''Suites For Dancing'' is the title of this disc yet Bach's Orchestral Suites were probably not intended for dancing; indeed, I would defy any maitre de ballet, past or present, to choreograph some of the extraordinary things on offer here. The disc contains all four Suites, played on period instruments with vigorous, even at times dogmatic, regard for authenticity. Some of the ideas are sound and come over convincingly; the over-dotting or double-dotting in the slow sections of the overtures, and the occasional notes inegales are stylish and effective. But some other notions here strike me as being wholly wrong; there is little or no evidence to support a theory that the overtures themselves were conceived for dancing, and why in his self-confessed search for historical truth does William Malloch 'conduct' the performances? The phenomenon as such was unknown in Bach's day and anyway, who needs a conductor in an ensemble of one player to a part?
But as I say, by no means everything is unconvincing and I found a great many of the dances effective for their choice of tempo and for the sensible way in which they are articulated. Malloch sets an all-embracing pulse for each Suite, relating the individual dances in tempo, though not of course in rhythm, to their neighbours. One of the most interesting features of the disc lies in his approach to the Suite No. 1 in C major. Here he has put into practice research by Joshua Rifkin who believes that Bach originally intended the work to be performed without a string bass continuo. So what we're left with are two oboes and a bassoon, balanced by two violins and a viola, with harpsichord providing the only continuo support.
The level of playing is high throughout and some of the ideas are at least musically plausible. Implausible and for me, at any rate, unacceptable is the tempo adopted for the Overture of the Fourth Suite in D major. It is here, above all, that fact, supposition and pure fantasy seem to get thoroughly under each other's feet resulting in something which causes an explosion of mirth, or rage depending upon prevailing circumstances and state of mind. If you can settle for this movement horsewhipped into frenetic action then a version of the Suites played backwards may well be for you. But the disc is worth sampling for many of the remaining movements—the Menuet and Badinerie of the Suite No. 2 in B minor are captivating—and the recorded sound is excellent.'