Bach: Six Partitas, BWV 825-830 (Edition Bachakademie Vol. 115)
Bach wrote his keyboard partitas when his career as a church musician had gone wrong. They became the foundation for a massive composite work in which he explored every aspect of the 18th-century precursor to the piano. But how--and on what--should they be played today? The jury is out, and will stay out forever. That's why it's such a pleasure to compare approaches, and why there's no such thing as a "best buy." Go back to 1952, courtesy of the Music and Arts label, and listen toRalph Kirkpatrick's graceful recordings: as the granddaddy of all modern Bach players, he's still got a lot to offer. Then check outRichard Goode's superb piano versionto see how the big modern instrument can, in expert hands, still replicate the earlier instrument's understated charms. And now listen to Trevor Pinnock, rapidly emerging as our premier harpsichordist, whose new version of the partitas must be one of the most compelling ever made. Nobody gets such a luxurious range of color from the instrument or extracts such full-blooded drama. His tempi are on the fast side, and they whirl along when Bach hints that the brakes can be taken off. Here is real virtuosity in the noblest of causes.--Michael Church