Partitas for keyboard (Bach)

Title page of Clavier-Übung I

The Partitas, BWV 825–830, are a set of six harpsichord suites written by Johann Sebastian Bach, published from 1726 to 1730 as Clavier-Übung I, and the first of his works to be published under his direction. They were, however, among the last of his keyboard suites to be composed, the others being the six English Suites, BWV 806-811 and the six French Suites, BWV 812-817.

History

Title page of the first partita, printed in 1726 by Balthasar Schmid of Nuremberg

Autograph manuscript (1725) of Allegro for solo harpsichord from first version of Bach's sixth sonata for obbligato harpsichord and violin, BWV 1019a, later incorporated as Corrente in sixth partita, BWV 830.

The six partitas for keyboard are the last set of suites that Bach composed and the most technically demanding of the three. They were composed between 1725 and 1730 or 1731. As with the French and English Suites, the autograph manuscript of the Partitas is no longer extant.

In keeping with a nineteenth-century naming tradition that labelled Bach's first set of Suites English and the second French, the Partitas are sometimes referred to as the German Suites.^[1] This title, however, is a publishing convenience; there is nothing particularly German about the Partitas. In comparison with the two earlier sets of suites, the Partitas are by far the most free-ranging in terms of structure. Unlike the English Suites, for example, wherein each opens with a strict prelude, the Partitas feature a number of different opening styles including an ornamental Overture and a Toccata.

Although each of the Partitas was published separately under the name Clavier-Übung (Keyboard Practice), they were subsequently collected into a single volume in 1731, with the same name, which Bach himself chose to label his Opus 1.^[2] Unlike the earlier sets of suites, Bach originally intended to publish seven Partitas, advertising in the Spring of 1730 upon the publication of the fifth Partita that the promised collected volume would contain two more such pieces. The plan was then revised to include a total of eight works: six Partitas in Part I (1731) and two larger works in Part II (1735).

The keys of the six Partitas (B-flat major, C minor, A minor, D major, G major, E minor) seem to be an irregular sequence, but in fact they form a sequence of intervals going up and then down by increasing amounts: a second up (B-flat to C), a third down (C to A), a fourth up (A to D), a fifth down (D to G), and finally a sixth up (G to E).^[3] The key sequence continues into Clavier-Übung II (1735) with two larger works: the Italian Concerto, a seventh down (E to F), and the French Overture, an augmented fourth up (F to B-natural). Thus this sequence of customary tonalities for 18th-century keyboard compositions is complete, extending from the first letter of his name (Bach's "home" key, B-flat, in German is B) to the last letter of his name (B-natural in German is H).

Opening Praeludium from Partita No.1, BWV 825, first edition, 1731

	Partita No. 2 in C minor BWV 826 Sinfonia Allemande Courante Sarabande Rondeaux Capriccio All of the above performed by Ivan Ilić. Capriccio Performed by Muriel Nguyen Xuan
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Partita No. 1 in B-flat major, BWV 825

Praeludium, Allemande, Corrente, Sarabande, Menuet I, Menuet II, Gigue

Partita No. 2 in C minor, BWV 826

Sinfonia, Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, Rondeaux, Capriccio

Partita No. 3 in A minor, BWV 827

Fantasia, Allemande, Corrente, Sarabande, Burlesca, Scherzo, Gigue

Partita No. 4 in D major, BWV 828

Ouvertüre, Allemande, Courante, Aria, Sarabande, Menuet, Gigue

Partita No. 5 in G major, BWV 829

Praeambulum, Allemande, Corrente, Sarabande, Tempo di Minuetto, Passepied, Gigue

Partita No. 6 in E minor, BWV 830

Toccata, Allemande, Corrente, Air, Sarabande, Tempo di Gavotta, Gigue

Notable recordings

On harpsichord

Close of final Gigue from Partita No.6, BWV 830, first edition, 1731

Wanda Landowska (?, 1935 or 1936)
Ralph Kirkpatrick (1958)
Helmut Walcha (EMI, 1962)
Gustav Leonhardt (Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, 1964–70 and Virgin, 1986)
Martin Galling (1964)
Blandine Verlet (Philips, 1978 and Naïve, 2001)
Kenneth Gilbert (Harmonia Mundi, 1985)
Trevor Pinnock (Archiv, 1985 and Hänssler, 1998–99)
Huguette Dreyfus (Denon, 1986)
Scott Ross (Erato, 1988)
Christophe Rousset (L'Oiseau-Lyre, 1992)
Andreas Staier (Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, 1993)
Pieter-Jan Belder (Brilliant Classics, 1999)
Masaaki Suzuki (BIS, 2001)
Zuzana Růžičková
Pascal Dubreuil (Ramée, 2008)
Peter Watchorn (Musica Omnia, 2013)

