The Six Keyboard Partitas Vol. 1

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
These are among the most accessible of Bach's keyboard works, but they usually sound much better on the harpsichord than on the piano. Previously the main exception to this rule was Glenn Gould, but Sergey Schepkin's performances are even better. The clarity and dexterity of his playing are simply amazing; he seems to breathe life and excitement into every measure of the music. It's rare that a little-known artist comes along and sweeps the field, but Schepkin has done exactly that. For Bach partitas on the piano, he is it. Leslie Gerber

Bernard Jacobson, Fanfare Magazine, March/April 1997
So extraordinary are the achievements of this young man..We are face-to-face with music history in the making.

The Six Keyboard Partitas Vol. 1

Tracks:

Partita V in G, BWV 829: Praeambulum
Partita V in G, BWV 829: Allemande
Partita V in G, BWV 829: Corrente
Partita V in G, BWV 829: Sarabande
Partita V in G, BWV 829: Tempo Di Minuetto
Partita V in G, BWV 829: Passepied
Partita V in G, BWV 829: Gigue
Partita VI in e, BWV 830: Toccata
Partita VI in e, BWV 830: Allemanda
Partita VI in e, BWV 830: Corrente
Partita VI in e, BWV 830: Air
Partita VI in e, BWV 830: Sarbande
Partita VI in e, BWV 830: Tempo Di Gavotta
Partita VI in e, BWV 830: Gigue
Clavierubung III: Four Duets: Duetto I in e, BWV 802
Clavierubung III: Four Duets: Duetto II in F, BWV 803
Clavierubung III: Four Duets: Duetto III in G, BWV 804
Clavierubung III: Four Duets: Duetto IV in a, BWV 805
Clavierubung II: Ov In The French Style (Partita in b), BWV 831: (Ov)
Clavierubung II: Ov In The French Style (Partita in b), BWV 831: Courante
Clavierubung II: Ov In The French Style (Partita in b), BWV 831: Gavotte I
Clavierubung II: Ov In The French Style (Partita in b), BWV 831: Gavotte II
Clavierubung II: Ov In The French Style (Partita in b), BWV 831: Gavotte I Da Capo
Clavierubung II: Ov In The French Style (Partita in b), BWV 831: Passepied I
Clavierubung II: Ov In The French Style (Partita in b), BWV 831: Passepied II
Clavierubung II: Ov In The French Style (Partita in b), BWV 831: Passepied I Da Capo
Clavierubung II: Ov In The French Style (Partita in b), BWV 831: Sarabande
Clavierubung II: Ov In The French Style (Partita in b), BWV 831: Bourree I
Clavierubung II: Ov In The French Style (Partita in b), BWV 831: Bourree II
Clavierubung II: Ov In The French Style (Partita in b), BWV 831: Bourree I Da Capo
Clavierubung II: Ov In The French Style (Partita in b), BWV 831: Gigue
Clavierubung II: Ov In The French Style (Partita in b), BWV 831: Echo

Album Description

Includes Partitas V and VI plus the Four Duets and the Overture in the French Style.

Customer Reviews:

Sergey Schepkin plays Bach: Vital, Intelligent, Earthy, Dancing.......2007-05-13

The Baroque Era in western classical music is supposedly named for the Portuguese word that means, misshapen pearl. These performances of the JS Bach Partitas set one to thinking, backwards, and forwards.

We first have to cope with the use of the modern piano, instead of say, the harpsichord. If Wanda Landowska made playing Bach on the harpsichord in concert a signal of our ongoing return to original or period instruments, Bach on the modern piano is still very much with us. Liszt encouraged pianists to play Bach, and partly because of his genius, Liszt got away with playing Bach in public when for most music lovers, the old Baroque master was a historical watermark, mainly acknowledged for the pedagogical values of learning to play his music.

The later rediscovery of Bach and Handel had a lot to do with Baron van Swieten in Vienna, plus Mendelssohn's advocacy (would the St. Matthew Passion have been completely lost?), plus later figures like Edwin Fischer, Busoni, Egon Petri (a Busoni student and protege), and above all most recently, Canadian piano genius Glenn Gould.

Thanks to miracles of modern information technology, Glenn Gould's Bach performances have been deftly analyzed, so that his trailblazing piano performance of the Bach Goldberg Variations, first released in about 1955, is now recreated, recorded, and available in state of the art super audio sound. See the Zenph re-performance series soon to appear on the shelves.

Bach kept being resolutely played and programmed by a gaggle of pianists in each successive generation. Then along comes Joao Carlos Martins. He immerses himself in all the keyboard works, and climbs another high peak by way of a much more Romantic manner of Bach playing. Then along comes Sergey Schepkin.

