov mainly cover half of them.
timings of the versions range from about four to five minutes, quite
long for a Suite movement. Gavrilov's tempo is at the upper end, but
he's always rewarding and interesting. He is soft-spoken, seamless, and
very smooth; his acoustic is a little hazy, and this feature adds to the
dream-like atmosphere of the performance. What Gavrilov does not provide
is any significant sense of grandeur, seriousness of purpose, or weight.
Schiff's tempo is relatively quick, and the hazy acoustic and dream-like
approach of Gavrilov is now replaced with a clear and crisp soundstage
and a performance which emphasizes the freely poetic nature of the music.
Still, the stronger themes of the Sarabande are lacking in Schiff's
interpretation. I definitely do not want to give the impression that
Schiff and Gavrilov are not highly rewarding; they are superb performances
if one is looking for beauty, tenderness, and poetry, but not much
concerned with the heavier aspects. Having been an Economics major, I can
confidently state that Schiff and Gavrilov give a micro-interpretation as
fine as I could imagine.
Aldwell and Hewitt, however, provide a macro-approach. They cover the
spectrum of themes and emotions. The have more edge, drama, dynamic
shading, and seriousness of purpose without sacrificing the best qualities
in the Schiff and Gavrilov versons. Aldwell is highly aristocratic, Hewitt
is crisp and stunningly detailed. Both are transcendent interpretations
which represent, for me, the pinnacle of musical inspiration and execution.
The three harpsichord versions are just as good as Hewitt and Aldwell.
That spicy/tangy harpsichord quality is irresistable. More important,
each of the performers invests the music with the full range of themes
and emotions available from the Sarabande. Moroney is very slow, Jarrett
a little faster, and Hogwood has one of the quicker versions. That's all
fine. Each one tells me that the pacing is perfect. I certainly want this
Sarabande played at my funeral, and I want Aldwell doing it. He'd likely
love a little vacation in the land of enchantment (New Mexico).
On the surface, it would be reasonable to assume that the most difficult
music to perform well would be "masterful" music of depth and complexity.
However, I often find while doing these surveys that it's the other way
around. As examples, the previous Sarabande is a deep as one could hope
for, yet all the performers are excellent or better. The following Gavotte
is relatively simple and feel-good music with bounce and energy. Just play
it straight and you can't lose.
Well, there are a few somewhat losing performances of this Gavotte.
Schiff is one of the masters of taking a simple piece of music and ruining
it through his insistence on playing it "differently". In this case, the
very first notes told me that his performance would not be pleasureable.
They were choppy, disjointed, and much too softly projected. The rest of
the reading was in the same vein - no bounce, little joy. These qualities
were replaced with a level of cuteness which I found very annoying.
Hewitt's problem concerns her stylistic preference to provide a wide
range of dynamics and moods within each piece of music. It's often very
effective, but sometimes it is just the wrong approach. Every performer
needs to make adjustments from his/her basic style to meet the needs of the
music. Now I'm sure that Hewitt felt that was exactly what she did with
the Gavotte, but it seems to me that she placed her style above the needs
of the music. How so? She is very soft-focused in the first section, then
blazes away with power in the second section. My perception is that the
first section has little life to it, then all of a sudden, there's an
abrupt change as if the second section has no connection to the first.
The Aldwell liner notes indicate that this Gavotte continues the "intimate"
ways of the Sarabande. Beyond my view that there's nothing intimate about
the G major Gavotte, Aldwell puts no intimacy into his performance at all;
it is basically a "heavy" performance which can not stand up to the better
versions. Jarrett, although not as heavy as Aldwell, is quite sober, and
that's not a quality that meshes well with the music. In this case,
Jarrett allows his penchant for smooth and seamless performances to get
in the way of serving the music.
That leaves Moroney, Gavrilov, and Hogwood who gladly accept the music
for what it is and then play it expertly. Their readings are joyful,
energetic, and have just the right bounce.
Next is a dance new to the French Suites which also is used in the sixth
Suite, the Bourree. A Bourree is a 16th century French country dance,
and this particular bourree is like the previous Gavotte in that it is
relatively simple and joyful music; in this Bourree, the main theme is
inverted in the second section. And as with the Gavotte, some versions
don't find that simple = easy. Before I start in with my review of the
versions, I should relate that there's a series of descending notes which
occur about three times during the Bourree. In my view, this series is
crucial to full enjoyment of the piece and needs to be played strongly and
fast. It provides the contrast to the rather whimsical nature of the rest
of the music and is where the excitement and adrenelin is at its peak.
Gavrilov and Hewitt do not play the descending note series strongly at
all; the contrast is minimized as is the excitement of the performance.
Gavrilov has another problem which is a killer - he actually pauses/stops
two times during his performance, as if he needed to sneak a quick drag
from a cigarette or some other substance. What was he thinking? The music
needs to keep going to maintain momentum; he lets it die on the vine. The
other five versions are fine representations of the Bourree. The timing
for the Hogwood version is listed at over 2 minutes, and I was looking
forward to hearing what Hogwood does with such a slow speed. Alas, his
version is closer to one minute but is highly effective.
