Partita – Sonatas for Recorder and Obbligato Harpsichord
Partita et Sonates, JS BACH. Nathalie Rotstein Raguis, Flutes à Bec; Mario Raskin, Clavecin
LFM 20601 [ Ссылка ]
Partita BWV 1013, C min (original A min) recorder solo*
00:00 1 - Allemande 3'49
03:49 2 - Courante 2'37
06:26 3 - Sarabande 4'13
10:39 4 - Gigue 1'50
Sonata BWV 1017, D min (original C min for violin)*
12:29 5 - Largo 4'13
16:42 6 - Allegro 4'58
21:40 7 - Adagio 3'01
24:41 8 - Allegro 4'56
Sonata BWV 1019, G Maj (original for violin) **
29:36 9 - Allegro 3'51
33:27 10 - Largo 1'40
35:07 11 - Allegro (Cembalo solo) 3'21
38:28 12 - Adagio 2'52
41:20 13 - Allegro 3'38
Sonata BWV 1030, C min (original B min)*
44:52 14 - Andante 7'25
52:17 15 - Largo e dolce 3'39
55:56 16 - Presto 1'38
57:35 17 - Allegro 4'23
Sonata BWV 1020, A min (original G min)*
01:01:57 18 - Allegro 3'52
01:05:49 19 - Adagio 2'33
01:08:22 20 - Allegro 4'51
* alto recorder 415 Hz ** voice flute 415 Hz
Recorders Henri Gohin after J.C. Denner
Harpsichord: franco-flamand, Jacques Braux (1990)
Sound recording: : Francis Rotstein "Studio Roze" [ Ссылка ]
Art work: Olivier Wiesner. Graphic conception: Olivier Wiesner, Francis Rotstein
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The repertory and the expressive resources of the recorder are generally unfamiliar to the general public. The esthetic of its timbre is related to that of the organ, while providing it with the richness and depth of wood. The sonatas for violin by Johann Sebastian Bach lend themselves particularly well to performance on this instrument, which reveals them in a new light.
All the sonatas on this disc are among the sonatas for obbligato (or concertant) harpsichord; they differ from the sonatas with thoroughbass in their contrapuntal and harmonic conception, thus evincing a texture in three voices of equal importance, in constant, flowing dialogue between the two instruments, a balance of the voices that the recording techniques chosen were intent on enhancing.
In his recording the widespread practice of “re-instrumentation” or self-transcription for different instrumental forces, affords the modern instrumentalist a liberty that enables the recorder to give life and breath, given the warm qualities of timbre that are its hallmark, to a repertoire of incomparable richness.
The programme of this recording was designed to highlight the warm sonorities of the harpsichord and the recorder following three facets: sonatas transcribed for flute, those written for flute and the Partita for flute solo.
The BWV 1017 and 1029 sonatas were written for violin. The transcriptions consist in modifying keys and octave transposition so that the writing is adapted to the recorder range. No other modification was made. However, it is worth noting that the practice of transcription was particularly widespread from the Middle Ages through Bach’s era. Johann Sebastian Bach himself revisited any number of his own works by modifying the instrumentation.
The BWV 1020 and 1030 sonatas are among the sonatas for flute, whereby the very question of instrumentation may be raised in relation with certain manuscripts. The sonata BWV 1020, while still published under the name of J. S. Bach in certain editions, is nowadays attributed rather to one of his sons, Carl Philipp Emmanuel. Its stylistic difference from the other sonatas, present to be sure but by virtue of its position in this recording, provides an opening onto the future.
The sonata BWV 1030 represents one of the finest sonatas for flute; the first movement Andante is the longest ever written by Bach in his flute sonatas, the motifs move about in responses and dovetailing between the two instruments in a context of considerable textural density.
The Partita BWV 1013 for solo flute presents an enigma for any wind instrumentalist: practically no rest or articulation throughout the suite of dances. Bestowing meaning on the work thus becomes ceaseless exploration of phrasing within perpetual questioning.
Nathalie Rotstein-Raguis
Translation Kurt Lueders
Paris, july 2012
