Ewa Mrowca - Pieces de Clavecin - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Ewa Mrowca - Pieces de Clavessin [COMPACT DISCS] date 01/01/2000

Bearing in mind the special pedagogical value of suites, Bach, already a kapellmeister in Köthen, in 1722, began to write Suites pour le Clavessin into his second wife's private musical notebook, entitled Clavier-Büchlein für Anna Magdalena Bach. These were five suites, marked with BWV numbers 812-816, now known as French Suites. There is no certainty as to whether the composer intended to create a cycle of suites or whether he rather wrote them successively for the purpose of improving the harpsichord performance of the young wife. Johann Sebastian Bach would never use the very name French Suites. It first appeared only in 1762, in the notes of Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg (1718-1795), who described the sequence of six suites as a collection under the title VI. Franz. Suiten von reel Herrn Capellm. Bach. In the second half of the 18th century, the name became common in the Berlin circle. In 1802, Johann Nicolaus Forkel (1749-1818) called the cycle French Suites, because, in his opinion, they were composed in the French style. They are performed beautifully here by Ewa Mrowca.

This recording marks the first-ever of works by composers whose lives and artistic legacies still await wider recognition. Written at the dawn of the 20th century, these pieces capture the final echoes of Romanticism while embracing emerging new directions-freer, impressionistic forms and unexpected harmonic relationships-yet they also reveal the enduring influence of great predecessors such as Chopin and Stojowski. Acclaimed soloist and chamber musician Ewa Skardowska brings these rarely heard works to life with insight, commitment, and a deep understanding of the rich musical culture of the fin de siècle.