He is just himself. His approach to playing Bach on the piano partly eludes description. You get the brilliant clarity and ski-sloped vigor of Glenn Gould's style, plus a whole contrary dimension of wit, fantasy, earthiness, and emotion - qualities we would otherwise associate mainly with the later Romantic schools of Bach performance.

In Schepkin's hands, the old master comes off sounding like a much closer brother to Domenico Scarlatti - or even Rameau.

The stiff, gruff Lutheran piety so disappointed by earthly life is gone from Schepkin's performances, as it variously was absent from both Glenn Gould and Joao Carlos Martins. Instead we get just bucket-loads of sheer joy, a depth of fantasy and imagination that yet does not distort or violate period practice fundamentals, re-imagined, crafted to the modern piano. Schepkin's magic is partly due to his free and improvisatory way with Baroque ornamentation. He is near as florid as Handel in the operas - or Reinhold Keiser, or C.H. Graun. He brings a vocal, operatic sense of embellishment to the long, winding, intertwining Bach polyphonies. Rather like what violinist Andrew Manze does on his fiddle with this sort of period-informed performance practice.

There is absolutely nothing of the dry, laborious keyboard exercise here. And I have not always been a fan of everybody playing the Bach Partitas.

In addition to the high intelligence and wit, Schepkin manages also to convey a dimension of play, of kaleidoscopic gaming that still remains earthy and folk-loric. At times, the sophistication of this playing will probably remind you of Rameau's courtly, satin-clad harpsichord music. Artifice strangely elaborating the best of untutored, illiterate Nature.

Well, go get this and the first volume discs. After you listen a while, who cares what I say? Very, very highly recommended. Along with Gould and Martins, Schepkin is our main Bach man, shedding all manner of varied lights and genius on the composer as he can be revealed on the cornucopian resources of the modern piano. And these two red book discs of the complete Bach Partitas are only the beginning. Schepkin has recorded a whole lot more. Oh yeah.

Average customer rating:

Sergey Schepkin plays Bach: Vital, Intelligent, Earthy, Dancing
Schepkin the iconoclast does it again

The Six Keyboard Partitas Vol. 1

Manufacturer: Ongaku
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical | Indie Music | Stores | Music
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ASIN: B000001Z2L
Release Date: 1997-05-27

Tracks:

Partita I in B-flat, BWV 825: Praeludium
Partita I in B-flat, BWV 825: Allemande
Partita I in B-flat, BWV 825: Corrente
Partita I in B-flat, BWV 825: Sarabande
Partita I in B-flat, BWV 825: Menuet I
Partita I in B-flat, BWV 825: Menuet II
Partita I in B-flat, BWV 825: Giga
Partita II in c, BWV 826: Sinfonia, Grave Adagio
Partita II in c, BWV 826: Sinfonia, Andante
Partita II in c, BWV 826: Sinfonia, [Allegro]
Partita II in c, BWV 826: Allemande
Partita II in c, BWV 826: Courante
Partita II in c, BWV 826: Sarabande
Partita II in c, BWV 826: Rondeaux
Partita II in c, BWV 826: Capriccio
Partita III in a, BWV 827: Fantasia
Partita III in a, BWV 827: Allemande
Partita III in a, BWV 827: Corrente
Partita III in a, BWV 827: Sarabande
Partita III in a, BWV 827: Burlesca
Partita III in a, BWV 827: Scherzo
Partita III in a, BWV 827: Gigue
Partita IV in D, BWV 828: Ouverture
Partita IV in D, BWV 828: Allemande
Partita IV in D, BWV 828: Courante
Partita IV in D, BWV 828: Aria
Partita IV in D, BWV 828: Sarabande
Partita IV in D, BWV 828: Menuet
Partita IV in D, BWV 828: Gigue

Amazon.com

These are among the most accessible of Bach's keyboard works, but they usually sound much better on the harpsichord than on the piano. Previously the main exception to this rule was Glenn Gould, but Sergey Schepkin's performances are even better. The clarity and dexterity of his playing are simply amazing; he seems to breathe life and excitement into every measure of the music. It's rare that a little-known artist comes along and sweeps the field, but Schepkin has done exactly that. For Bach partitas on the piano, he is it. Leslie Gerber

Customer Reviews:

Sergey Schepkin plays Bach: Vital, Intelligent, Earthy, Dancing.......2007-05-13

The Baroque Era in western classical music is supposedly named for the Portuguese word that means, misshapen pearl. These performances of the JS Bach Partitas set one to thinking, backwards, and forwards.

