Resonus

Bach: Harpsichord Concertos

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

J S Bach: Harpsichord Concertos
BWV 1052, 1054, 1055 & 1059
Steven Devine, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Resonus RES 10318. 63’30

This very welcome addition to the world of Bach recordings features three well-known harpsichord concertos plus what is, in effect, an entirely new concerto. Steven Devine’s programme essay sets out the often complicated history of the music played. The manuscript of these concertos is in Bach’s own hand. It contains seven concertos and nine bars of a D minor concerto, BWV 1059. There is strong evidence that only the first six concertos were intended as a set, with Bach’s traditional sign-off (Finis. S. D. Gl.) appearing at the end of the sixth concerto. The following BWV 1058 seems to have been an unsuccessful attempt at converting a violin concerto into a harpsichord concerto. The few bars of a D minor concerto (given the BWV number of 1059 despite its brevity) are of particular interest in this recording.

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Pachelbel: Organ Works, Vol 2

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

Johann Pachelbel: Organ Works, Vol 2
Matthew Owens
Organ by Bernard Aubertin
Resonus Classic RES10303. 76’20

Matthew Owens follows his Pachelbel Organ Works Volume 1 (reviewed here, with background comments that I will not repeat here) with this volume, recorded on an impressive 2015 three-manual, 30-stop Bernard Aubertin organ in a private house in East Sussex. The programme follows a similar format to the first volume, with a Chorale Partita (on Christus, der ist mein Leben) a sequence of 23 Magnificat Fugues (Primi Toni), five chorale preludes and an opening (unrelated) Prelude and Fugue in D.

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Lampe: The Dragon of Wantley

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

John Frederick Lampe: The Dragon of Wantley 
The Brook Street Band, John Andrews
Resonus Classics RES10304. 2CDs 59’44+44’12

Mary Bevan soprano, Margery
Catherine Carby mezzo soprano, Mauxalinda
Mark Wilde tenor, Moore of Moore Hall
John Savournin bass-baritone, Gaffer Gubbins and The Drago

The German-born bassoonist and composer John Frederick Lampe is little-known today, as is this opera, but both were well-known in their time. A recording of his opera The Dragon of Wantley is well worthwhile, although the subtleties of the irony of the text and the pastiche of the music, let alone the possible allusions to the politics of the day, may escape a present-day listener. But no matter, the music is delightful and the oh-so-rhyming text is funny, in a deliberately hamfisted way.

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Sestina: Master & Pupil

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

Master & Pupil
Exploring the Influences and Legacy of Claudio Monteverdi
Sestina Music, Mark Chambers
Resonus/Inventa INV1007. 71’18

Following a crowdfunding scheme, the Belfast based early music group Sestina have released their debut CD, Master and Pupil. The title ‘Master and Pupil’ (and yes, it is blurred on the CD cover) relates to the notion of musical apprenticeship, with inspiration passing down through the generations from master to pupil. For this recording, Sestina concentrates on the influences on, and the influences of, the music of Claudio Monteverdi both from his own teachers and on his own pupils. This approach reflects Sestina’s own philosophy, which is based on younger musicians being “placed under the wings of experienced professionals in an apprentice-like fashion”.

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Krebs: Keyboard Works Vol 2

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

Johann Ludwig Krebs (1713 – 1780)
Keyboard Works Volume 2
Steven Devine, harpsichord
Resonus Classics RES10300. 77’17

Overture ‘nach dem Franzoischen Gout’, Krebs-WV 820 (1741)
Partita in B-flat major, Krebs-WV 823 (1743)
Sonata in A minor, Krebs-WV 838 (c1763)

Steven Devine follows up his 2021 Krebs: Keyboard Works Volume 1 with the aptly titled Krebs: Keyboard Works Volume 2, again with a crustation-themed cover photo. Please see the review of Volume 1 for more background information, a crustation explanation, and a warning about the title of this 4 volume series. This second volume focuses on three multi-movement pieces, demonstrating Krebs’ diverse style over a 24-year period ranging from Baroque and Galant to Classical genres, a contrast also demonstrated by the differing styles of Bach’s sons, all of whom shared JS Bach as a teacher.

