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Bach was a composer
for whom the suite, or partita, for a solo instrument, with
its dance-like movements, was preferable over other forms. One only
has to count the bodies of work of his in this medium: English
Suites BWV 806-811, French Suites BWV 812-817 and Partitas BWV
825-830 for the clavier, as well as the Lute Suites BWV 995-997,
Violin Sonatas BWV 1001-1003 and Partitas BWV 1004-1006, Cello Suites
BWV 1007-1012 and Flute Suite BWV 1013.
It
is important to specify, however, that this is the set of six partitas
for harpsichord from the Clavier Übung I, because there is
additionally a seventh partita "in the French Style" BWV
831 from Clavier Übung II. While one might reasonably have
expected it to have been included in this set, such a move would
have necessitated the addition of a third disc: the six Partitas,
just as they are, fill both discs to seventy-two and seventy-seven
minutes respectively.
The
Art of Flattery, Op.2
We
have mentioned elsewhere
about Bach's art of flattery. The first partita was written
to commemorate the birth of the first son of his patron and
friend Prince Leopold and Princess Charlotte Frederica Wilhelmina,
with a dedication that began:
Most excellent, gentle prince,
You may still be in swaddling clothes
But your princely eye looks more than adult,
Pardon, if I should rouse you from your sleep,
By my playing sheet taking its bow before you.
This is the very first fruit offered by my strings;
You are the first prince to be kissed by your princess,
And she should be the first to sing your praises,
Because you, like this sheet, are a firstling for the world...
This
ode continues by deriving the most beautiful harmonies from
the child's screaming and offers eternal delight - subject
to the condition that Bach should continue to be seen as "the
most profound servant" (that is, that he could keep his job
of musical director at Cöthen).
But
things, as history proves, didn't work out. Prince Leopold
died when the child was three, for which Bach wrote a huge
funeral paean, Lament, children, lament the world BWV
244a, incorporating music from the St Matthew Passion. Today,
the text remains but the music is lost. Thus did Bach's relations
with Cöthen end - Bach eventually lost his job, moving
on to the Court of Saxony-Weißenfels under Duke Christian.
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The
six clavier Partitas date from Bach's time in Leipzig, circa 1726
- 1730. These had already been written and published separately
before appearing under the Clavier Übung I of 1731.
On the other hand, when the first Partita appeared in 1726, Bach
did explicity call it Partita I, implying that he had every intention
of writing additional Partitas. The sixth and last Partita did not
appear until 1730, by which time Bach was preparing to publish the
first Clavier Übung.
The
collection, which appeared in 1731, also marked a first for Bach:
the first time he gave a major work an opus number. Thus did these
works appear as Clavierübung opus 1, "consisting of preludes,
allemandes, courtantes, sarabandes, gigues, menuets, and other gallantries."
In no uncertain terms, he goes on to state that the music was "composed
for lovers of this music for their enjoyment." Collectively, Bach
had already stopped referring to these works individually as "Partitas",
as they were when they were written and published piecemeal.
Conductor-harpsichordist
Trevor Pinnock returns to record this work again more than ten years
after his first effort on the Partitas (on the DG Archive label,
415 493-2). Interestingly, he performs this work on a copy of a
Hemsch by David Way, as he did in the earlier recording, tuned to
uneven temperment (which gives it a timbre well-suited to this reading).
As
might be expected, Pinnock plays with a great command of this idiom,
with phrasing that allows the music to breathe naturally coupled
with an intelligent sense of give-and-take in rubato. There is so
much on offer here: the fantastic roulades in the last movement
of the First Partita, the subtle deftness in the scherzo
of the Third Partita, the noble panache in the courante of
the Sixth Partita, and the swinging passpied in the Fifth.
His
use of improvised ornamentation is intelligent, without being overly
indulgent: for example, the muted plectrum that evokes the dance-like
character of the gavotte in the Sixth Partita. The allemande
of the Fourth Partita is especially memorable, with its beautifully-rendered
melody and infused with romantic warmth.
 There
is also a poise of rustic flavour in the sinfonia of the
Second Partita - which is also the least eloquent among the six.
There are, in addition, rare occasions when Pinnock (left) tends
to inflate the reading, such as the sarabandes of the First
and Fourth Partitas, which are taken a shade too self-consciously,
even bordering on the wayward.
Nonetheless,
the overall sense of artistry and personality that Pinnock injects
into the performance makes this an amazing journey into the music
of the great master. The palette of sound which he has at his command
is extraordinary, aided in no small part by the raw timbre of the
period instrument.
The
quality of the recording is crisp, but not airless - Pinnock is
not playing in a vacuum. There is an immediacy to the harpsichord's
presence which is both transparent and full-bodied. There are some
awkward translations in the multilingual sleeve notes, but undoubtedly
this is a minor issue. On the whole, this album is yet another successful
addition to the discography of the Hänssler Bachakademie.
BENJAMIN
CHEE is also a doyen of the keyboard, hitting speeds of up to
70 wpm. .
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777: 1.7.2000
© Benjamin Chee
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