According to the available evidence, it appears that Johann Sebastian Bach, a 37-year-old widower of less than a year, composed these French Suites for Anna Magdalena Wilcke, a 20-year-old singer, daughter of a trumpeter, and Bach's second wife. If so, he must have really loved her. With their affecting Allemandes, their charming Courantes, and their beguiling Bourrées, the French Suites are among the most immediately appealing of Bach's works for keyboard. And he must have really trusted her, too. With their deeply expressive Sarabandes, the French Suites are also among the most intimately emotional of Bach's works in any genre. Performed here by Bob van Asperen on an exquisitely sensitive Christian Vater harpsichord from 1738, the French Suites are given the deluxe treatment. An intelligent, experienced, and soulful performer, von Asperen is wholly relaxed and comfortable with the music, understanding its ethereal melodies and its lyrical counterpoints, its graceful rhythms and its elegant forms, and articulating them all with effortless naturalness. The Vater harpsichord is a warm-toned and willing instrument, gratefully yielding its subtle overtones and nuanced voicings to von Asperen's adept hands. As reproduced in Aeolus' super audio digital sound, the Vater and von Asperen might as well be just across the room from the listener.

James Leonard