Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
6 English Suites, BWV 806-811
Wolfgang Rübsam (lute-harpsichord)
rec. 2024, Saint Helena Catholic Church, Minneapolis, USA
Brilliant Classics 97554 [2 CDs: 153]

I’ve only previously encountered the artistry of Wolfgang Rübsam in the first of his complete cycles of J.S. Bach’s organ works, recorded between 1977 and 1993 and issued by Philips. He later recorded the works for Naxos. He has held several posts, amongst them professor of church music and organ at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois. In addition he has had a prolific recording career.

Until this 2 CD set of Bach’s 6 English Suites came along for review, I was unaware that Rübsam had already recorded the Partitas, French Suites, Toccatas and both books of the Well-Tempered Clavier on Brilliant Classics. On each of these volumes, Rübsam performs on a lautenwerk (lute-harpsichord). The instrument used on this recording of the English Suites was built by Keith Hill. The lute-harpsichord is similar to a harpsichord with gut (sometimes nylon) rather than metal strings. It was an instrument favoured by J. S. Bach, and two instruments were discovered in the possession of the composer at the time of his death. Apparently no specimens from the eighteenth century have survived to the present day, and the instrument has been revived by contemporary harpsichord builders Keith Hill (who has built five), Willard Martin and Steven Sorli. The lute-harpsichord has been championed by such early music specialists Wolfgang Rübsam, Gergely Sárközy and Robert Hill.

Rübsam favours slow tempi in the Suites, and this enables him to fully savour the graceful melodiousness of the music. Also every detail is revealed, with nothing escaping notice. It’s a totally different approach to what I’m used to, but this more ponderous tack may not be to everyone’s taste. I think his aim is to avoid a romantic and metronomic approach and go for something which sounds more improvisatory, with the music sounding newly composed and evolving on the wing. His ornamentation deserves special mention; it’s imaginative and brings a sense of improvisatory freshness to proceedings.

The Suites are beautifully recorded in the stunning acoustic of Saint Helena Catholic Church, Minneapolis. The venue provides an ambience which confers warmth on the sound but also facilitates clear projection of the musical lines. The excellent liner notes, in English only, are written by Christian von Blohn. I’ve enjoyed immensely my first encounter with the lute-harpsichord, and for those wondering what this unique sound is like, I would simply describe it as the plucked or strummed sound of a lute, originating from a keyboard. I would certainly now like to explore Rübsam’s other Bach endeavours on this instrument on the Brilliant Classics label.

Stephen Greenbank