Now comes another dance new to the French Suites which is only in the G
major Suite; the Loure is an elegant 17th century French theatre dance.
This Loure sounds like a very slow gigue. It has a halting rhythm and
is strongly ornamented. The mood of the music is subdued, intimate, and
introspective with a high level of elegance and conversational matter.
Hewitt inserts what I consider unwarranted drama through her penchant for
rather extreme dynamic changes; hers is the dance of a couple in the throes
of schizophrenia. Schiff is really out to lunch. He's all over the place
with tempo and dynamics. At any point in time, Hewitt is walking steadily;
Schiff is tripping out. Just imagine the gyrations of a Joe Cocker or
David Bryne from the Talking Heads, and you're at the heart of Schiff's
performance. Hogwood must be very impressed with the halting rhythm as he
makes it the cornerstone of his performance; I didn't like some of his very
short note values or his pacing. He also sounded somewhat bland.
Aldwell, Jarrett, Gavrilov, and Moroney are excellent. Aldwell
gives a very elegant, introspective, and detailed reading which is at
an average/moderate tempo and is also highly conversational. Jarrett has
delicious ornamentation and is the version I'd most want to dance to if I
had to dance. Gavrilov is back with a dreamy version, and this time, it
fits the music beautifully. He is very slow, and that works too. Moroney,
a little like Hogwood, has some odd note values, but his incisiveness is so
stunning that I can easily blow off the note problem.
The concluding Gigue is no ordinary gigue; it just might be the best gigue
in any composer's repertoire; it is also very well known. How to describe
it? It's brilliant, playful, extroverted, exciting, fast, wild, busy,
angular, dramatic/dark/dangerous in many spots, retains a lyrical nature,
and has great momentum written all over it. It conjures up within me the
image of young range riders of yesterday galloping down the trail just to
catch the wind and have a good time, but they have moments when they are
confronted by a gang of rustlers and it's dangerous and tough going.
Because of the qualities I noted, I find the harpsichord perfectly suited
for this music. Of course, a great piano interpretation will overcome any
disadvantages. But there isn't one in this bunch.
Aldwell is one of the slower versions, and he sounds slow and not busy
enough. Basically, he is understated in this piece, and that's bad for the
gigue; he doesn't dig deeply in the music, he's not sufficiently playful or
brilliant or dramatic or much of anything else. "Understated and sober" is
the tune. Schiff is no better and seems to miss the thrust of the music
entirely. Bass notes can be too loud, high notes are too soft, and Schiff
often plays games with the momentum. But, he continues to be cute and
disjointed. If all I had for listening to this superb music was Schiff's
version, I'd never know this is great art. Hewitt is too soft-focused most
of the time. Where's the danger, drama, excitement, and wildness? No,
Hewitt is tame compared to what I'm looking for in this piece.
With Gavrilov, all is not entirely lost. He puts the danger and all the
other qualities back into the music. Unfortunately, he's so fast that
those qualities fly by in a blurr. But at least he's trying to get it
right. Give that man a point for effort.
With the harpsichord versions, we essentially enter another world where it
is so much easier to sound wild, busy, angular, and brilliant. Of course,
a person playing a harpsichord has as much potential to screw things up as
a person playing a piano. To their credit, none of the three do anything
like that. They each know what's at the heart of this music, and they
execute it wonderfully. Jarrett is relatively slow but abundantly exciting
with plenty of edge, even though he is the most seamless of the three. He
brings out all the best qualities in the music, and I would describe his
performance as "one for all seasons". Hogwood and Moroney don't cover the
spectrum as well as Jarrett, but they take me on a wild edge of the seat
ride which puts them in Jarrett's league.
Two overall front-runners who did not fare well in the G major Suite,
Hewitt and Gavrilov, are no longer front-runners. Hewitt falls apart in
the dances after the Sarabande, and Gavrilov started off that way in the
Allemande and Courante. Schiff is also not competitive in this suite and
was consistently below-par. Aldwell did well, but not as well as the
harpsichord versions. I favor Moroney for the G major with Hogwood and
Jarrett fairly close to his level.
I definitely don't want to come off as having a bias for the harpsichord.
I love the piano, and I love it with Bach dearly. The problem as I see it,
since the harpsichord versions are looking best right now with just one
suite to go, is the pianists. Overall, they have been much more indulgent
of their own personal styles and often seem to think that Bach's music
*needs* more than it gives. With that thought process, they sometimes
don't even relay what the music has to offer; they make substitutions of
dubious merit. Oh well, I'm a little down on these folks at the moment.
I can better understand a pianist not doing well because he/she does not
have the ability to do any better, than a pianist with all the capabilites
required who makes intepretive decisions which I don't like, dampen my
enjoyment, and frankly sound in opposition to the music at hand. But, as
Scarlett O'Hara is fond of saying, "There's always the next Suite".
Don Satz
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