BACH: SIX PARTITAS - Vladimir Feltsman (LINER NOTES)

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH

Six Partitas

VLADIMIR FELTSMAN, PIANO

PARTITA NO. 1 IN B FLAT MAJOR

1 Praeludium

2 Allemande

3 Courante

4 Sarabande

5 Menuet 1 and 2

6 Gigue

PARTITA NO. 2 IN C MINOR

7 Sinfonia

8Allemande

9 Courante z

10 Sarabande 11 Rondeau

12 Capriccio

PARTITA NO. 3 IN A MINOR 13 Fantasia

Allemande 15Courante

Sarabande 17 Burleska 18 Scherzo 19 Gigue

PARTITA NO. 4 IN D MAJOR

20 Ouverture

21 Allemande

22 Courante

23 Aria

24 Sarabande

25 Menuet

26 Gigue

PARTITA NO. 5 IN G MAJOR

27 Praeambulum

28 Allemande

29 Courante 30 Sarabande

31 Tempo di Minueto

32 Passepied

33 Gigue

PARTITA NO. 6 IN E MINOR 34 Toccata 35 Allemande 36 Courante

37 Air

38 Sarabande

39 Tempo di Gavotta

40 Gigue

In 1726, Bach had announced in a Leipzig newspaper

the publication of a large Suite with Prelude. This Suite

was followed by others published separately until all

six of them appeared in 1731 as a collection in a single

volume. Bach himself engraved and printed his Partitas

at his own cost, marking them as Opus 1 The title

reads, "Clavier-űbung. Consisting of Preludes,

Allemandes, Courantes, Sarabandes, Gigues, Menuets and Other Gallantries Composed for the Pleasurable

Diversion of Music Lovers." The fact that Bach marked

the Partitas as Opus 1 does not mean that it was his first composition, but simply that it was the first work he had published. "Clavier-übung. " ("Keyboard

Exercises") would be expanded in time to include three more volumes The second book contains an Italian

Concerto and a French Overture, the third book

contains works for organ, and the fourth book includes

the Goldberg Variations The "Clavier-übung"

collection represents the most popular musical forms,

genres and styles of keyboard music of that time. The

Partitas represent the Gallant Style, which means, predominantly, French; the Italian Concerto represents

the Grand Italian Style, Tutti-Soli-Ritornellos; the

French Suite is an expanded model, a blend of Partita and Orchestral Sus and the Goldberg Variations are a highly contrapuntal German experiment.

In composing "Clavier-übung, " as following the example of his immediate predecessor the cantorship of the St Thomas Church in Leipzig, Johann Kuhnau Kuhnau published his own collection of Partitas entitled "Clavier-übung, " consisting of two volumes

with seven Partitas in each Bach composed three sets of Suites, the earliest being the six English Suites.

They are filled with imitative counterpoint and are

somewhat archaic in style Bach also composed six French Suites which were written in the Gallant Style

(without Preludes), and finally, six Partitas. In the

Partitas, Bach found a supreme style. There is a

perfect balance of traditional dance movements, gallant melodies, harmonic foundation and a 'new'

sophisticated keyboard texture. His treatment of movements is inventive and innovative Every opening

movement traditionally called Preludia is original in

form, substance and name. Bach gave a new, original opening to every Partita Praeludium, Sinfonia,

Fantasia, Overture, Praeambulum and Toccata.

Allemandes, Courantes and Sarabandes retain their

titles but are treated with great diversity Allemandes

range widely from simple and tradition al in the third

and fifth Partitas to the 'grandest' of them al in the

fourth Partita In Courantes he arttully explores all the

possible combinations of three time. Sarabandes range

from austere simplicity in the fourth Partita to an

elaborate richness of Baroque rhetoric in the sixth

Partita. The closing movements are Gigues, with the

exception of the second Partita which ends with the

Capriccio also receiving a special treatment They

range from the joyful and playful Gigue in the first

Partita with its hands crossing inspired by Rameau, to

a highly dramatic and expressive ending of the sixth

Partita written in dotted rhythm full of chromatic tension and immense energy.

As a true son of his age, Bach was very much aware of

the different levels and layers of meaning possible in music He was a master of numerology the meanings of numbers and their permutations, the numerological

values of letters and names, the symbolism of intervals and intonations, and the numbers of bars and pulsations in the construction of musical forms were all

known to him. This is a fascinating topic. In connection

with the Partitas there are two aspects that should be pointed out. First is the meaning of the number six. All

of Bach's collections of Suites, Partitas, Sonatas and Concertos are set in groups of Six. Six English Suites,

six French Suites, six Partitas, six Suites for

Unaccompanied Cello, six Brandenburg Concertos, and three Sonatas and three Partitas for solo violin.

