Bach's Partitas were modeled on Johann Kuhnau's Neue Clavier-Übung, from which Bach took the general title and the name 'partita'.
Recording & Production
The order of the Partitas on this recording deviates from Bach's original 1731 publication order due to CD playing time restrictions, prioritizing artistic considerations over technical reality.
Compositional Technique
Bach's key scheme for the Partitas (B flat-c-a-D-G-e) is a sophisticated sequence based on gradually expanding upward and downward intervals, forming a hybrid, two-dimensional shape.
Performer Biography
Masaaki Suzuki, the harpsichordist, founded the Bach Collegium Japan in 1990 and has recorded extensively, including an ongoing series of Bach's complete church cantatas.
Composition History
The Six Partitas were the first in a series of keyboard works Bach published under the general title Clavier-Übung ('Keyboard Practice').
Critical Reception
Johann Nikolaus Forkel, Bach's pioneering biographer, described the Partitas as causing "quite a sensation" and stated that anyone who could perform them well could "make his fortune in the world."
Composer's Artistic Vision
Bach's Partitas can be seen as an homage to his predecessor Johann Kuhnau, not by nostalgic means, but by a 'new compositional challenge' that updated Kuhnau's original contributions.
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