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Krebs: Keyboard Works Vol 1

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

Johann Ludwig Krebs: Keyboard Works Vol 1
Steven Devine, harpsichord
Resonus Classics RES10287. 72’0)

Partita in A minor, Krebs-WV 825
Fugues in C major, E major, F major, F minor, G major, and A minor, Krebs-WV 843/848
Concerto in G major “in Italiänischen Gusto”, Krebs-WV 821

Johann Ludwig Krebs (1713-1780) is another of those overlooked composers, despite there being a large amount of surviving music. He is probably best known as Bach’s favourite organ pupil, and the focus (reflected in the CD cover photo) of Bach’s comment Er ist der einzige Krebs in meinem Bache – “He is the only crayfish (Krebs) in my brook (Bach)”, a reference to Krebs’ ability as an organist, rather than being the only Krebs pupil as Bach also taught Krebs’ father. His music falls into a slightly awkward gap between the High Baroque style of late Bach and the new Galant and Classical styles that rendered much of ‘Old Bach’s’ music out of date.

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Pachelbel: Organ Works, Vol 1

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

Pachelbel: Organ Works, Vol 1
Matthew Owens
1965 Frobenius Organ, The Queen’s College Chapel, Oxford
Resonus RES10285. 71’03

In what promises to be a comprehensive survey of Johann Pachelbel’s organ music, Matthew Owens explores what is probably this enigmatic composer’s least appreciated genre. Pachelbel (1653-1706) was based in South Germany at a time when the famous North German organ school was at its height – he died a year before Buxtehude. His music has been overshadowed by his contemporaries in the northern cities, and this series of recordings should do much to rekindle knowledge of his specific musical style. It will hopefully put to rest his unfortunate post-1970s reputation as the composer of the famous Canon – a piece that is hardly ever performing in a style that Pachelbel would remotely recognise.

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Beyond Beethoven

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

Beyond Beethoven
Works for natural horn & fortepiano
Anneke Scott, Steven Devine
Resonus Classics RES10267. 77’51

Ferdinand Ries: Grande Sonate in F major, Op. 34
Friedrich Eugen Thürner: Grande Sonate in E major, Op. 29
Friedrich Starke: Adagio und Rondo, Op. 105
Hendrik Coenraad Steup: Sonate in E flat major, Op. 11

The early years of the 19th-century saw the rise of pieces for horn and piano, following Beethoven’s 1800 Sonata in F major, Op. 17. Catching on to the coat-tails of Beethoven were composers such as the four featured on this Beyond Beethoven recording, all little known except, perhaps, to horn players. They were all close contemporaries, born within 11 years of each other, with links between themselves, Beethoven, and his Op. 17 Sonata. Anneke Scott and Steven Devine perform on original instruments: a c1810 cor solo by Lucien Joseph Raoux, and an 1815 fortepiano by Johann Peter Fritz from the Richard Burnett Heritage Collection, formally at Finchcocks and now in Waterdown House, the home of the Finchcocks Charity in Tunbridge Wells.

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Bach: Das Wohltemperierte Klavier II

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

Bach: Das Wohltemperierte Klavier Volume 2
Steven Devine, harpsichord
Resonus Classics RES10261. 2 CDs. 73’03+75’42

Following his Volume 1 of Das Wohltemperierte Klavier (The Well-Tempered Clavier reviewed here), Steven Devine returns with a very welcome recording of Bach’s second book of Preludes & Fugues, published around 20 years after the first book. Unlike the Book 1 Preludes and Fugues (BWV 846-869) which survive in Bach’s autograph, Book 2 (BWV 870-893) has two principal sources with contribtions by Bach’s family, but only one withs any evidence of Bach’s hand.

