Johann Sebastian Bach: Partita No. 4 in D Major, BWV 828 (1726)

The Bach-Brahms Project (Live and Unedited) Joel Schoenhals, piano www.joelschoenhals.com Eastern Michigan University Pease Auditorium September 8, 2017 Greg Knollmeyer, video production http://www.video.gregknollmeyer.com/ Partita No. 4 in D Major, BWV 828 (1726) Johann Sebastian Bach (1785-1750) Ouverture Allemande Courante Aria Sarabande Menuet Gigue Partita No. 4 in D Major, BWV 828 (1726) Johann Sebastian Bach Bach indicated that the six partitas were “prepared for the enrichment of the music lover’s soul” and written with the intention of keyboard practice. They are some of Bach’s most significant keyboard works. The life affirming Partita No. 4 in D Major opens with an expansive French Overture, similar to the opening of a Baroque opera. Its grand first section features dotted rhythms and flourishes. The subsequent section is faster dance music. The expressive Allemande that follows is peaceful and serene. It unfolds like a soliloquy with fluid rhetorical melodic lines over a supporting bass. The “German dance” qualities of the Allemande disappear here in favor of lyricism. The Courante provides brilliant contrast and returns to the celebratory character of the Overture. Bach extends the regal dance qualities into the Aria before another extensive soliloquy returns in the Sarabande, this time even more intimate than the Allemande. D Major continues to radiate in the charming Menuet, before the Gigue closes the work in a brilliant, uplifting fashion.