Bach's Keyboard Partitas
Bach's Keyboard Partitas
The Gramophone Choice
Six Keyboard Partitas, BWV825-30
Trevor Pinnock hpd
Hänssler Classic CD92 115 (149' · DDD) Buy from Amazon
The six Partitas are virtually a compendium of Bach’s keyboard styles, with toccatas and French overtures, fugues and fantasies and all manner of dances. Trevor Pinnock rises to a new level of mastery in this recording of them. We all know about the brilliance of his fingerwork and his beautifully sprung, ebullient rhythms; but here he goes further, showing a true grandeur of manner that embraces Bach at his most serious and pensive, his most learned, and – above all – his most vividly rhetorical. Pinnock takes his time over the music: these are measured readings, thought through, viewed whole. The natural and spontaneous musicianship of old is still there, but now it’s given extra depth and meaning through the carefully judged articulation, the tiny moments of hesitation, all within a fluent larger rhythm, that lend extra point and shape to a phrase, a group of phrases, an entire musical paragraph.
The warm, rather resonant recording beautifully captures the rich sound of his instrument – a David Way copy from 1983 of a Hemsch original – as well as the detail of his playing. There could hardly have been a happier return to the recording studio for Pinnock than this fine set.
Additional Recommendations
Six Keyboard Partitas, BWV825-30
Angela Hewitt pf
Hyperion CDA67191/2 (143' · DDD) Buy from Amazon
If Bach is to be played on the piano, this is the kind of way to do it. Inherent in all Hewitt’s playing is a rhythmic vitality, always under control, that sweeps you along with its momentum, subtly varied articulation, dynamics that follow the natural rise or fall of phrases without exaggerations, an appreciation of Bach’s harmonic tensions, an ability to differentiate between the strength of contrapuntal lines, and an unfailing clarity of texture.
This is a sane and sensible interpretation, deeply musicianly and devoid of eccentricity. Her attitude, rather like Toscanini’s, is to accept the text com’ è scritto and then to make legitimate adjustments, so we get double-dotting and assimilation of rhythms. Technically she’s immaculate, with the cleanest possible ornaments. In the great E minor Sarabande Hewitt is justifiably emotional, without becoming soggy: only in the first half of the A minor Allemande is there a hint of coyness. No, the whole disc gives unalloyed pleasure.
Keyboard Partitas – Nos 1, 5 & 6
Murray Perahia pf
Sony Classical 88697 44361-2 (70’ · DDD) Buy from Amazon
Keyboard Partitas – Nos 2, 3 & 4
Murray Perahia pf
Sony Classical 88697 22695-2 (60’ · DDD) Buy from Amazon
In Murray Perahia’s hands, Bach’s Partitas not only work well on the modern concert grand but also sound completely at home. The pianist’s vibrant and variegated sonority perpetually sings, while his contrapuntal acumen leaves no detail unconsidered nor unduly fussed over. His tempi always seem right for what the music has to express, as opposed to what Perahia wants to express in the music.
A few examples should suffice to pinpoint what makes these performances special. For instance, the C minor No 2’s Allemande and A minor No 3’s Corrente’s two-part textures gorgeously showcase Perahia’s fluent, utterly natural conversational give and take between the hands. The C minor Rondeaux’s dance-like profile acquires uncommon and welcome gravitas due to Perahia’s measured pulse and a non-legato touch that avoids any hint of percussive residue. The D major Partita No 4 easily takes its place alongside versions by Kapell, Gould, Weissenberg, Hewitt, Tureck and Goode. Strong melodic projection, inner “swing” and a sense of air in between the notes characterise the Corrente, Aria and Menuet. In both the Allemande and Sarabande he gives the decorative right-hand lines their full lyrical due, while his left hand provides a strong, decisive underpinning. Even at a brisk tempo, the Gigue speaks clearly and eloquently, with every accent, syncopation and cross-rhythmic gesture perfectly placed. Stylish, well considered and discreet embellishments flavour the repeats in all three works.
The same high standards of stylish perception and pianistic finesse happily inform Nos 1, 5 and 6, where beauty and strength merge as one. Perahia’s legato and detached articulations are always meaningful and tonally varied without exaggeration or contrivance, and each note of every ornament sings out with unforced exactitude. Repeats vary in regard to touch, voicings, accents, embellishments, but with discretion and the utmost in expressive economy. All of these virtues add up to one of the most thoughtful, well proportioned and fastidiously detailed B flat Partita accounts in recent memory, capped by an unusually loud yet unaggresive Gigue. Picture Glenn Gould’s razor-sharp contrapuntal fingerwork fused with Edwin Fischer’s velvet touch to get the gist of the E minor Partita’s Tempo di Gavotta or the completely natural specificity with which Perahia apreggiates the Sarabande’s chords.
Some might wish for more animation and point in the Allemande, yet Perahia’s supreme command of the music’s conversational give-and-take more than justifies his lyrical, leisurely point of view. If you seek the Bach Partitas on piano in state-of-the-art sound, Perahia easily warrants top honours.
