Suite I in d minor BWV 812
Suite II in c minor BWV 813
Suite III in b minor BWV 814
Concerto nach Italienischem Gusto BWV 971
Aria variata alla maniera italiana BWV 989

Till recently Lorenzo Ghielmi has made solo recordings with Passacaille mainly as an organist. However, as a performer he is continuing the tradition of the 18th century where musicians were masters on all keyboard instruments that were then available. This new recording on Passacaille presents him as a harpsichord player and not with the least interesting part of the literature by Johann Sebastian Bach

The French Suites were composed in the years 1722-1725. Bach actually knew the music of François Couperin, Louis Marchand and Nicolas De Grigny but the true model should probably be sought among the many suites of the German masters admired by the young Bach: Johann Jakob Froberger, Dietrich Buxtehude and Georg Böhm.

The Italian Concerto was published in 1735 as a part of the Clavier-Übung. The title, which sounds like studies for the keyboard, is by no way referring to dry technical exercises! The Clavier-Übung are rather models of compositions for study and imitation. The didactic intention was directed more toward composition than performance. Confronting the two musical styles, French and Italian, in one recording, shows that the great Bach made a perfect synthesis of the best of both worlds in these masterpieces.

Two instruments were used for this recording: for the French Suites a harpsichord by Keith Hill inspired by an anonymous eighteenth century German harpsichord and for the pages reflecting the Italian influence, a harpsichord by Andrea Restelli inspired by the Christian Vater harpsichord held in the Nuremberg Museum.