Partita no. 3 in A minor
BWV 827 performed by Menno van Delft
at the Bartolotti House, Amsterdam
Behind the music
Story
Story
Extra videos
Extra videos
Credits
Credits
Light-hearted
From the living room out into the world
In his essay on playing keyboard instruments, Johann Sebastian’s son Carl Philipp Emanuel also wrote about the clavichord. The large wing-shaped harpsichord was “usually used for loud music”, whereas the clavichord was for “playing alone”. One of the characteristics of a good clavichord was that it should allow people “both to press the keys firmly and to stroke them, so as to produce all sorts of forte and piano sounds clearly and distinctly”.
The origins of this Partita in A minor lie in “playing alone” in a homely setting, as it is the opening work of the second book of music Bach compiled for his wife Anna Magdalena, in 1725. It is the ideal context for a clavichord. The music itself is also looser in form than usual. Not only does the work begin with a Fantasia, but later on there is an unusual Burlesca (from the Italian burlare: making fun of, mocking), with big leaps for the left hand, which is followed by a Scherzo (from the Italian scherzare: fooling around, joking). So, light-hearted fun for at home.
Later, the Partita in A minor, BWV 827, was published as the third of Bach’s set of six partitas (another word for suites). The second and third partita had already been announced in an advertisement in a Leipzig newspaper, in September 1727. Copies could be bought not just from Bach himself, but also from fellow musicians in Dresden, Halle, Lüneburg, Wolfenbüttel, Neurenberg and Augsburg. So it was not just music for his own living room, but also work he wanted to present to the wider world.
Thanks to modern recording technology, the clavichord has gained a new role. Menno van Delft – performing in Huis Bartolotti with no audience – can play as softly as he wants and still reach a wide audience. So although the clavichord may still be mainly for “playing alone”, nowadays we can all listen in from our own living rooms.
The Notenbüchlein für Anna Magdalena Bach
Shortly after their arrival in Leipzig in 1723, Johann Sebastian and Anna Magdalena Bach revealed themselves as a cultural power couple. Although Anna Magdalena gave up her successful public singing career, she joined her husband in running a thriving music business, alongside looking after a large and growing family. We have at least two tangible traces of their married life in the form of two Notenbüchlein from 1722 and 1725.
Whereas the first Notenbüchlein was still a sort of notebook, containing things like early versions of five ‘French Suites’ (and who knows what else, as two-thirds of the pages are missing), the second one was definitely intended as a gift from Johann Sebastian to his wife. In fair copy, he notated two Partitas and all sorts of other music of Anna Magdalena’s own choosing, such as the aria from the Goldberg Variations and the song Dir, dir Jehova, as well as music by composers like Couperin and Anna Magdalena’s stepson Carl Philipp Emanuel. Together, the Notenbüchlein form a colourful mix of arias, chorales and suites.
With support from
Stichting Elise Mathilde Fonds
Extra videos
Vocal texts
Original
Translation
Credits
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- Release date
- 7 October 2021
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- Recording date
- 12 May 2018
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- Location
- Bartolotti House, Amsterdam
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- Harpsichordist
- Menno van Delft
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- Director, camera and lights
- Gijs Besseling
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- Music recording
- Guido Tichelman, Bastiaan Kuijt
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- Music edit and mix
- Guido Tichelman
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- Camera, lights
- Nina Badoux
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- Camera and lighting assistant
- Eline Eestermans
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- Interview
- Onno van Ameijde, Marloes Biermans
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- Producer
- Jessie Verbrugh
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- With support from
- Stichting Elise Mathilde Fonds
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