Johann Sebastian Bach(1685-1750)
       Partitas for Harpsichord

Partita No. 1 in B flat  BWV 825
Partita No. 2 in C minor BWV 826
Partita No. 3 in A minor BWV 827
Partita No. 4 in D major BWV 828
Partita No. 5 in G major BWV 829
Partita No. 6 in E minor BWV 830

Nimbus 5673/4 - Recorded 2000
Bernard Roberts, Piano
TT 2 hrs 24 minutes

Summary for the Piano Enthusiast: "Enjoyable and light"

Bernard Roberts and I last hooked up with his full set of Bach's Well
Tempered Clavier on Nimbus.  I found Robert's WTC an enjoyable listening
experience although it was rather low on profundity.  Since I consider the
Partitas to not possess the level of emotional depth nor complexity of the
WTC, Roberts might be a better match for the Partitas.

In the review process, I mainly used for comparison the Angela Hewitt
Partitas on Hyperion, Rosalyn Tureck on the Philips Great Pianist series,
and Wolfgang Rubsam on Naxos.  Those three sets are excellent and represent
a worthy challenge for Roberts to meet.

Overall, the Roberts set is a fine one characterized by smooth flow and a
delicate nature.  The performances are lovely, tasteful, mainstream, and
entirely limpid.  Tempos are average or faster.  I definitely prefer this
set of the Partitas to the Roberts WTC set.  If you put your cd player on
the 'random play/shuffle' mode, I'm sure that the first track played will
adhere to the above description.  So far, so good.

What holds Roberts back from true excellence is that he does not reach
the soul of Bach's music; I don't get the sense that Roberts makes any
attempt to get there either.  He has no interest in any intense levels of
emotion in the music; this results in a limited emotional breadth to the
performances.  Artists such as Tureck and Rubsam go the extra mile and
attempt to find Bach's core.  Actually, Rubsam and Roberts are like night
and day when compared to one another.  Rubsam investigates and often sounds
improvisatory; Roberts sounds as if he decided ahead of time that each
movement of each Partita will be played in as upbeat and limpid fashion
as possible - one size fits all.

Some examples:

Partita No.  1 in B flat major - The Praeludium and Sarabande are rather
quick paced, transparent, and sufficiently poignant; however, switch to
Tureck and a much greater intensity of emotion is conveyed.  The Roberts
Allemande is beautiful and delicate; Pires in her DG Bach recital disc
gives an absolutely thrilling performance of distinction.

Partita No.  2 in C minor - Some of the music in this Partita, particularly
the Andante of the Sinfonia, the Sarabande, and the concluding Capriccio,
possess great depth of emotion.  Roberts is short on the rapture within
the Andante, short on the emotional longing/urgency in his quick Sarabande,
and miles away from any wildness in the Capriccio.  Rubsam and Tureck give
these three movements levels of energy and depth that Roberts does not
recognize.  He does provide an outstanding Rondeaux which is quite frisky
and alluring.

Partita No.  3 in A minor - The Roberts opening Fantasia has a nice rhythm
to it and is competitive with other versions.  His Allemande flows like
silk and is more expressive than most alternatives, although it lacks the
probing nature of the Rubsam interpretation.  The Corrente is poetic but a
little lacking in generating exciting build-ups for the climaxes in the
second theme.  The Sarabande is played quickly and is pleasant listening,
but other versions such as Rubsam's allow the listener to luxuriate in the
music and find more emotional depth.  Roberts does better in the last three
movements with poetic and sufficiently strong performances; the Gigue is
particularly exciting and not far behind the 'all hell breaks loose'
reading from Tureck.

Partita No.  4 in D major - For me, this Partita is the most inspired
of the six and the litmus test for the performer.  Roberts comes up with
another attractive performance which is on the light side concerning the
Overture, Allemande, and Sarabande.

Partita No.  5 in G major - The Roberts Praeambulum is an excellent
one: frisky and radiant.  The Allemande and Sarabande are a little
surface-bound, and the Italian Corrente is appropriately energetic and
delicate.  The Tempo di Minuetto is a witty and quirky piece which Roberts
handles excellently.  Although light and enjoyable, Roberts brings little
excitement to the Passepied or concluding Gigue.

Partita No.  6 in E minor begins with a Toccata in the
prelude-fugue-prelude sequence.  The Prelude is full of excitement, the
Fugue is thought-provoking.  Roberts does not deliver much excitement or
intensity, although superb sound and limpid playing makes for a highly
enjoyable listening experience.  Roberts also tends to play down the
intensity of the Allemande.  The next movement, a Corrente, has syncopation
as its dominant feature, but Roberts does little to highlight it; in
contrast, Hewitt's syncopation is stunning.  The Roberts Air flows nicely
but could have been more angular and mischevious.  After a pleasant but
ordinary performance of the Sarabande, Roberts gives the Tempo di Gavotta
an appealing bounce and vibrancy.  The Partita ends with a Gigue possessing
severe counterpoint which still needs to 'dance'.  Roberts well conveys the
dance properties, but the severity is only skimmed; Leonhardt manages to
deliver the dance properites while also highlighting the severity of the
music.

Don's Conclusions:  The Roberts Partitas set never offends or veers
off into uncharted territory.  The performances are always transparent
and quite enjoyable.  However, Bach has much more to offer than Roberts
presents to us.  Listening to Roberts with full concentration does get
to be a little trying because of the low degree of intensity in his
interpretations.  Generally, the lighter the music, the better the
performances.  When depth or any strong emotion is needed, Roberts is
not in the picture.

I considered the WTC set from Roberts a great one for listening to while
driving; his Partitas set is even better in that environment.  Believe me,
I don't take the driving issue lightly.  I have quite a few recordings
which are dedicated for vehicular purposes, and Roberts is prime-time in
that regard.  I wouldn't recommend this set at premium price, but Naxos is
offering it for the cost of just one premium-priced disc.  With great sound
and always pleasing performances, Roberts should well satisfy unless your
intent is to dive into the core of Bach; in that case, Roberts will not be
by your side.

Don Satz
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