Angela Hewitt appears to be on her way to recording all of Bach's
keyboard works for Hyperion.  Her latest venture covers five Bach keyboard
compositions: French Overture, Italian Concerto, the Four Duets, Capriccio
BWV 992, and Capriccio BWV 993.  The Hyperion catalog number is CDA 67306.

Reviews I have read of the new disc have all been highly complimentary.
In this respect, she seems to get the same response as Perahia/Bach
recordings.  They can do no wrong.  Personally, I find this treatment
rather unreasonable.  I have my share of reservations concerning even my
favorite Bach performers such as Rosalyn Tureck, Gustav Leonhardt, and
Glenn Gould.  Nobody is perfect, and that surely includes Hewitt and
Perahia.  However, excellent mainstream recordings tend to elicit from
most reviewers only raves without pointing out any perceived flaws.

Another interesting aspect I have noticed of the reviews of the new Hewitt
disc is that little if any mention is made of a Bach recital cd she made
for DG in 1986.  That recording includes two of the works on the new disc:
Italian Concerto and the Four Duets.  In addition to comparing Hewitt's new
disc to recorded performances from other artists, I will also dig into that
previous DG/Hewitt recording concerning the two duplicated works.

French Overture in B minor BWV 831 - This is a 30 minute work, in fact
exactly 30 minutes according to the Hewitt listed timings.  It consists
of a large scale overture followed by a series of dance movements.

The overture is a masterful movement of great inspiration with a
sequence of Grave-Allegro-Grave.  In some recordings, a second Allegro
and third Grave further extend the movement.  The Grave is very subtle
and reflective, but also emotionally rich and heroic.  The Allegro is
quite powerful music ranging from comforting and delicate to almost
apocalyptic visions.

I have warm affection for the Koroliov overture on Hanssler; his Grave
is gorgeous and very slow although the heroic element is downplayed.
Tureck on Philips greatly emphasizes the inherent heroism of the Grave.
Koroliov's Allegro is a whirlwind of excitement and macabre happenings
easily surpassing the Tureck account.  Even better is the Kenneth Gilbert
overture on Harmonia Mundi which has a highly heroic Grave of great beauty
and an Allegro of equal intensity to Koroliov and greater display of detail
and forward momentum.  The overture would seem to be a natural for Glenn
Gould, but his Grave has too many cute mannerisms and the Allegro finds him
less inspired than usual with low excitement.

Hewitt's overture does not compare well to either Gilbert or Koroliov.
Her Grave is very good, being quite heroic and poetic.  The problem is
the Allegro where she is not competitive.  Excitement is low, the macabre
element is virtually non-existent, and her accenting and pacing are
sometimes questionable.  The most significant negative in my view is her
overall flow which lacks continuity.  Also, she's one of the artists who
adds a third Allegro and second Grave.  Considering the quality of the
performance, 'additional' is not better.

The first dance movement is a French-style Courante.  There are many
recordings of this bitter/sweet music which are excellent: Tureck, Gould,
Schepkin, Koroliov, and particularly Robert Woolley on EMI.  Koroliov is
very slow and maximizes the beauty of the piece as he did in the overture's
Grave.  Schepkin takes a very different approach; he is quite fast and uses
a greater range of dynamics; still, the beauty shines through in Schepkin's
reading.  I don't know of any version slower than Gould's, but he comes
through superbly with a heart-felt yet demonstrative performance.  My
favorite is from Woolley whose interplay between the voices is stunning.

Hewitt is competitive in the Courante but can't match the quality of
performances mentioned above.  She often uses a slight staccato exactly
at the spots where I traditionally want legato; maybe I'd love a strong
staccato approach, but I don't care for the way Hewitt sits on the fence.

Next comes the Gavotte I and II.  In my review of the Koroliov/Bach
recital disc back in July 2000, I stated that Rosalyn Tureck owns this
music.  Her version is ever so slow and detailed.  The counterpoint is
greatly highlighted and ornmentation outstanding.  She is very playful and
teasing in Gavotte I; exuberance is somewhat low, but she replaces it with
a nobility that's irresisatable.  Her Gavotte II starts out heroically ; I
love that decision.  The most amazing aspect of the performance is that it
never drags; Gould is like lightning in comparison but my interest wans
quickly.

I listened to Hewitt immediately after Tureck which I suppose wasn't a nice
thing to do to Hewitt.  Guess what? She sounds excellent.  She's not at
Tureck's magical level, but she invests Gavotte I with great exuberance and
II is delicate and delightful.  Hewitt's Gavotte series is much better than
her overture and courante.

My current favorites for Passepied I and II are Woolley and Koroliov.  Mr.
Koroliov delivers the most exuberant Passepied I've heard yet; then he
entirely switches gears with an absolutely lovely and delicate Passepied
II.  Woolley's Passepied I has infectious pacing/accenting; his Passepied
II is the most uplifting I know.  I'd also like to mention the Passepied
I from Piotr Anderszewski on Harmonia Mundi's Les Nouveaux Interpretes
series.  The man wants nothing to do with exuberance; instead, he presents
an almost hushed performance which is wonderful.

Hewitt's is one of the better performances of the Passepied series,
especially in Passepied II which is just as lovely as the Koroliov version.
However, Hewitt does not provide as high a level of exuberance as Koroliov
in Passepied I nor is her pacing as irresistable as Woolley's.

The Sarabande is superbly served by Koroliov and Edward Aldwell on
Biddulph.  Koroliov's slow four minute reading is emotionally rich,
beautiful, and has fantastic projection.  Aldwell gives a three minute
performance which also has great projection and feeling.  Hewitt, like
Koroliov, uses the four minute tempo and matches Koroliov with an equally
fine and similar performance.