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Sheppard: Media Vita in Morte Sumus

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

John Sheppard: Media Vita in Morte Sumus
Alamire, David Skinner
Resonus/Inventa INV1003, Digital EP. 16’30

There is an interesting back story to this 16-minute downloadable EP of John Sheppard’s famous Media Vita in Morte Sumus (In the midst of life we are in death). Much performed and recorded, this piece can last up to 30-minutes in length, making it a complex prospect for recording and concert programming. This recording is based on recent research that reassesses the structure of the piece, reducing it to this entirely appropriate and more manageable shorter version. Continue reading →

Beethoven: Works for Cello and Piano

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

Beethoven: Complete Works for Cello and Piano
Robin Michael, cello, Daniel Tong, fortepiano
Resonus Classics RES10254. 2CDs. 76’09+71’59

The key thing about this recording is that it uses period instruments – not always to be assumed in Beethoven recordings even in these more enlightened times. If your experience of the five cello Sonatas has so far been with a modern cello and piano, you are in for a treat, listening to the music as Beethoven might have heard it, at least in his head as far as the later Sonatas are concerned. The five sonatas range from Beethoven’s early years to the sad years of his hearing loss. Continue reading →

Handel Uncaged: Cantatas for Alto

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

Handel Uncaged: Cantatas for Alto
Lawrence Zazzo
Guillermo Brachetta, Jonathan Manson, Andrew Maginley
Resonus/Inventa Records INV1002. 74’26

 

This nicely-planned programme brings together cantatas for alto voice and continuo from Handel’s remarkably productive early years in Italy. The principal item is the world premiere recording of the conglomerate cantata Amore Uccellatore. This combines two cantatas, Venne voglia (HWV 176) and Vendendo amore (HWV 175) together with an additional sequence of recitatives and arias into a single cycle of ten arias. It is from an anonymous manuscript in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge that has only recently been credited with reasonable confidence to Handel. Continue reading →

Piano Sonatas by Haydn, Mozart & Beethoven

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

Piano Sonatas by Haydn, Mozart & Beethoven
Walewein Witten (fortepiano)
Resonus RES10242. 71’29

Beethoven: Sonata in D minor, Op. 31/2 ‘The Tempest’
Sonata in E-flat major, Hob. XVI:52
Mozart: Sonata in F major, KV 533/494

The question of what Beethoven, or Bach, would have done if they were composing for modern instruments, rather than those of their time, is often asked. The question is, of course, impossible to answer but I would hazard a guess that their music would be totally different to what it actually is. So, in a way, they would no longer be Beethoven or Bach, but a different composer, writing in a different age and for different listeners. So the first, and possibly the most important, thing about this recording is that it is performed on a fortepiano. Continue reading →

The Excellency of Hand

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

The Excellency of Hand
English Viola Da Gamba Duos
Robert Smith, Paolo Pandolfo
Resonus Classics: RES10186. 73’52

 

This CD, released in 2017, features a range of 17th-century music for viola da gamba duos by Christopher Simpson and John Jenkins together with two pieces by their contemporary,  Simon Ives, and a tiny Prelude by one of the performers. Most of the pieces are in the form of ‘divisions’, an international improvisatory method dating back to the early 16th century which involves elaborating on a theme by joining up the notes with shorter ones in a variety of forms. Such elaboration and ornamentation of a melodic line forms the basis of subsequent keyboard and instrumental music. Continue reading →

Quantz: Flute Concertos

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

Quantz: Flute Concertos
Greg Dikmans, Elysium Ensemble
Resonus Classics RES10252, 70’37

Concerto in a minor (QV 5,236)
Concerto in F (QV 5,162)
Concerto in G (QV 5,178)
cantabile e frezzante from Concerto in e minor (QV 5,116)

Johann Joachim Quantz (1697-1773) is one of those composers who is known to many musicians, but whose music is rarely heard. He is best known for his 1752 treatise Versuch einer Anweisung die Flöte traversiere zu spielen (On Playing the Flute), to this day an important reference work for all musicians, not just flautists. He is also known for his 45-years association as flute teacher to Frederick the Great of Prussia, including during his days as Crown Prince under a brutal father who disapproved of his flute playing. Continue reading →

Johan Löfving: Fandango!

