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Admittedly,
my experience with Bach's keyboard music for most of my music-listening
life has been erratic. The reputation of his keyboard works as intellectual
constructs has, I suspect, cost them some degree of widespread,
or "public" appeal.
Nevertheless,
just as Busoni once said that "Bach is the father of keyboard music
and Liszt the summit; the two make Beethoven possible." - it is
impossible to ignore Bach's keyboard ouevre. After all the man was
famous in his time as the greatest organist in the world, not as
a composer.
I
make no pretence of the fact that I am no scholastic expert, nor
have I made any academic study of Bach's keyboard music. It is essentially
music and little else to me.
This
is the position I have come from, hoping to further my "education"
by attempting this review... Anyway, it is daunting - and remains
daunting - to think of where to start for one interested in exploring
or collecting Bach's keyboard works (don't forget the organ pieces).
There's so much more than the Goldberg
Variations, where for every fan I find, there seems to be
a detractor.
But
here, happily so, I have found my launchpad. The Six Partitas, though
they in fact form the first collection of Clavier-Übung ("clavier
exercises", a term borrowed from his predecessor Johann Kuhnau),
comprise very accessible music that the expert soloist here has
made a really good case for. On the surface, the names of the individual
movements suggest their innate appeal. The partita is the most popular
harpsichord genre of the time, consisting of a suite of dance movements
with additional movements called Galanterien ("galanteries").
These include the fiendishly difficult Capriccio of Partita
No.2, which Leonhardt despatches with unfaltering drama and strength
of utterance.
Faster
movements are taken with a grandeur that often sounds very relaxed
- or rather, there is such a pleasing aura of order to the performances.
In the vibrant Courante of No.4 for example, he maintains
such a pleasing sense of line in the busy fingerwork.
 Leonhardt's
playing is also very appealing in the slow or moderate dancing movements,
especially in the contentedly languid allemandes. Overall,
I guess there is also this air of thoughtfulness - try Partita No.2's
and No.4's dreamy Sarabandes for a taste of the Leonhardt's
unforced, open manner. Even the pauses between phrases sound so
right in his hands.
Reading
the notes in the album, it is not surprising to discover that the
mind of an intellectual (no less of course!) is at work. For example,
each partita begins with a differently named preludial movement;
in order: Praeludium, Sinfonia, Fantasia, Ouverture, Praeambulum
and Toccata. And of course, one cannot be surprised by the
dedication the composer treats these names with. The Praeludium
opens with the feel of entering a new world, full of a sense of
light wonderment reminiscent of the "Aria" of the Goldberg
Variations. The serious Sinfonia begins in "grave
adagio", then develops into "andante", as a suite or symphony might
progress.
The
Fantasia meticulously yet dreamily treads along its path,
weaving its themes with no break in the line. The Ouverture that
opens the "second half" of the Clavier-Übung I and the album
begins typically slowly, then skips into an energetic main section
celebrating movement, as most Baroque overtures do. Partita No.5's
lively Praeambulum is more than a preamble, with busy sections
punctuated by wittily theatrical comment. The last Partita begins
with a Toccata almost 7 minutes long.
Because
repeats are left out, the album is hardly full at 95 minutes. But
I found this lack of repetition much easier to digest compared to
inundating your ear with 2½ hours of harpsichord music! Early Music
pioneer Gustav Leonhardt recorded these readings in 1986. The instrument
used (by William Dowd, 1984 copy after Michael Mietke) is blessed
with a pleasing upper register, with a particularly beautiful and
light ring. The sound is neither too bright nor too chinkly, supported
by a well-balanced middle and bass section. The result: this is
one of the most appealing harpsichord records I've ever heard.
And the
story is that CHIA-HAN-LEON accidently
obtained this disc because he was mail-ordering a W.F Bach disc
and gave the wrong number. Accidental expenditure has rarely been
so beneficial.
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8431:
11.3.1999 © Chia Han-Leon
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