Caroline Sampson Review – Notebook of Anna Magdalena Bach

A must-know for every piano student, as it’s included in practically every collection of pieces for beginners: Minuet in G major BWV Anh.115 from Anna Magdalena Bach’s Little Book of Music. Bach collected two such small books for his music-loving wife, with the first, which is only partially preserved, also serving as a sketchbook: it contains early versions of the French Suites. The musical spectrum of the second volume is much richer, and contains some melodies in addition to piano music. A selection from both books, 40 tracks total, can now be found on this album, which is especially popular because the artists are among the best in their field. This applies to soprano Caroline Sampson, but also to harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani, whose multifaceted playing even on the G major minuet reveals an extraordinarily new charm.

JS Bach: Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach (excerpts), works by CPE Bach, Couperin, Stölzel, Hasse, and others

Caroline Sampson (soprano), Mahan Esfahani (harpsichord and clavichord)
Hyperion

Mahan Esfahani

Mahan Esfahani, born in Tehran in 1984, discovered this picture of Johann Sebastian Bach on harpsichord at the age of eight and it was immediately taken. Although his father calls the harpsichord a “dead instrument”, young Isfahani still chooses a baroque keyboard instrument…