The six Partitas (BWV 825-830) are part of Bach's
Clavier-Übung, but were published singly, beginning in
1726 with this B flat major effort. A new partita
appeared each year thereafter until 1731, when the
whole collection was issued. Each of the six is a suite
containing allemandes, sarabandes, minuets, and various
other dances and numbers. The B flat major Partita
consists of seven short movements, the first being a
praeludium, a moderately paced piece so typical of
Bach's music in its statel...(+)
The six Partitas (BWV 825-830) are part of Bach's
Clavier-Übung, but were published singly, beginning in
1726 with this B flat major effort. A new partita
appeared each year thereafter until 1731, when the
whole collection was issued. Each of the six is a suite
containing allemandes, sarabandes, minuets, and various
other dances and numbers. The B flat major Partita
consists of seven short movements, the first being a
praeludium, a moderately paced piece so typical of
Bach's music in its stately confidence, serene joy, and
deftly wrought contrapuntal writing. There follow an
allemande, corrente (courante), sarabande, and gigue
which comprise the standard sequence of dances that
make up a partita. Actually, Bach inserted two brief
minuets between the sarabande and gigue.
Johann Sebastian Bach probably completed his Partita
for keyboard No. 3 in A minor, BWV 827 in 1725. It is
the third of six works that the composer released on
three separate occasions in 1726, 1730, and 1731. This
final publication was called "Opus 1" and was dedicated
to the delight of music lovers. It was also called
Keyboard Practice, one of four books of keyboard study
he published in his lifetime. These partitas can also
be regarded as suites, with an opening piece that is
followed by a collection of dances. His predecessor at
St. Thomas in Leipzig, Johann Kuhnau, had published
similar books of keyboard suites he called "Partie" in
1689 and 1692. Each partie represented a different
degree of the diatonic scale. Bach chose to do the same
thing, picking up where Kuhnau left off, at B flat. He
then made six of the seven partitas necessary to make
up all seven degrees of the scale.
Just as the names of forms were not fixed in the
Baroque era, Bach was not bound by fixed structures
either. Kuhnau followed a standard plan of Praeludium,
Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, and Gigue, whereas none
of Bach's partitas are the same; he omits certain
dances, substitutes others, and presents them in orders
that please him. The opening of the third partita in A
minor is not a prelude, or overture, but rather a
Fantasia. It is a marvelous and extremely difficult
movement. Bach did not let the traditions of
instrumental music restrict his imagination in the
slightest. The idea of including a movement entitled
Burlesca in Partita No. 3 is striking insofar as it is
not really a dance at all. The idea of following the
opening movement with a non-dance was uncommon, if not
unheard of. The ribald title of the movement is also an
aside for the man himself, a staunch Lutheran. This
partita is also dedicated to Bach's second wife, Anna
Magdalena. Her own copy of the work substituted the
word "Burlesca" with "Menuet." One common quality to
these partitas is the extent to which the composer
sounds as though he is having a wonderful time
composing these pieces. There is a lightness of spirit
to them that is not heard frequently in his other
works, which overwhelm and stupefy much of the time.
His Orchestral Suites are similar in spirit, but they
lack the rigorous counterpoint of the partitas. The
partitas were well received and did bring in additional
cash and notoriety, but they were later seen as too
difficult for amateur pianists. Listeners who are
beginning their study of this composer would do well to
begin here, with these partitas. They are inviting and
an honest representation of the composer.
PARTITION