One so readily associates the names of Bream and Bach that it comes as a surprise to find that he has not previously recorded either the Partita, BWV1006a, the Prelude, Fugue and Allegro BWV998, or the Chaconne from BWV1004. The Suite in E minor, BWV996 is to be found on RCA in the version he recorded in the 1960s, but the years have wrought changes in his view of the work. He relishes the music at slightly easier tempos, often closer to those adopted by many lutenists: in BWV1006a the correspondence is close, but in BWV996 he takes a more spacious view of the ('French') Courante, whilst the Sarabande proceeds with slow dignity and, like several other movements on this record, is treated to more embellishment than Bream has hitherto been wont to introduce.
Various guitarists have treated the Chaconne in ways ranging from the 'religious' awe of Segovia to the 'Grand Prix' approach of sundry others; Bream adding enhancing appoggiaturas at 1'45'' and 2'17'', treats it with the greatest respect, and if his 15'47'' seems slow on paper it does not sound so. Violinists Sitkovetsky (Orfeo, 3/87) and Shumsky (ASV, 9/87), both praised for their performances, take it at about the same generous pace. The clarity of Bream's thought emerges from his fingers in an equally unhurried BWV998. If his recorded archive with EMI does not ultimately reach the proportions of that with RCA it will still be one to treasure.'