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

Fandango!
Music for solo guitar and String Quartet
Johan Löfving, Consone Quartet
Resonus Classics RES10260. 72’43

The guitar is more usually associated with rock/pop music from the 1950s onwards or, in more classical thinking, as a Baroque continuo instrument of Spanish origin and influence. But in this recording, Swedish-born guitarist Johan Löfving puts paid to both those assumptions with a lovely exploration of the guitar in the early Romantic era in places such as Paris and Vienna where the newly developed six-string guitar enjoyed a relatively brief moment of glory. Continue reading →

Royer: Premiere Livre de Pièces de Clavecin

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

Joseph-Nicolas-Pancrace Royer
Premiere Livre de Pièces de Clavecin
 Mie Hayashi, harpsichord
Resonus Classics RES10236. 65’11

Joseph-Nicolas-Pancrace Royer (1703-1755) was an Italian born keyboard player who moved to Paris in his early 20s where he soon rose up the musical ladder. His first steps were as the maître de musique des enfants de France, directing the musical education of Louis XV’s children. He directed the Concert Spirituel along with Mondonville and worked at the Paris Opéra, where his best known opera was the ballet héroïque Zaïde, reine de Grenade. In 1753 he became director of the chambre du roi and the orchestra of the Royal Opera. Continue reading →

Guillemain: Flute Quartets Op.12

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

Louis-Gabriel Guillemain: Flute Quartets Op.12 (1743)
Fantasticus, Wilbert Hazelezet
Resonus Classics,  RES10222. 2CDs, 44’13+44’44

Louis-Gabriel Guillemain (1705-1770) was a French composer and violinist. He started his violin studies in Paris and later studied in Italy. By 1729, Guillemain was working in Lyons and was soon appointed the first violinist of the Acadèmie de Musique. His Premier livre de sonates was published in 1734. Guillemain moved back to Paris becoming a musicien ordinaire to Louis XV and before long became one of the court’s highest-paid musicians. The Six sonates en quatuors ou conversations galantes for flute, violin, bass viol and continuo recorded here was published in 1743, when he was at the height of his career. Continue reading →

Music for the Mayflower

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

They that in ships unto the sea down go
Music for the Mayflower
Passamezzo
Resonus  RES10263. 61’23

It is 400 years since the Mayflower set sail for the New World. It had been commissioned by English Puritans, along with another ship, the Speedwell, bringing Puritans that had earlier moved to Leiden to escape religious persecution in England. The complicated initial stages of the journey started in July 1620 from the River Thames just east of the City of London. The Mayflower waited to join the Speedwell in Southampton Water and both ships set sail for America in early August, calling into Dartmouth for repairs. They reached well beyond the Scilly Isles but again had to return to Plymouth for further repairs. The Speedwell gave up, and some of their passengers joined Mayflower which finally set off alone. Continue reading →

Telemann: Melodius Canons & Fantasias

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

Telemann: Melodius Canons & Fantasias
Elysium Ensemble
Resonus Classics RES10207. 59’13

The Elysium Ensemble are the Australian duo Lucinda Moon, baroque violin, and Greg Dikmans, baroque flute. This recording is part of a historical performance research project aiming to identify neglected or newly discovered chamber music from the Baroque and early-Classical periods, in this case looking at Sonatas from Telemann’s Melodious Canons, composed in Paris. together with three of his solo fantasias dating from his 1728 and 1735 publications in Hamburg. Continue reading →

Bach: Orgelbüchlein

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

Bach: Orgelbüchlein
Stephen Farr
1724-30 Trost organ, of Waltershausen, Germany.
Resonus RES10259. 79’02

Bach’s Orgelbüchlein (Little Organ Book) is one of the most extraordinary of all Bach’s organ collections and compositions. At first sight, it a simple collection of chorale preludes intended to introduce the sung chorales in the Lutheran services. Bach also intended it as a way “in which a beginning organist receives instruction on performing a chorale in a multitude of ways while achieving mastery in the study of the pedal”. But the sequence of 45 chorales, and the tantalising sight of 119 potential chorales for which only the title and an empty page exists, are a sum of a great deal more than a sum of the parts, leading to Albert Schweitzer’s description of it as “one of the greatest events in all music.”.    Continue reading →

