Bach dedicated the Partita BWV.825 to his former employer Prince Leopold of Köthen. It was a celebration of the birth of little Emanuel Ludwig, the first child of the prince and his second wife. Five other separately published partitas followed. In 1731 Bach published the entire collection under the title I.Teil der Clavier-Übung. This meant that more textbooks were to follow. In this first volume,
… Bach evidently wanted to market himself through all kinds of popular genres and dance types. But Bach would not be Bach if he did not do this in a superlative way. He did this both compositionally and in terms of his keyboard technique. Take the Capriccio from Partita II, for instance, with its great virtuoso leaps (comparable to Jesus Christ, Unser Heiland from Clavier-Übung III). It is a miracle that the harpsichord does not collapse under the hands of Mahan Esfahani. Or take the festively compelling Overture from the Partita IV. The endlessly singing melody of the Allemande from the same partita is no less impressive a feat. (HJ)more