We first have to cope with the use of the modern piano, instead of say, the harpsichord. If Wanda Landowska made playing Bach on the harpsichord in concert a signal of our ongoing return to original or period instruments, Bach on the modern piano is still very much with us. Liszt encouraged pianists to play Bach, and partly because of his genius, Liszt got away with playing Bach in public when for most music lovers, the old Baroque master was a historical watermark, mainly acknowledged for the pedagogical values of learning to play his music.

The later rediscovery of Bach and Handel had a lot to do with Baron van Swieten in Vienna, plus Mendelssohn's advocacy (would the St. Matthew Passion have been completely lost?), plus later figures like Edwin Fischer, Busoni, Egon Petri (a Busoni student and protégé), and above all most recently, Canadian piano genius Glenn Gould.

Thanks to miracles of modern information technology, Glenn Gould's Bach performances have been deftly analyzed, so that his trailblazing piano performance of the Bach Goldberg Variations, first released in about 1955, is now recreated, recorded, and available in state of the art super audio sound. See the Zenph re-performance series soon to appear on the shelves.

Bach kept being resolutely played and programmed by a gaggle of pianists in each successive generation. Then along comes Joao Carlos Martins. He immerses himself in all the keyboard works, and climbs another high peak by way of a much more Romantic manner of Bach playing. Then along comes Sergey Schepkin.

He is just himself. His approach to playing Bach on the piano partly eludes description. You get the brilliant clarity and ski-sloped vigor of Glenn Gould's style, plus a whole contrary dimension of wit, fantasy, earthiness, and emotion - qualities we would otherwise associate mainly with the later Romantic schools of Bach performance.

In Schepkin's hands, the old master comes off sounding like a much closer brother to Domenico Scarlatti - or even Rameau.

The stiff, gruff Lutheran piety so disappointed by earthly life is gone from Schepkin's performances, as it variously was absent from both Glenn Gould and Joao Carlos Martins. Instead we get just bucket-loads of sheer joy, a depth of fantasy and imagination that yet does not distort or violate period practice fundamentals, re-imagined, crafted to the modern piano. Schepkin's magic is partly due to his free and improvisatory way with Baroque ornamentation. He is near as florid as Handel in the operas - or Reinhold Keiser, or C.H. Graun. He brings a vocal, operatic sense of embellishment to the long, winding, intertwining Bach polyphonies. Rather like what violinist Andrew Manze does on his fiddle with this sort of period-informed performance practice.

There is absolutely nothing of the dry, laborious keyboard exercise here. And I have not always been a fan of everybody playing the Bach Partitas.

In addition to the high intelligence and wit, Schepkin manages also to convey a dimension of play, of kaleidoscopic gaming that still remains earthy and folk-loric. At times, the sophistication of this playing will probably remind you of Rameau's courtly, satin-clad harpsichord music. Artifice strangely elaborating the best of untutored, illiterate Nature.

Well, go get this first volume of the Bach Partitas, and maybe the second volume, too.

After you listen a while, who cares what I say? Very, very highly recommended. Along with Gould and Martins, Schepkin is our main Bach man, shedding all manner of varied lights and genius on the composer as he can be revealed on the cornucopian resources of the modern piano. And these two red book discs of the complete Bach Partitas are only the beginning. Schepkin has recorded a whole lot more. Oh yeah.

Schepkin the iconoclast does it again.......2000-08-09

The Partitas are here performed playfully rather than seriously. On the repeats, Schepkin ornaments almost to the degree one would expect from Couperin or Rameau, rolling his chords grandly, using all sorts of dynamics, and making it clear that this music of drama, wit, and emotion. And for the Partitas, it works beautifully - these are among the best of Bach's works, yes, but too often they are played as if the listener were to analyze rather than dance. Here, as in all of Schepkin's playing, it is clear that he takes Wanda Landowska's advice,"You play Bach your way, and I'll play him His way" to heart. Schepkin plays Bach his way, and he is never boring and often moving. This is a recording that makes you want to hear him live - it has a spontaneous quality that you won't heare from much other Bach recordings.

I'm not convinced that Sergei Schepkin's Bach playing is to everyone's taste (and, of course, the same could be said about every recording out there). I don't like his approach to the Goldbergs, and there are some things in the WTC recordings that are a little too mannered for my taste. But for the Partitas, this is a welcome approach; every music student thinking of studying on one of these would be well advised to hear this playing as a counterpoint to Gould's recording.

Bach: Six Partitas, BWV 825-830 (Edition Bachakademie Vol 115) /Pinnock (harpsichord)
Average customer rating:

A "must buy" recording

For those who don't like harpsichords -- check it out!

Tremendous performance of the Partitas - Go for it, folks!!