Mon Dieu me paist

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

Mon Dieu me paist
Psalms by Claude Le Jeune
The Choir of St Catharine’s College, Cambridge, Edward Wickham
Resonus RES10206. 58’26

This fascinating recording from the mixed-voice choir of St Catharine’s College, Cambridge under their director Edward Wickham looks at a little-known part of the late Renaissance vocal repertoire – settings of Psalms from the Genevan Psalter during the Calvinist Reformation in France composed by the Franco-Flemish composer Claude Le Jeune (c1530-1600). Le Jeune’s Psalm collection, Dodecacorde, was published in 1598. Four of the twelve multi-verse settings are performed here, each preceded by a simple harmonised setting from the Calvin Psalter. Continue reading →

La Gracieuse: Pièces de Viole by Marin Marais

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

La Gracieuse
Pièces de Viole by Marin Marais
Robert Smith
Resonus Classics RES10244. 66’13

“Marais has taken the viol to its highest degree of perfection … he is the first to make known all its extent and beauty”. So wrote Évrard Titon du Tillet (in his 1732 Le parnasse françois) about Marin Marais (1636-1728). This recording explores the depth of that degree of perfection in a series of four Suites. Only one of them is an original Marais Suite, but instead, three of them have been assembled from the 600 or so pieces that make up the Suites contained in Marais’ five volumes of music for viola da gamba and continuo. This practice of selecting individual pieces from Suites was an acceptable practice at the time and has the advantage of allowing us to hear some of the lesser-known pieces.

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Tomkins: Choral Works

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

O Give Thanks Unto the Lord
Tomkins: Choral Works
The Choir of HM Chapel Royal, Hampton Court Palace
Carl Jackson, conductor, Rufus Frowde, organ
Resonus RES10253. 74’25

Following last year’s recording of Byrd’s Great Service by the Odyssean Ensemble (reviewed here), led by the Musical Directors of the Chapels Royal in HM Tower of London, comes this recording of Thomas Tomkins (another organist to the Chapels Royal) from the Choir of another Chapel Royal on the other side of London, in Hampton Court. This follows their early recording of an early Thomas Tomkins (1572-1656) was a pupil of Byrd’s, as referenced by a song dedication To my ancient, and much reverenced Master, William Byrd. Although composing some time after Byrd, Tomkins’ compositions are very much in the Tudor idiom despite the changes of the Stuart era. Continue reading →

St Catharine’s College: O Gemma Clarissima

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

O Gemma Clarissima
Music in Praise of St Catharine
The Choirs of St Catharine’s College, Cambridge, Edward Wickham
Resonus Classics RES10246. 72’02

Quite by chance, I realize that I am reviewing this recording on the Feast of St Catherine, 25 November. The patron saint of wheelwrights, millers, students, and young unmarried girls, the Cambridge college that now bears her name (which they spell ‘Catharine’) was founded in 1473 as ‘Katherine Hall’. The famous torture wheel that she is usually depicted with was, apparently, destroyed by an angel before it touched her, killing many. After her beheading, more angels whisked her remains off to the Mount Sinai monastery, which became and remains a centre of devotion. A monastery in Rouen also became a pilgrimage site after a monk brought back a finger that “broke off” when he prayed for a relic.

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Beethoven transformed

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

Beethoven Transformed, Volume 1
Chamber Music for Harmonie
Boxwood & Brass
Resonus Classics RES10249, 61’40


Beethoven arr. Czerny: Septet Op.20
Beethoven: Sextet Op.71

Beethoven Transformed is a two-year project by Boxwood & Brass exploring wind music in early 19th-century Vienna and, in particular, the rearrangement of Beethoven’s music by other composers for Harmonie (wind band). What are today considered as venerated ‘masterpieces’ were treated with considerable liberty in such arrangements. This recording also throws some welcome light on the world of Harmonie, the wind bands so popular in central Europe, notably in Vienna, but little known today outside that area. Just listening to the first few moments of Beethoven’s Op.20 Septet opens up a world of exotic instrumental colour and texture that relies on the use of period instruments. Continue reading →

