Johann Sebastian Bach (21 March 1685 ? 28 July 1750) was a German composer and organist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity.[1] Although he introduced no new forms, he enriched the prevailing German style with a robust contrapuntal technique, an unrivalled control of harmonic and motivic organisation in composition for diverse instrumentation, and the adaptation of rhythms and textures from abroad, particularly Italy and France.
Revered for their intellectual depth, technical command and artistic beauty, Bach's works include the Brandenburg concertos, the Goldberg Variations, the Partitas, the Well-Tempered Clavier, the Mass in B Minor, the St. Matthew Passion, the St. John Passion, the Magnificat, The Musical Offering, The Art of Fugue, the English Suites, the French Suites, the Sonatas and Partitas for violin solo, the Cello Suites, more than 200 surviving cantatas, and a similar number of organ works, including the celebrated Toccata and Fugue in D Minor.
While Bach's abilities as an organist were recognized and highly respected throughout Europe during his lifetime, he was not particularly well-known as a composer. His adherence to Baroque forms and contrapuntal style was considered "old-fashioned" by his contemporaries, especially late in his career when the musical fashion tended towards Rococo and later Classical styles. A revival of interest and performances of his music began early in the 19th century, and he is now widely considered to be one of the greatest composers in the Western tradition. (Collapse)...(Read more)
There has long been debate about the actual instrument that J. S. Bach had in mind when composing his various works for lute. It may well be that at l...
There has long been debate about the actual instrument that J. S. Bach had in mind when composing his various works for lute. It may well be that at least some of these seven compositions were really meant to be played on a keyboard instrument known as the Lautenwerk (an eighteenth-century harpsichord modified to approximate the sound of the lute). Certainly Bach's knowledge of Baroque plucked instruments was not nearly as thorough as his knowledge of the bowed string instruments for which his other unaccompanied suites and sonatas were composed, so the idea that when writing the lute works he found it helpful to make recourse to a more familiar medium -- the keyboard -- is not unthinkable.
The Partita for lute in C minor, BWV 997, is Bach's only work for lute that seems to fit the plucked instrument particularly well; it is one of just two lute suites (whether we take that to mean actual lute or the Lautenwerk) that Bach wrote from scratch -- the others are arrangements of works for violin or cello. (This fact has been the primary weapon of those who advocate performances of Bach's lute works on the guitar). The C minor Partita is thought to be a product of Bach's Leipzig years, probably dating from the late 1730s or perhaps early 1740s. It is infused with deep but restrained affect, and displays the extraordinary architectural detail that is so much a part of Bach's last 10 years. It is with good reason that the piece is widely considered Bach's finest lute work.
The Partita is laid out in four movements, only the last two of which -- the Sarabande and the Gigue -- are of the dance variety usually found in a Baroque instrumental suite. Instead of following the opening Preludio of the Partita with an allemande and a courante, Bach provides a fugue of extraordinary density and very unusual form.
The Preludio is of the through-composed, entirely non-improvisational variety. It is written in two voices throughout, the higher one florid and of great flexibility, the lower moving mostly in steady quarter notes. This magnificent movement is of a peculiarly resigned tone, powerfully expressive but never indulgent. One hardly gets a sense of virtuosity as the sixteenth notes unfold, and yet the movement is of great difficulty. A final arpeggio plunge draws a resonant conclusion.
When played on guitar, the Partita is normally transposed to A minor However, I created this arrangement for Concert (Pedal) Harp and have transposed it to Eb Minor.
GUITAR
KEYBOARD
STUDIO
PA
LIGHT
DEEJAY
MIC
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