Another dance series, the Bourree I and II, comes to center stage.  I find
Anderszewski's version the best overall.  His Bourree I is exciting with
glowing bass projection; II is highly poetic and continues the superior
left hand projection.  In fact, I'd say that the balances between both
hands is perfect.  There's nothing close to perfect from Hewitt.  Her
Bourree I just doesn't have much lift to it, and the bass contribution is
disappointing.  Bourree II is taken quickly and sounds rather perfunctory.

The Gigue has a strong heroic element, but the adjective I find best
describes this music is "luxuriant".  My current favorite comes from
Anderszewski who provides great ceremony, projection, and poetry.  Hewitt
certainly delivers more lift here than in Bourree I with a very fine
performance; I still prefer Anderszewski who provides greater continuity.

There aren't many compositions which end with an Echo movement, but
the French Overture has a great one.  The 'echo' effect refers to the
alternating between piano and forte volume.  This music is vivacious,
bubbly, and delightful.  Tureck's slow version and Schiff's moderate paced
reading are the best in my opinion.  Tureck finds just the right balance
between the volume extremes, and the slow pace allows all the delicious
details to emerge.  Schiff's is a highly vivacious interpretation.  The
main advantage of both versions is that neither loses momentum as volume
changes suddenly.  Hewitt does lose momentum as her soft tones can hardly
be noticed.  Overall, it's not a bad reading at all, but doesn't compare
with the best.

That's it for Hewitt's French Overture - nothing special at any point in
the performance, but it is a competitive version overall.  I prefer it to
the Schiff and Schepkin recordings, but most of the alternatives I find
superior to the Hewitt version.  Her overture and Bouree series are not to
my liking.  The other movements are fine but not distinguished except for
the Sarabande.

Let's see if Hewitt improves in the Four Duets BWV 802-805.  For these
works, she is also up against her previous recording for DG.

Duet in E minor, BWV 802 - I love the Nikolayeva version on Hyperion and
Hewitt's on DG.  Nikolayeva is stark and aristocratic; Hewitt/DG is soft
with a hushed mystery hanging over it.  Hewitt's new performance is clearly
quicker than the older one and less mysterious; however, it compensates
with greater forward momentum and actually sounds like a cross between her
former self and Nikolayeva.  These three performances are the best around.

Duet in F major, BWV 803 - This Duet is a two part fugue with a strong and
joyful first section and second section in the minor mode which is strongly
chromatic with stretti, inversion, and double counterpoint.  I've enjoyed
Woolley's version the most, particularly his incisive second section.
Hewitt/DG is one of the better versions with a joy-filled and infectious
reading of the first section; her second section isn't sufficiently angular
and using the piano isn't a good excuse as Koroliov shows plenty of
angularity.  Hewitt's Hyperion effort is just as good as the DG in the
first section and better in the second; she has enhanced the level of
angularity and the projection is an improvement as well.  Even if I
still have a preference for Woolley, Hewitt is very close to his level.

Duet in G major, BWV 804 - This joyful music has a strong hint of
mystery and is quite delicate.  Semiquavers give the music its vitality
and mystery.  Hewitt/DG along with Kenneth Gilbert deliver the best
performances.  Hewitt nearly puts me into a trance as she glides through
the music with great poetry and legato flow.  In her new effort, there is
stronger projection which is likely coming from both Hewitt and the sound
engineering.  The result is less trance but more stature and nobility; both
versions are wonderfuf.

Duet in A minor, BWV 805 - Here we have my most loved Duet.  It's a two
part fugue of great emotional depth and breadth.  Beauty, tenderness,
mystery, and joy combine for one of Bach's greatest keyboard achievements.
I consider myself to be very fortunate to know three outstanding recorded
performances: Schepkin, Peter Serkin on RCA, Nikolayeva, and Koroliov.
Schepkin has a wonderful elegance and Serkin is all about a delicate
mystery and great expansiveness.  Those two give three minute readings;
Nikolayeva extends to over four minutes with a stately performance of
exquisite beauty and insight.  Koroliov doesn't think that four minutes
is nearly enough; the risk taker offers over six minutes of the Duet.
It's like music from another world telling a full-length story.  Actually,
listening to the four versions today, I believe that Schepkin doesn't
belong in this deservedly exalted company; he just doesn't provide the
level of beauty and mystery they offer.

But what about the Hewitts? Well, the A minor was the Achilles Heel
for Hewitt on the DG issue or so I thought at the time.  I've come to
appreciate her approach which is very fast(two minutes) and quite bellicose
and martial.  I still don't think that she provides the wealth of diversity
of the best versions, but hers almost makes me want to enlist in the
military and kick some ass.  It is a stirring rendition.  Does the same
apply to her new Hyperion version? Being even faster than the DG issue,
I thought the answer would be yes, but that was bad thinking on my part.
She's now less militaristic, taking a softer and more gentle stand.
I don't believe she makes a good decision here at all.  Much of the
distinctiveness of her previous performance is shot to hell.  If you own
the Hyperion and not the DG, you might well think Hewitt's got plenty of
martial weight in her reading; trust me, it's low octane compared to the
DG performance.

I end up preferring both Hewitt versions of the Four Duets to any others
I've heard.  Although I am disappointed in the lower voltage of the new A
minor compared to the older one, there are a few points where the new set
is more to my liking.

In Part II, I'll review the two Capriccios and the Italian Concerto.  So
far, the Hyperion recording is a mixed bag.  Hewitt's Four Duets are among
the best with the exception of the A minor.  However, she already has a
great set on DG.  Her French Overture is not on DG and therefore possesses
greater significance to me; I can't say I'm impressed with the performance.
For this new disc to rate a strong recommendation, Hewitt's readings of the
remaining three works will have to be mighty fine.

Don Satz
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