Luisa Guembes-Buchanan: Johann Sebastian Bach: English and French Suites
Del Aguila Records

Born in Lima, Peru, pianist Luisa Guembes-Buchanan studied at the Conservatorio Nacional de Música before obtaining degrees from the Manhattan School of Music, C. W. Post College (now LIU Post), New York University, and Boston University. Such comprehensive training is in keeping with her equally broad discography, which includes solo piano recordings of Beethoven, Mozart, E. T. A. Hoffmann, Scarlatti, Schubert, and Schumann (Robert). Interestingly, while she's released multi-CD volumes of Beethoven's music as well as a double-disc set of Schumann's, her latest is her first to feature material by Johann Sebastian Bach, in this instance from his English and French suites. The names by which they're known is a tad misleading, for as Guembes-Buchanan notes (and as scholarly analyses have revealed), “the English suites are French, and the French suites are Italian.” The pianist also clarifies that the titles were bestowed by others and not during the composer's lifetime.

The pianist brings her customary poise and finesse to these interpretations and deploys her highly developed technique and artistry to amplify the poetic nuances of the material. As an educator (she's taught at Amherst College, Stonybrook University, and the New England Conservatory) and musicologist (attested to by the scholarship of her liner notes), Guembes-Buchanan does more than simply deliver surface readings but instead penetrates deeply into each piece to highlight the contrasts between their movements and show how the composer's music continues to speak to us centuries after his death.

The six English suites Bach created date from around 1713 or 1714 and have certain things in common. While the number of parts within them differs (the first has ten, the sixth eight, and the rest seven), all include “Prelude,” “Allemande,” “Courante,” “Sarabande,” and “Gigue” movements. Whereas the first and second include two “Bourree” movements, the third and sixth include two “Gavotte” parts, and the fourth and fifth a respective pair of “Menuet” and “Passepied” movements. Bach's six French suites were written a decade later, between 1722 and 1725, and, again, the number of parts differs between them. Common to all is a structural design, however, that sees an opening “Allemande” and closing “Gigue” frame a “Courante” and “Sarabande”; a “Menuet” (or two) appears in five, while the presence of “Air,” “Angloise,” “Loure,” and “Polonaise” movements differentiates one suite from another.

In the second English Suite, the “Prelude” is followed by five stylized dances and a concluding "Gigue." The opening captivates with a two-voice moto perpetuo movement design and dazzles with non-stop contrapuntal flow; Guembes-Buchanan's comment that the movement places formidable demands on the pianist's dexterity and stamina is well-supported by the evidence presented. After that breathless intro, the pace slows for an “Allemande” that's both elegant and melancholic before accelerating for the radiant “Courante” and then slowing for a stately “Sarabande et agréments de la même Sarabande” in triple time. The patience with which she delivers the material and the delicacy of her touch make the movement a highlight. With her fingers dancing nimbly across the keyboard, the first “Bourree,” a traditional French dance in rapid double time, achieves metronomic liftoff immediately, and the frenetic “Gigue” that concludes the suite does much the same.

After the briefest of pauses, the fifth French Suite begins with a graceful “Allemande” that exudes Bach's customary sparkle and showcases his contrapuntal brilliance. The brief “Courante” perpetuates the aerodynamic character of the opening before the exquisite “Sarabande” arrests the tempo for five minutes of haunting lyricism. The “Gavotte” is playfulness incarnate, the “Bourree” joyous, the “Loure” serene, and the 12/16-set “Gigue” a suite-capper of effervescent glory. While Guembes-Buchanan contends that the Gigue “steals the show,” to these ears it's the “Sarabande” that is the high point. Regardless of the movements' differences in tone, tempo, and style, she executes them all with complete conviction.

December 2024