Why? There are two plausible reasons for that Seven

is a number of fullness and perfection. Bach. indeed. a

truly humble man. Composing music was an act of worship, an offering At the end of his most important

works he always put three letters, instead of his

signature S.D.G. Soli Deo Gloria (To The Glory of God).

And S D G became his true' signature Perhaps Bach

felt that Composing sets of seven works would be

immodest on his part. There is another explanation for the number six -- six Days of Creation, six Days of Work and on the seventh Day, rest.

The second point is the harmoric design and structure of the Partitas. The first Partita, Prima, is in B Flat; the second Partita. Seconda, is in C, which is two (seconda) up from B Flat; the third Partita is in A, three down from C; the fourth Partita is in D, four up from A; the fifth Partita is in G, five down from D; and the sixth Partita is in E, SİX up from G Within this structure, harmonic design works like a pendulum with B(ach) at the center. If we were to continue this logic, the swing of the pendulum would unavoidably come to F it would be seven (septima) down from E. The second book of "Clavier-übung" opens with the Italian Concerto, which is written in F Major The last book of "Clavier-übung, " which contains the Goldberg Variations, is a bridge -a connection of sorts to his later final' works to the enigmatic beauty and mystery of Musical Offering, to the infinite possibilities of the Art of Fugue and to the absolute perfection of the Credo from the B-Minor Mass

and genres. He had an extraordinary ability to integrate and utilize different traditions, diverse ideologies and styles He was a Master of Synthesis -a Great Unifier

One can easily recognize the sources of influences in his music - French Gallant Style, Italian Concerto

Grosso Style, German strict counterpoint In his works,

these different traditions have been renewed, transformed and have found their most clear, eloquent and powerful expression One can look upon Bach's music in its totality as one of the true miracles of

nature as a manifestation of Grace and simply feel

grateful and reassured that he was -

Vladimir Feltsman

Bach was working with different musical forms, styles

Vladimir Feltsman

An artist of immense range and insight, Vladimir

Feltsman is recognized as one of the most imaginative and constantly interesting musicians of our time Born

in Moscow in 1952, Mr. Feltsman debuted with the

Moscow Philharmonic at age 11. In 1969, he entered

the Moscow Tchaikovsky State Conservatory of Music

to study piano under the guidance of Professor Jacob

Flier. He also studied conducting at both the Moscow and the Leningrad (now St Petersburg)

Conservatories. In 1971, Mr. Feltsman won the Grand

Prix at the Marquerite Long International Piano

Competition in Paris; this was followed by intensive

concert tours throughout the former Soviet Union,

Europe and Japan.

In 1979, because of his growing discontent with the official Soviet ideology and rigid governmental control of the arts, Mr. Feltsman made his intention to

emigrate from the Soviet Union clear by applying for an

exit visa In reply, he was immediately banned from

performing in public. After eight years of struggle and

virtual artistic exile, he was finally granted permission

to leave the Soviet Union Upon his arrival in the United

States in 1987, Mr. Feltsman was warmly greeted at

the White House, where he performed his very first

concert in North America That same year, his debut at

Carnegie Hall immediately established him as a major

pianist on the American scene.

Mr. Feltsman's vast repertoire encompasses music

from Baroque to 20th-century composers. He

expressed his lifelong devotion to the music of Johann

Sebastian Bach in a Cycle of concerts and recordings

which included major clavier works of the composer.

One of his projects is Masterpieces of the Russian

Underground, which unfolds a panorama of Russian

contemporary music through the unprecedented

survey of piano and chamber works of 14 different composers from Shostakovich to the present day.

A regular guest soloist with every leading orchestra in the United States, Mr. Feltsman appears in the most prestigious Concert series and music festivals all over the world

Sharing the great tradition of piano playing becomes

increasingly important to Mr Feltsman, who holds the

Distinguished Chair of Professor of Piano at SUNY,

New Paltz, New York, and teaches at the Mannes

College of Music in New York City He is the founder

and Artistic Director of the International Festival-

Institute Piano Summer at New Platz comprehensive

month-long training program for advanced piano students which offers a unique, multifaceted approach

to all aspects of piano performance and attracts

musicians from all over the world

Mr. Feltsman's extensive discography is released on

Sony Classical, Music Masters and Melodiya labels, and includes six albums of clavier works of J.S. Bach; recordings of Beethoven's last five piano sonatas; solo piano works of Schubert, Chopin, Liszt, Brahms and Messiaen; as well as concerti by Bach, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff and Prokofiev.

Mr. Feltsman lives in upstate New York.

This recording was made in the Bolshoi Hall of Moscow

Conservatory: September 8-11, 1999. The Bolshoi Hall

is the Alma Mater of Vladimir Feltsman. It is his belief

that the atmosphere and acoustics of the hall are the best in the world for piano.

Recording and engineering by Vadim Ivanov Editing by Ruslana Oreshnikova.

Produced by Vladimir Feltsman.