Amadio Freddi: Vespers (1616)

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

Amadio Freddi: Vespers (1616)
The Gonzaga Band, Jamie Savan
Resonus RES10245. 58’10

We know very little about Amadio Freddi (c1580-1643). His death is known to be in 1634, but his age at death is reported to be either c1570 or c1580. The latter date seems more likely, as in 1592 he was in paid employment at the Basilica of S. Antonio in Padua as a boy soprano, followed in 1598 with a doubling of salary as a countertenor. He seems to have come from humble background, his father having worked as a sword polisher. The payment from S. Antonio, unique for a boy soprano at the time, may have been a reflection of his families straightened circumstances. This important recording by The Gonzaga Band is the world premiere recording of his 1616 Vespers, from his Messa, vespro et compieta, composed while he was maestro di cappella at Treviso Cathedral between 1615 and 1627. In 1627 he moved to Vicenza before returning to Padua in 1634.

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Hieronymus Praetorius: Motets in 8-20 Parts

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

Hieronymus Praetorius: Motets in 8, 10, 12, 16 & 20 Parts
Alamire, His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts
David Skinner, Stephen Farr
Resonus: Inventa Records. INV001. 2 CDs: 57’46 + 42’39 

I have waited years for a comprehensive recording of Hieronymus Praetorius and this one ticks all the boxes. I first got to know his organ music many years ago, finding in him a very rare example of a North German organ composer from before the generation of Sweelinck students that dominated Hamburg and North German musical life in the 17th century (of which his sons were a key part). That progression eventually led to the peak of the North German Baroque, Dieterich Buxtehude. Although there were indications of the post-Sweelinck style, his musical language was distinct, if occasionally rather impenetrable, and clearly represented an important late Renaissance style of organ composition and performance. The joy of this double CD set is that several organ pieces are included, along with some of the magnificent multi-part motets, with up to 20 independent voices. Continue reading →

Bach: Das Wohltemperierte Klavier I

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

Bach: Das Wohltemperierte Klavier I
Steven Devine, harpsichord
Resonus Classics RES10239. 2 CDs. 55’06+56.13

This is the first of two double-CD volumes of Bach’s Das Wohltemperierte Klavier (The Well-Tempered Clavier), and covers the Preludes and Fugues 1 to 24 (BWV846-869) that form Book 1 of ‘The 48’. This musically intelligent and absorbing recording by Steven Devine demonstrates that performing Bach (or any music, for that matter) is far more the merely playing all the notes in the right order. His subtle use of articulation and rhetoric and his understanding of the Baroque idea of building up musical ideas from small motifs make for an absorbing recording that will invite repeated listening. He manages to negotiate that fine line between presenting a personal interpretation and those over-mannered performances that might be fine for a live recital but is usually off-putting on the repeat listening that a recording allows. With obvious respect to Bach and these extraordinary miniatures of musical craft, Devine brings a wide range of interpretations, matching the underlying mood of each Prelude and Fugue perfectly. Continue reading →

Bach: Partitas

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

J S Bach: Partitas Clavier-Übung I
Menno van Delft, clavichord
Resonus Classics. RES10212. 2 CDs: 59’21+73.49

Clavier-Übung I – Partitas BWV 825-830

Bach’s Six Partitas were published in 1731 under the title of  Clavier-Übung, the first of four publications under that name, culminating in the monumental third and fourth publications, the ‘German Organ Mass’ and the Goldberg Variations, Clavier-Übung VI. Each Partita had been published separately between the years of 1726 and 1730 but seem to have been intended as a combined set of six, as was the pattern of many such musical collections of the time, including Bach’s own preceding English and French Suites. They are the only one of the four Clavier-Übung set that does not specify a particular keyboard instrument, but Menno van Delft makes a convincing argument for the use of a clavichord, the domestic instrument of choice, particularly for organists, rather than a harpsichord. Continue reading →