Bach: Six Partitas, BWV 825-830 (Edition Bachakademie Vol 115) /Pinnock (harpsichord)

Manufacturer: Hanssler Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

All Works by J.S. Bach | Bach, Johann Sebastian | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
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General | Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
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Pinnock, Trevor | ( P ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
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ASIN: B00004TKFM
Release Date: 2000-06-27

Tracks:

Parita 1 B - Dur B Flat Major, BWV 825: Praeludium
Parita 1 B - Dur B Flat Major, BWV 825: Allemande
Parita 1 B - Dur B Flat Major, BWV 825: Corrente
Parita 1 B - Dur B Flat Major, BWV 825: Sarabande
Parita 1 B - Dur B Flat Major, BWV 825: Menuet I + II
Parita 1 B - Dur B Flat Major, BWV 825: Gigue
Partita 2 c-moll BWV 826: Sinfonia
Partita 2 c-moll BWV 826: Allemande
Partita 2 c-moll BWV 826: Courante
Partita 2 c-moll BWV 826: Sarabande
Partita 2 c-moll BWV 826: Rondeaux
Partita 2 c-moll BWV 826: Capriccio
Partita 6 e-Moll BWV 830: Toccata
Partita 6 e-Moll BWV 830: Allemande
Partita 6 e-Moll BWV 830: Corrente
Partita 6 e-Moll BWV 830: Air
Partita 6 e-Moll BWV 830: Sarabande
Partita 6 e-Moll BWV 830: Tempo di Gavotta
Partita 6 e-Moll BWV 830: Gigue

Tracks:

Partita 3 a-Moll BWV 827: Fantasia
Partita 3 a-Moll BWV 827: Allemande
Partita 3 a-Moll BWV 827: Corrente
Partita 3 a-Moll BWV 827: Sarabande
Partita 3 a-Moll BWV 827: Burlesca
Partita 3 a-Moll BWV 827: Scherzo
Partita 3 a-Moll BWV 827: Gigue
Partita 4 D-Dur BWV 828: Ouverture
Partita 4 D-Dur BWV 828: Allemande
Partita 4 D-Dur BWV 828: Courante
Partita 4 D-Dur BWV 828: Aria
Partita 4 D-Dur BWV 828: Sarabande
Partita 4 D-Dur BWV 828: Menuet
Partita 4 D-Dur BWV 828: Gigue
Partita 5 G-Dur BWV 829: Praeambulum
Partita 5 G-Dur BWV 829: Allemande
Partita 5 G-Dur BWV 829: Corrente
Partita 5 G-Dur BWV 829: Sarabande
Partita 5 G-Dur BWV 829: Tempo di Minuetta
Partita 5 G-Dur BWV 829: Passepied
Partita 5 G-Dur BWV 829: Gigue

Amazon.com

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 to Ralph Kirkpatrick's graceful recordings: as the granddaddy of all modern Bach players, he's still got a lot to offer. Then check out Richard Goode's superb piano version to 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

Customer Reviews:

A "must buy" recording.......2007-03-17

J.S. Bach's six partitas for harpsichord rank as some of most powerful and sublime compositions for keyboard ever written. In my view they rank with Beethoven's late piano sonatas. Trevor Pinnock is the greatest harpsichordist that I know to be alive and active at present. This two-CD set is a masterful product of two masters - Bach and Pinnock. Thankfully Pinnock has retired from conducting and is devoting his energies to recording Bach's keyboard works. I look forward to more recordings from this wonderful musician.

For those who don't like harpsichords -- check it out!.......2001-12-06

If hearing a harpsichord only brings back memories of TV's Addams Family, or stirs up images -- as British conductor Sir Thomas Beecham once put it -- of "two skeletons copulating on a tin roof," then you owe it to yourself to hear this nicely priced 2-CD set of Bach's wonderful partitas.

Aside from the compositions themselves, which are among Bach's most stimulating keyboard works, and the incredible artistry of Trevor Pinnock, this is one of the warmest recordings of a harpsichord I've ever heard. It's rich, robust, and positively beautiful.

Pinnock recently retired from conducting to devote more time to playing the harpsichord. If this is only the beginning of many more Bach/Pinnock harpsichord recordings to come, music fans have a lot to look forward to.

Tremendous performance of the Partitas - Go for it, folks!!.......2000-11-30

Trevor Pinnock has never let me down, and he continues his streak with a superb performance of Bach's 6 Partitas. I own several other Pinnock CDs (Vivaldi's Four Seasons, various hpsd. works by Bach) and they are all winners and, to me, definitive. I'd say this is a must-have harpsichord version of the Partitas. Highest recommendation. Bach lives! Trevor forever!!

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