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J.S.Bach: Six Partitas, Opus 1
Edward Parmentier, harpsichord (Keith Hill, after Christian Zell)

Harpsichord tuning & preparation by Edward Parmentier & Joseph Spencer. Peter Nothnagle, engineer. Joseph Spencer, prod. DDD. Duration 2h 20'38", New 2-CD Slimpack. (WLBR 9101)

The Six Partitas, Bach's Opus 1, self-published by the master during the period that he succeeded in getting the prestigious post at the St-Thomas Church in Leipzig, are for many his greatest keyboard works, surpassing the French and English Suites, which were never engraved and published in Bach's lifetime. As the first Book of the Clavierübung, they are joined by the Italian Concerto, the French Overture, the Schübler Chorales and the Goldberg Variations as his definitive statement on the art of the keyboard.

Each of the six suites begins with a large, free movement- a toccata, really- and each is given a different appellation: Praeludium, Sinfonia, Ouverture, Fantasia, Preambulum, and Toccata, each having a different connotation in terms of history and nationality. By themselves these movements are among Bach's most ambitious, challenging and rewarding pieces. The dance movements that follow are a wondrous compendium of compositional possibilities of the early eighteenth century, possibilities quite unimagined by any Bach contemporary.

Edward Parmentier applies his unmistakeable technique to these amazing pieces with impressive results. A student of Gustav Leonhardt, he possesses a unique and supple control of rhythm and articulation, enabling him to uncover revelatory nuances in familiar music. Over and over again the listener is presented with ideas that, once revealed, are unquestionably inherent in the music, but inexplicably overlooked in a lifetime of other performances. The "minor" dance movements are often revelatory in Parmentier's hands.