Fournier: Bach 6 Cello Suites - Archiv 2710 005 (3LP box), superb copy

$

100

ITEM DESCRIPTION:

This lovey and quite rare 3 LP box set – a fine collector’s copy – from Archiv Production / Deutsche Grammophon (2710 005, German pressing, silver/blue labels, stereo, full-size booklet included) features Pierre Fournier's beautifully refined and searching accounts of Bach's Six Suites for Solo Cello BWV 1007-1012, recorded in the Beethoven-Saal, Hannover, during 20-22 and 28-29 December 1960 (producer: Karl-Heinz Schneider / engineer: Heinz Wildhagen) – these remain landmark recordings, gramophone classics.

Although not as rare as the original cloth box Archiv issue, this later re-issue arguably boasts superior surfaces. This particular copy also contains a fine, full-size 12-page booklet (in German, French, and English), with extensive notes on the music written by Eric Dolfein and complete discographic information.

From this we learn that Fournier played from the Urtext as edited by Paul Grummer and E.H. Muller von Asow, published in Vienna in 1944 and that the recordings were produced by Karl-Heinz Schneider and engineered by Heinz Wildhagen.

The timings for the individual Suites are as follows:

Suite No. 1 in G Major BWV 1007 – 18:40

Suite No. 2 in D minor BWV 1008 – 19:03

Suite No. 3 in C Major BWV 1009 – 23:15

Suite No. 4 in E-flat Major BWV 1010 – 23:30

Suite No. 5 in C minor BWV 1011 – 24:46

Suite No. 6 in D Major BWV 1012 – 27:00

Wrote Nicholas Anderson in the March 1989 issue of The Gramophone: "Of all the great cellists I have heard playing Bach's six Cello Suites, BWV1007-12, either in the concert hall or in recordings of various kinds, Pierre Fournier came closer to the heart of the music, as I understand it, than almost any other. He made these recordings for Archiv in 1960 and they have seldom been out of the catalogue. Readers who prefer the charisma and extrovert flourishes of Tortelier (EMI), the penetrating though sometimes unstylish gestures of Casals (EMI References—reviewed on page 1512), or the brilliant but too often superficial readings of Schiff (EMI) and Maisky (DG) may be hard to win over to these concentrated, personally unassuming interpretations by Fournier.

"Fournier seems to me to have possessed all the virtues of his fellow cellists without yielding to any of their self-indulgences; irrelevant personal idiosyncrasies are never allowed to intrude these finely sustained performances. He could be brilliant in execution—his technique was second to none, as he proves throughout this set—profound in utterance, aristocratic in poise and wonderfully coherent in his understanding of Bach's articulation and phrases. We need look no further than the Prelude of the First Suite in G major to find the supreme artistry which characterizes each and every moment of these performances. To be sure, there are very occasionally notes which fail to reach their centre but they are few and far between and certainly Fournier's intonation compares favourably with that of some of his virtuoso companions. Fournier's rubato is held tightly in rein and when he does apply it it is in the interests of enlivening aspects of Bach's formal writing. Thus it is in the Preludes, where the music requires rhythmic freedom if it is not to be relegated to the ranks of mere study material, that Fournier demonstrates his intuition and fine sense of style most forcefully; the Preludes to the First and Third Suites provide good examples. Fournier can sparkle too, as he does in many of the faster dance-orientated movements such as courantes, gavottes, bourrees and so on; in the sarabandes, on the other hand, he invariably strikes a note of grandeur coupled with a concentration amounting at times—as in the sarabandes of Suites Nos. 2 and 3—almost to abstraction.

"Above all, Fournier's Bach playing is crowned with an eloquence, a lyricism and a grasp both of the formal and stylistic content of the music which will not easily be matched. Curiously, perhaps, it is the baroque cellist, Anner Bylsma on RCA who often provides close parallels with Fournier. Bylsma's tempos tend to be faster than those of Fournier—that, after all has been a trend in baroque music over the past 20 years or so—but his conception of the music shares ground with that of Fournier. All things considered, it is hardly surprising that these readings seem as fresh and as valid today as they did 25 or more years ago. Out and out purists, poor devils, may not be able to adjust to modern pitch, modern instrument and, in the case of Suites Nos. 5 and 6, the wrong instrument, but if that is so they are deserving more of compassion than censure. Fine recorded sound and strongly commended on virtually all counts."

CONDITON - PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:

The gradations of condition I use are as follows: MINT, Near-Mint, Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor.

The condition of the box is EXCELLENT. There is very slight bumping/wear at corners (more so to the upper-left corner), and a bit of discoloration to the spine. However, there are no corner breaks, seamsplits, bends, owners’ markings, or other faults and the box remains perfectly solid, bright, crisp, and very attractive – overall, a fine collector’s copy. 

The condition of the full-size 12-page booklet is near-MINT. Again, it appears as new.

The condition of the 3 LPs is near-MINT throughout. There are no spindle trails or other marks and all in all 3 the playback is outstanding. In fact, I believe these copies have never been played before; certainly, in appearance in sound they are like new. Overall, these rate as lovely collector’s copies.