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Bach: Partitas, BWV 825-830 / Vinikour
Sono Luminus

Bach: Partitas, BWV 825-830 / Vinikour

$21.99

Details

Composer
BACH, J.S.
Artist
Jory Vinikour
Format
CD
Label
Sono Luminus
Released
Nov 18, 2016
Catalog #
DSL-92209
UPC
053479220929

About

Vinikour's performances are so buoyant, glistening or noble that you'll likely find yourself glued to your speakers (or headphones). And if you're accustomed to hearing the harpsichord at some distance in a concert hall, be prepared to listen as if you're standing next to the keyboard…” —Gramophone.

Playing with elegance and an innate sense of phrasing that allows lyric inventions to shine through the natural flow of the music, Mr. Vinikour achieves the distinction of offering playing that is genuinely moving.” —Joseph Newsome, Voix des Arts. The six partitas for harpsichord by Johann Sebastian Bach are among the greatest and most inspired works of all keyboard literature. Although they are the first works that Bach decided to publish, they represent the composer's genius at the height of his maturity, matched only by the Goldberg Variations.

Performed on a stunning copy of a North German instrument of Bach's time, rich and expressive, but also clear and incisive, built by Tom and Barbara Wolf, each of the partitas is a microcosm, ranging from the poetic and pastoral (no. 1, in B flat Major), to the epic and tragic (no. 6, in e minor). Bach shows himself to be playful, profound, meditative, theatrical, virtuoso - and always the greatest composer of counterpoint of all time. The six partitas represent the apotheosis not only of Bach's unique keyboard language, and the expressive possibilities of the harpsichord, but in the inherent range of colors and contrasts within the confines of a suite. To a greater extent than in the other sets of suites, each of the six partitas seems to establish its own distinct character, which is developed throughout the suite. As with the English Suites, each of the partitas opens with a prélude. However, these movements are widely varied in form as well as in mood. Although each of the the six partitas contains the standard suite movements (apart from the c minor partita, which foregoes the customary gigue in favor of a Capriccio), these movements show the most striking variety.

REVIEW:

The musical distinction gracing Jory Vinikour’s Bach Partitas should come as no surprise to listeners familiar with this sensitive and cultivated musician. For starters, he gets superb engineering courtesy of Sono Luminus’ home base studios in Boyce, Virginia. The sonics envelop Vinikour’s harpsichord (a 1995 double-manual German model by Thomas and Barbara Wolf, based on a 1738 vintage single-manual instrument by Christian Vater) within a warm, ample, and resonant ambience, with a special ring to sustained bass notes and clarity in all registers. Secondly, Vinikour’s aesthetic evokes that of his late mentor Huguette Dreyfus for its generally conservative tempos and a subtle approach to agogic phrasing that avoids the rhythmic hiccups and lurching mannerisms that we too often hear in the name of “authenticity”.

He never plays faster than one can dance or sing, as the gently ebullient Gigue finales demonstrate, while being quite generous with ornaments and embellishments on the repeats. If the A minor and G major Allemandes tend to sag under their expansive weight, the opposite is true in the D major Allemande’s gorgeously spun legato lines and sustaining power. This Partita’s opening Ouverture, incidentally, receives one of its finest performances on disc; it manages to sound weightily grandiose without sacrificing any forward sweep.

Also worth mentioning are Vinikour’s articulation of the E minor Corrente’s suspended syncopations and his opting to take the Gigue in triple rather than duple meter. Vinikour’s absorption in and commitment to these scores proves further evident in his booklet notes, which are highly informative and vividly expressed. I wouldn’t want to be without Christophe Rousset’s generally brisker pacing, the greater variety of registrations and timbres that Trevor Pinnock serves up in his Hänssler Bach Edition remake, or the late Igor Kipnis’ irrepressible sense of character. Yet Vinikour’s Partitas add up to a serious and major achievement by a serious and major artist.

-- ClassicsToday.com (Jed Distler)

