Bach

%26nbsp%3B%3C%21--+%09%09%40page+%7B+margin%3A+2cm+%7D+%09%09P+%7B+margin-bottom%3A+0.21cm+%7D+%09--%3E%26ldquo%3BIn+his+lifetime%2C+Johann+Sebastian+Bach+was+famous+less+as+a+composer+than+as+a+performer%2C+on+the+organ+and+harpsichord%2C+and+in+particular+as+an+improviser.+%3Cbr+%2F%3ESomething+of+the+impact+he+made+on+his+fortunate+listeners+can+be+gleaned+from+the+remarkable+Chromatic+Fantasia+and+Fugue+in+D+minor+%5B......%5D+The+work+is+%26ldquo%3Bchromatic%26rdquo%3B+in+its+free+use+of+all+twelve+notes+of+the+chromatic+scale%2C+suggesting+the+need+for+a+tuning+system+similar+to+that+required+for+the+two+volumes+of+preludes+and+fugues+in+all+the+keys+called+The+Well-Tempered+Clavier.+%3Cbr+%2F%3EThe+quasi-improvisatory+Fantasia+moves+freely+through+different+keys%2C+never+coming+to+rest+in+the+nominal+home+key+until+it+closes+on+a+chord+of+D+major.+%3Cbr+%2F%3EIt+includes+dramatic+runs%2C+brilliant+figuration+divided+between+the+hands%2C+searching+harmonic+progressions+notated+as+block+chords+to+be+freely+arpeggiated+by+the+player%2C+and+in+its+later+stages+a+%26ldquo%3BRecitativ%26rdquo%3B+of+extraordinary+harmonic+mobility+and+harshness.+%3Cbr+%2F%3EThe+Fugue+is+based+on+a+subject+containing+two+ascending+chromatic+scale+figures+and+altogether+including+eleven+of+the+twelve+notes+of+the+chromatic+octave%2C+and+it+too+moves+freely+into+remote+keys.+%3Cbr+%2F%3EIts+strict+three-part+texture+is+relaxed+for+a+couple+of+episodes+of+freer+two-part+writing%2C+and+a+final+burst+of+virtuosity+recalling+the+Fantasia.++++%5B...%5D+Both+%5BItalian+Concerto+and+French+Suite%5D+are+translations+into+keyboard+terms+of+forms+associated+with+orchestral+music+%26ndash%3B+although+the+keyboard+writing+is+so+idiomatic+that+neither+could+ever+be+mistaken+for+an+arrangement+of+an+actual+orchestral+work.%3Cbr+%2F%3E...Markings+of+forte+and+piano+indicate+the+use+of+the+two+keyboards+of+the+harpsichord+to+differentiate+between+tutti+and+solo+passages%2C+and+between+solo+and+accompaniment.+%3Cbr+%2F%3EThe+central+D+minor+Andante+consists+of+a+long%2C+floridly+decorated+melody+over+an+ostinato+accompaniment+%26ndash%3B+a+texture+clearly+devised+for+the+harpsichord%2C+with+its+lack+of+sustaining+power%2C+but+equally+well+suited+to+the+modern+piano+with+its+potential+for+subtle+shading.+%3Cbr+%2F%3EThe+finale+is+again+in+Venetian+ritornello+form%2C+this+time+with+a+final+%26ldquo%3Bsolo%26rdquo%3B+episode+recapitulating+the+material+of+the+first+two+episodes%2C+in+reverse+order%2C+before+the+closing+complete+statement+of+the+buoyant+ritornello.+++++%5B...%5D+The+Partita+No.+6+in+E+minor+is+in+many+respects+the+most+ambitious+of+the+six%2C+and+it+certainly+makes+no+concessions%2C+technical+or+musical%2C+to+the+amateurs+who+were+presumably+its+intended+market.+%3Cbr+%2F%3EIt+opens+with+a+Toccata%2C+which+begins+by+alternating+between+quasi-improvisatory+flourishes+and+rhythmic+two-part+writing%2C+continues+with+an+extended+three-voice+fugue%2C+and+finally+returns+to+and+expands+on+the+opening+flourishes.+%3Cbr+%2F%3EThe+Allemande+is+heavily+encrusted+with+ornamental+detail+in+both+hands.+%3Cbr+%2F%3EThe+Corrente+%28or+Italian-style+courante%29+moves+lightly%2C+with+a+regular+pulse+in+the+left+hand%2C+and+the+right+hand+for+much+of+the+time+off+the+beat.+%3Cbr+%2F%3EThe+first+interpolated+number+is+an+Air%2C+in+gavotte+time%2C+with+running+quavers+in+each+hand+in+turn+and+a+little+arpeggiated+coda.+%3Cbr+%2F%3EThe+Sarabande+is+even+more+lavishly+decorated+than+the+Allemande+%26ndash%3B+another+example+of+Bach%26rsquo%3Bs+skill+as+an+improviser+being+transferred+to+the+written+or+printed+page.+%3Cbr+%2F%3EThe+second+%26ldquo%3Bnovelty+number%26rdquo%3B+is+marked+to+be+played+in+gavotte+time%2C+but+its+notation+combines+equal+and+dotted+rhythms+with+triplets%2C+so+that+for+much+of+its+length+it+has+the+effect+of+a+gigue.+%3Cbr+%2F%3EThe+final+Gigue%2C+on+the+other+hand%2C+is+notated+in+dotted+and+equal+rhythms%2C+as+if+in+4%2F2+time%3A+some+players+have+reinterpreted+the+whole+movement+in+traditional+gigue+time+in+the+compound+metre+of+24%2F8%3B+but+gigues+in+duplet+rhythms+were+not+unknown+in+the+Baroque+period%2C+and+this+performance+retains+Bach%26rsquo%3Bs+written+note-values.+%3Cbr+%2F%3EThe+movement+is+in+three-part+contrapuntal+texture+almost+throughout%2C+with+a+fugal+opening+which+is+turned+upside-down+at+the+beginning+of+the+second+half.+%26ldquo%3B