Wunderkammer. Bach: Harpsichord Works Bertrand Cuiller

• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750): Italian Concerto in F Major, BWV 971:
• 1Bach: Italian Concerto in F Major, BWV 971: I. [-]04:10
• 2Bach: Italian Concerto in F Major, BWV 971: II. Andante04:46
• 3Bach: Italian Concerto in F Major, BWV 971: III. Presto04:07
• Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 903:
• 4Bach: Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 903: I. Fantasia05:46
• 5Bach: Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 903: II. Fugue05:09
• Concerto in G Minor, BWV 975:
• 6Bach: Concerto in G Minor, BWV 975: I. [-]02:56
• 7Bach: Concerto in G Minor, BWV 975: II. Largo03:21
• 8Bach: Concerto in G Minor, BWV 975: III. Giga Presto01:48
• Capriccio in B-Flat Major, BWV 992 "Sopra la lontananza del fratello dilettissimo":
• 9Bach: Capriccio in B-Flat Major, BWV 992 "Sopra la lontananza del fratello dilettissimo": I. Arioso adagio "Ist eine Schmeichelung der Freunde, um denselben von seiner Reise abzuhalten"01:49
• 10Bach: Capriccio in B-Flat Major, BWV 992 "Sopra la lontananza del fratello dilettissimo": II. "Ist eine Vorstellung unterschiedlicher Casuum, die ihm in der Fremde könnten vorfallen"01:45
• 11Bach: Capriccio in B-Flat Major, BWV 992 "Sopra la lontananza del fratello dilettissimo": III. Adagiosissimo "Ist ein allgemeines Lamento der Freunde"03:23
• 12Bach: Capriccio in B-Flat Major, BWV 992 "Sopra la lontananza del fratello dilettissimo": IV. "Allhier kommen die Freunde (weil sie doch sehen, dass es anders nicht sein kann) und nehmen Abschied"00:55
• 13Bach: Capriccio in B-Flat Major, BWV 992 "Sopra la lontananza del fratello dilettissimo": V. Allegro poco "Arie del postiglione"01:26
• 14Bach: Capriccio in B-Flat Major, BWV 992 "Sopra la lontananza del fratello dilettissimo": VI. Fuga "Fuga all'imitatione della posta"02:31
• English Suite No. 3 in G Minor, BWV 808:
• 15Bach: English Suite No. 3 in G Minor, BWV 808: I. Prélude03:29
• 16Bach: English Suite No. 3 in G Minor, BWV 808: II. Allemande03:56
• 17Bach: English Suite No. 3 in G Minor, BWV 808: III. Courante02:24
• 18Bach: English Suite No. 3 in G Minor, BWV 808: IV. Sarabande03:15
• 19Bach: English Suite No. 3 in G Minor, BWV 808: V. Gavottes I-II03:22
• 20Bach: English Suite No. 3 in G Minor, BWV 808: VI. Gigue02:54
• Das wohltemperierte Klavier I:
• 21Bach: Das wohltemperierte Klavier I: Prelude and Fugue in C-sharp Minor, BWV 849: I. Prelude02:44
• 22Bach: Das wohltemperierte Klavier I: Prelude and Fugue in C-sharp Minor, BWV 849: II. Fugue04:21
• Total Runtime01:10:17

Info for Wunderkammer. Bach: Harpsichord Works

"I dream of forever being able to build programmes and recordings, as I do here, out of a pure desire to play. These mischievous, naive desires for play and musical pleasure are the only things that drive me. In this new album devoted to J.S. Bach, I explore a wide variety of works, each telling its own story, which could be arranged in different ways or listened to separately. The aim of this new album, my first solo work devoted to Johann Sebastian Bach, is simple but so important to me: to delight the ears and, may I hope, the heart, with a few pieces that I place in the pantheon of the Kantor and that have been with me for a long time, recorded here on a magnificent harpsichord by Philippe Humeau. And a new adventure with Ramée – an invaluable label if there ever was one - is just beginning!" (Bertrand Cuiller)

Bertrand Cuiller, harpsichord

Bertrand Cuiller
Born in 1978 into a musical family, Bertrand began studying the harpsichord with his mother, Jocelyne, at the age of 8. He studied the instrument for many years following with Pierre Hantaï as well as with Christoph Rousset at the CNSM in Paris. Also interested in the sound of the horn, he learned to play both Baroque and modern horn.

In 1998, at age 19, he won the 3rd prize of the Bruges International Harpsichord Competition. Retained the following year by William Christie, he participated in numerous productions by Les Arts Florissants. As an orchestral musician, he also played with conductors Hevé Niquet, Vincent Dumestre and his father, Daniel Cuiller.

Mostly interested until the present by working in smaller groups, he has developed a great affection for chamber music, an affection which he has nourished with his friends at La Rêveuse as well as with Les Basses Réunis, since his meeting the cellist Bruno Cocset. He also plays in duo with Sophie Gent, Marine Sablonnière and Jana Semeradova.

Deeply interested in instrumental playing, Bertrand Cuiller has devoted himself to the solo repertoire for harpsichord, in particular the English William Byrd and John Bull. He has twice recorded these composers: Alpha, “Pescodd Time”, and Mirare “M. Tomkins his lessons of worthe”. He has also recorded Johann Sebastian Bach’s harpsichord concerti for Mirare with his father Daniel on the violin leading the ensemble Stradivaria, as well as a disk consecrated to Scarlatti and Soler. His recordings have received a very warm reception from both the critics and the public.

Bertrad Cuiller has created several productions with the comedian Louise Moaty. La lanterne magique de Monsieur Couperin; Mille et une Nuits ; as well as "D’Anglebert - Les Lettres Portugaises". His theatrical collaborations have lead him to play with Nicolas Vaude and Nicolas Marié in "le Neveu de Rameau" of Diderot.

Bertrand Cuiller made his first sortie as a conductor in the winter of 2012-2013, conducting Alain Buet's Ensemble and Choir of Les Musiciens du Paradis from the harpsichord, in a production of the opera Venus and Adonis by John Blow, with soloists Céline Scheen and Marc Mauillon. This production of the Théâtre de Caen, staged by Louise Moaty, with performances at the Opéra de Lille, the Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg, MC2 Grenoble, Paris – Opéra Comique, Opéras d’Angers et Nantes, gave him the desire to conduct again.

Booklet for Wunderkammer. Bach: Harpsichord Works