Gustav Leonhardt - Gustav Leonhardt Plays Bach (1984)

Clearly Philips is not trying to sell this disc because of the works being performed -- a fairly miscellaneous collection of Bach's works written or transcribed for the harpsichord -- but rather for the performer of the works. But since the performer is Gustav Leonhardt -- perhaps the greatest musician of the whole early music movement of the second half of the twentieth century -- that is a more than sufficient reason to get this disc. Although he is a superb harpsichordist, Leonhardt is no mere virtuoso harpsichordist: as he demonstrates on every track on this disc, he is a superb and supremely soulful musician. His performances of his own transcriptions of the Lute Suite in E minor, BWV 996, and of the Prelude, Fugue and Allegro in E flat major, BWV 998, are not only idiomatic, they are wonderfully expressive and completely convincing. And his performances of the works originally composed for the harpsichord are just as wonderful and convincing. Indeed, his Capriccio in B flat, BWV 992 -- the famous "Capriccio on the Departure of a Beloved Brother" -- is so warmly affectionate and delightfully funny that it may well be the finest ever recorded, or at least the finest since Leonhardt's earlier recording. Philips' very early digital sound is not quite as warm as the performances, but is rather as clear as a pane of glass through which the music passes.