Tracklist 40 tracks

  1. Disc 1
  2. 1 I. Prelude 02:08
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Prelude
    Duration
    02:08
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jory Vinikour
  3. 2 II. Allemande 03:49
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Allemande
    Duration
    03:49
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jory Vinikour
  4. 3 III. Corrente 02:59
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Corrente
    Duration
    02:59
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jory Vinikour
  5. 4 IV. Sarabande 05:28
    Track
    4
    Title
    IV. Sarabande
    Duration
    05:28
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jory Vinikour
  6. 5 V. Minuet I-II 02:59
    Track
    5
    Title
    V. Minuet I-II
    Duration
    02:59
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jory Vinikour
  7. 6 VI. Gigue 02:31
    Track
    6
    Title
    VI. Gigue
    Duration
    02:31
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jory Vinikour
  8. 7 I. Sinfonia 04:27
    Track
    7
    Title
    I. Sinfonia
    Duration
    04:27
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jory Vinikour
  9. 8 II. Allemande 05:29
    Track
    8
    Title
    II. Allemande
    Duration
    05:29
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jory Vinikour
  10. 9 III. Courante 02:37
    Track
    9
    Title
    III. Courante
    Duration
    02:37
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jory Vinikour
  11. 10 IV. Sarabande 03:12
    Track
    10
    Title
    IV. Sarabande
    Duration
    03:12
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jory Vinikour
  12. 11 V. Rondeaux 01:44
    Track
    11
    Title
    V. Rondeaux
    Duration
    01:44
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jory Vinikour
  13. 12 VI. Capriccio 03:50
    Track
    12
    Title
    VI. Capriccio
    Duration
    03:50
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jory Vinikour
  14. Disc 2
  15. 1 I. Fantasia 02:45
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Fantasia
    Duration
    02:45
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jory Vinikour
  16. 2 II. Allemande 03:11
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Allemande
    Duration
    03:11
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jory Vinikour
  17. 3 III. Corrente 03:14
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Corrente
    Duration
    03:14
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jory Vinikour
  18. 4 IV. Sarabande 03:53
    Track
    4
    Title
    IV. Sarabande
    Duration
    03:53
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jory Vinikour
  19. 5 V. Burlesca 02:15
    Track
    5
    Title
    V. Burlesca
    Duration
    02:15
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jory Vinikour
  20. 6 VI. Scherzo 01:12
    Track
    6
    Title
    VI. Scherzo
    Duration
    01:12
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jory Vinikour
  21. 7 VII. Gigue 03:22
    Track
    7
    Title
    VII. Gigue
    Duration
    03:22
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jory Vinikour
  22. 8 I. Ouverture 06:05
    Track
    8
    Title
    I. Ouverture
    Duration
    06:05
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jory Vinikour
  23. 9 II. Allemande 11:08
    Track
    9
    Title
    II. Allemande
    Duration
    11:08
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jory Vinikour
  24. 10 III. Courante 03:56
    Track
    10
    Title
    III. Courante
    Duration
    03:56
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jory Vinikour
  25. 11 IV. Aria 02:16
    Track
    11
    Title
    IV. Aria
    Duration
    02:16
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jory Vinikour
  26. 12 V. Sarabande 05:29
    Track
    12
    Title
    V. Sarabande
    Duration
    05:29
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jory Vinikour
  27. 13 VI. Menuet 01:28
    Track
    13
    Title
    VI. Menuet
    Duration
    01:28
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jory Vinikour
  28. 14 VII. Gigue 04:24
    Track
    14
    Title
    VII. Gigue
    Duration
    04:24
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jory Vinikour
  29. Disc 3
  30. 1 I. Praeambulum 02:30
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Praeambulum
    Duration
    02:30
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jory Vinikour
  31. 2 II. Allemande 06:08
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Allemande
    Duration
    06:08
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jory Vinikour
  32. 3 III. Corrente 01:55
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Corrente
    Duration
    01:55
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jory Vinikour
  33. 4 IV. Sarabande 05:23
    Track
    4
    Title
    IV. Sarabande
    Duration
    05:23
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jory Vinikour
  34. 5 V. Tempo di minuetto 02:02
    Track
    5
    Title
    V. Tempo di minuetto
    Duration
    02:02
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jory Vinikour
  35. 6 VI. Passepied 01:53
    Track
    6
    Title
    VI. Passepied
    Duration
    01:53
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jory Vinikour
  36. 7 VII. Gigue 04:09
    Track
    7
    Title
    VII. Gigue
    Duration
    04:09
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jory Vinikour
  37. 8 I. Toccata 08:02
    Track
    8
    Title
    I. Toccata
    Duration
    08:02
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jory Vinikour
  38. 9 II. Allemande 03:15
    Track
    9
    Title
    II. Allemande
    Duration
    03:15
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jory Vinikour
  39. 10 III. Corrente 05:28
    Track
    10
    Title
    III. Corrente
    Duration
    05:28
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jory Vinikour
  40. 11 IV. Air 01:32
    Track
    11
    Title
    IV. Air
    Duration
    01:32
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jory Vinikour
  41. 12 V. Sarabande 06:57
    Track
    12
    Title
    V. Sarabande
    Duration
    06:57
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jory Vinikour
  42. 13 VI. Tempo di Gavotta 02:08
    Track
    13
    Title
    VI. Tempo di Gavotta
    Duration
    02:08
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jory Vinikour
  43. 14 VII. Gigue 06:19
    Track
    14
    Title
    VII. Gigue
    Duration
    06:19
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Jory Vinikour