The French Suites, BWV 812-817, refer to six suites written by Johann Sebastian Bach for the clavier (harpsichord or clavichord). They were later given the name 'French' (first recorded usage by Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg in 1762) as a contrast to the English Suites (whose title is likewise a later appellation). The name was popularised by Bach's biographer Johann Nikolaus Forkel, who, in 1802, claimed they were written in the French style. This claim, however, is inaccurate: like Bach's other suites, they follow a largely Italian convention.[1] Two additional suites, one in A minor (BWV 818), the other in E-flat Major (BWV 819), are linked to the familiar six in some manuscripts.
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