'There, too, is the infinite melody.' That's what an enthusiastic
Richard Wagner would have said about Bach's Preludium in F-sharp (Well-Tempered Clavier II). He could have said the same about the second track on this CD. Here too, in this Allemande, we hear one of those endless a-typical Bach melodies that just goes on and on and on and on and on and on, and nowhere seems to land. Harpsichordist
… Frédérick Haas makes no apologies for that celestial length. He takes his time with it, giving a playing time of over 12 minutes. The surrounding movements are no less beautiful. Thus the partita begins with an inspired overture that is a delight for the listener and a trial for the player. The Allemande is followed by a lively Courante that constantly dances across the bar lines. And so it continues in this ambitious suite, which belies the prejudice that all of Bach's Baroque suites are pretty much the same. (HJ)more
