Fournier: Bach Solo Cello Suites 1 & 2 - 198 686 SAPM (Red Stereo)

$

110

ITEM DESCRIPTION:

This handsome LP – in a Red Stereo jacket – from Archiv · Deutsche Grammophon (198686 SAPM / ARC 73186, German pressing, silver label – stereo logo at 12:00) features Pierre Fournier's sublime accounts of Bach's Suites for Solo Cello No. 1 in G Major BWV 1007 and No. 2 in D minor BWV 1008, both recorded in the warm acoustics of the Beethovensaal, Hanover on 20/21 December 1960.

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.

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."

CONDITION – PLEASE READ VERY CAREFULLY:

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

The condition of the jacket is GOOD. There is ringwear, bumping at corners, edgewear, and some discoloration. In addition – on the front panel – a former owner has written the timings beside each movement However, there are no seamsplits, bends, or other defects, and the whole remains solid, bright, and attractive – in all, a good collector's copy.

The condition of the LP itself is near-MINT. Although the surfaces are not completely silent (and thus I have rated it NM vs. MINT), really this is a very fine copy and playback is superb. There are faint spindle trails, but the vinyl itself is free of scratches or marks and has a high gloss. However, if you must have absolutely perfect surfaces, then please do not buy this LP. Overall, this rates as a lovely collector's copy.