On piano

Dinu Lipatti (BWV 825), (EMI Classics, 1950)
Glenn Gould (Sony 1957, 1980)
Tatiana Nikolayeva (Melodija 1981)
András Schiff (Decca, 1985 and ECM 2009)
Maria Tipo (EMI, 1991)
Wolfgang Rübsam (Naxos, 1992)
Maria João Pires (DGG 447 894-2, 1995)
Sergey Schepkin (Ongaku, 1996–97)
Angela Hewitt (Hyperion, 1997)
Richard Goode (Nonesuch, 2003)
Gianluca Luisi (OnClassical, 2005–07)
Martha Argerich (Verbier Festival, 2008)
Murray Perahia (Sony, 2008 and 2009)
Vladimir Ashkenazy (Decca, 2010)
Andres Carciente (Noromusic, 2012)
Igor Levit (Sony, 2014)

On guitar

Judicael Perroy Partita no.2 (Naxos Records, 2011)

Notes

↑ Philipp Spitta, Johann Sebastian Bach: his work and influence on the music of Germany, 1685-1750, Volume 3 (Novello and company, limited, 1899) p. 156.
↑ Bach 2004
↑ Tomita, Yo (2002). "J.S. Bach: The Six Partitas". Yo Tomita's personal web space. Retrieved 31 October 2015.

References

Bach, J.S. (2004), Klaus Engler, ed., 6 Partiten, BWV 825–830, Wiener Urtext Edition, Schott/Universal Edition (contains detailed preface by Engler)
Schulenberg, David (2006), The Keyboard Music of J.S. Bach (second ed.), New York and London: Routledge, pp. 321–345, ISBN 0415974003

External links

Partitas for keyboard: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
Essay by Yo Tomita on Bach's Partitas

Compositions for Organ, Keyboard and Lute by Johann Sebastian Bach

Organ	Fugue in G minor, BWV 131a (doubtful) Sonatas, BWV 525–530 Prelude and Fugue in D major, BWV 532 Fantasia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 537 Toccata and Fugue in D minor ("Dorian"), BWV 538 Toccata and Fugue in F major, BWV 540 Fantasia and Fugue in G minor ("Great"), BWV 542 Prelude and Fugue in A minor, BWV 543 Prelude and Fugue in E minor ("Wedge"), BWV 548 Eight Short Preludes and Fugues, BWV 553–560 (doubtful) Fantasia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 562 Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C major, BWV 564 Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565 Prelude (Toccata) and Fugue in E major, BWV 566 Fugue in G minor ("Little"), BWV 578 Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582 Orgelbüchlein, BWV 599–644 Schübler Chorales, BWV 645–650 Great Eighteen Chorale Preludes, BWV 651–668 Canonic Variations on "Vom Himmel hoch da komm' ich her", BWV 769 Neumeister chorales, BWV 1090–1120 Chorale fantasia Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält, BWV 1128

Keyboard	Aria variata alla maniera italiana Capriccio on the departure of a beloved brother Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue English Suites French Suites Goldberg Variations (discography, Gould recording) Inventions and Sinfonias Italian Concerto Overture in the French style Partitas for Keyboard (No. 4, No. 6) Prelude in E minor, BWV 855a Six Little Preludes The Well-Tempered Clavier, BWV 846–893 (Preludes and Fugues in Book I: C major, BWV 846, C♯ minor, BWV 849, G minor, BWV 861; in Book II: C major, BWV 870, F minor, BWV 881)

Lute	Suite in G minor, BWV 995 Suite in E minor, BWV 996 (Bourrée) Prelude, Fugue and Allegro in E♭ major, BWV 998 Prelude in C minor, BWV 999 Fugue in G minor, BWV 1000

Mixed collections	Clavier-Übung III: Prelude and Fugue in E♭ major ("St. Anne"), BWV 552 / Chorale preludes, BWV 669–689 / Duets, BWV 802–805 Concerto arrangements for solo keyboard, BWV 592–597 and 972–987 Klavierbüchlein für Wilhelm Friedemann Bach Twelve Little Preludes

List of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach List of fugal works by Johann Sebastian Bach

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