There has long been debate about the actual instrument
that J. S. Bach had in mind when composing his various
works for lute. It may well be that at least some of
these seven compositions were really meant to be played
on a keyboard instrument known as the Lautenwerk (an
eighteenth-century harpsichord modified to approximate
the sound of the lute). Certainly Bach's knowledge of
Baroque plucked instruments was not nearly as thorough
as his knowledge of the bowed string instruments for
which his o...(+)
There has long been debate about the actual instrument
that J. S. Bach had in mind when composing his various
works for lute. It may well be that at least some of
these seven compositions were really meant to be played
on a keyboard instrument known as the Lautenwerk (an
eighteenth-century harpsichord modified to approximate
the sound of the lute). Certainly Bach's knowledge of
Baroque plucked instruments was not nearly as thorough
as his knowledge of the bowed string instruments for
which his other unaccompanied suites and sonatas were
composed, so the idea that when writing the lute works
he found it helpful to make recourse to a more familiar
medium -- the keyboard -- is not unthinkable.
The Partita for lute in C minor, BWV 997, is Bach's
only work for lute that seems to fit the plucked
instrument particularly well; it is one of just two
lute suites (whether we take that to mean actual lute
or the Lautenwerk) that Bach wrote from scratch -- the
others are arrangements of works for violin or cello.
(This fact has been the primary weapon of those who
advocate performances of Bach's lute works on the
guitar). The C minor Partita is thought to be a product
of Bach's Leipzig years, probably dating from the late
1730s or perhaps early 1740s. It is infused with deep
but restrained affect, and displays the extraordinary
architectural detail that is so much a part of Bach's
last 10 years. It is with good reason that the piece is
widely considered Bach's finest lute work.
The Partita is laid out in four movements, only the
last two of which -- the Sarabande and the Gigue -- are
of the dance variety usually found in a Baroque
instrumental suite. Instead of following the opening
Preludio of the Partita with an allemande and a
courante, Bach provides a fugue of extraordinary
density and very unusual form.
The Preludio is of the through-composed, entirely
non-improvisational variety. It is written in two
voices throughout, the higher one florid and of great
flexibility, the lower moving mostly in steady quarter
notes. This magnificent movement is of a peculiarly
resigned tone, powerfully expressive but never
indulgent. One hardly gets a sense of virtuosity as the
sixteenth notes unfold, and yet the movement is of
great difficulty.
The Fuga is an extraordinary example of its breed.
Rather than a continuously developmental kind of
contrapuntal piece that climaxes at the end, this fugue
is written in true da capo form, with the opening
forty-eight bars of music reprised after a contrasting
central section. The subject of the fugue is absolutely
stunning, featuring a dramatic leap of a major seventh
and some tense, rising chromaticism.
The Sarabande is laid out in two equal halves, each of
which begins ponderously -- and with a little imitation
between the treble and bass -- but soon moves on to
roving sixteenth notes.
Bach chooses to provide a Double at the end of the
graceful Gigue proper, filling in all the rhythmic gaps
of the original version of the dance with smaller
ornamental notes while retaining the basic harmonic and
melodic shapes. A final arpeggio plunge draws a
resonant conclusion.
PARTITION