Bach [Partita] Partitas. Scott Ross (hpd).

Erato / RCA (Full price) (Cassette) MCE75525 (two cassettes, nas); (CD) ECD75525 (two discs, nas: 146 minutes: DDD).

No. 1 in B flat major, BWV825; No. 2 in C minor, BWV826; No. 3 in A minor, BWV827; No. 4 in D major, BWV828; No. 5 in G major, BWV829; No. 6 in E minor, BWV830.

Bach published the first five of his keyboard Partitas separately and at various intervals between 1726 and 1730. In the following year a complete set of six appeared as the composer's Op. 1, when they formed the first part of his Clavierubung. Some if not all of the music, however, belongs to an earlier period than this and may well go back to Bach's time at Cothen. Forkel, Bach's earliest biographer, remarked that the publication was much noticed at the time and that young players would benefit from studying them, "so brilliant, agreeable, expressive and original are they". We can readily concur with Forkel's judgement whilst at the same time wonder that he did not also mention difficulty, for though the richly varied movements are not uniformly problematic in performance the C minor Capriccio, of the Second Partita, for example, has caused the downfall of many a player.

In general the six Partitas have been well served on disc in recent years with versions by Gustav Leonhardt (EMI), Kenneth Gilbert (Harmonia Mundi), Trevor Pinnock (Archiv) and Huguette Dreyfus (Denon) currently in the catalogue. Scott Ross, an American with considerable gifts and apparently fresh from his marathon Erato recording of all Scarlatti's sonatas, now enters the arena with accoutrements fit to win the day. Like Kenneth Gilbert, he is fortunate in having as his recording engineer Jean-Francois Pontefract, as remarkable in deed as in name. At first the sound struck me as a little too reverberant but I found that once I had got used to that it served the interests of instrument and texture rather well.

Scott Ross is usually moderate in his choice of tempo. Occasionally, movements such as the Prelude of the B flat Partita, for instance, are a little on the fast side; but in general his tempos are well-judged and especially, perhaps, in allemandes and courantes. These movements are usually beautifully poised with just a hint of rhythmic freedom, thus heightening their innate sense of gesture. Ornamentation is generously though not excessively applied but it sometimes occurs at points in the music which do not really need it—the reprise of Menuet 1 of the First Partita is a case in point. Perhaps the single most striking aspect of Ross's playing is the thrusting vitality with which he approaches the music. The C minor Sinfonia pulsates with life generating an air of expectancy, even excitement. There is an admirable clarity of purpose in this playing which is enhanced both by transparently clear textures and by the excellence of the recording itself. Of course there are occasional shortcomings one of them occurs in the Gigue of the B flat Partita where an occasional note does not sound and where there are one or two uneven passages, and I'd have liked more rhythmic flexibility in some of the sarabandes especially that belonging to the A minor. But by and large I enjoyed these animated, uncluttered and stylish performances, and both for musical and extra-musical reasons I shall place them high among my preferences.

Many of the competing sets have drawbacks which must be seriously considered. Leonhardt for example, offers no repeats even in the galanteries. Gilbert's version is marred by a recorded sound which, though admirably clear, picks up far too many extraneous sounds from the instrument's action. This is not a minor problem, by the way, but a decided hindrance to one's concentration and enjoyment. I enjoyed Dreyfus's approach for its directness and naturally articulated playing but there are a handful of startling misreadings, one of which occurs in the fourth bar of the Prelude of the B flat Partita. That leaves Pinnock's performance which shares some of the best qualities on display in this new release; but Pinnock is indifferently served by a second-rate Archiv balance. The choice for me is between these two though there are curiosities in the Ross album: these chiefly concern the harpsichord which is tuned to A = 440 though using varying temperaments, I believe. Nowhere is there any mention of the instrument itself, furthermore, which is a pity since most listeners nowadays probably take an interest in such matters.

Notwithstanding these unexplained details, I found plenty to admire in the playing. Fine performances, with startlingly clear recorded sound which at times intermittently in the D major Allemande, for example—allows one to hear a loud bang in the studio and what sounds like the occasional roar of a juggernaut.

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