Bach, J.S.: Italian Concerto in F Major, Bwv 971 / French Overture, Bwv 831 / 4 Duets, Bwv 802-805
1/1/2000, 21 Tracks, 55:50
Featuring
Christopher Czaja Sager
Johann Sebastian Bach
Did you know?
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Compositional Technique
Bach's Italian Concerto and French Overture, while imitating popular styles, subtly include compositional 'errors' like parallel fifths and awkward seventh resolutions, possibly as a form of gentle irony.
Compositional Technique
The works on this album, the Italian Concerto and French Overture, are the first Bach designated for the harpsichord, suggesting his earlier Partitas were intended for the clavichord.
Critical Reception
The Four Duets from Bach's ClavierÜbung Part III are among his least-frequently played masterpieces by pianists, partly because they are found in the organ-book of the collection.
Performer Biography
Christopher Czaja Sager, the pianist on this album, has made the keyboard music of J.S. Bach his central interest and has been performing the Clavierübung and giving master classes on its hidden musical construction since 1985.
Compositional Technique
Bach's playful imagination extended to musical symbolism, where the keys of the Italian Concerto (F) and French Overture (h, or B natural) sum to 14, matching the numerical value of the letters B-A-C-H.
Compositional Technique
The number '2' is omnipresent in Bach's ClavierÜbung Part II, appearing in the number of keyboards, works, modes, keys, voices, octaves, and even specific intervals like seconds and fifths.
