Customer Reviews

Bach: Six Partitas / Richard Troeger

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Throw away your desert island CD list. Should you ever find yourself marooned, these are the only disks you'll need.

There are scant few worthwhile recordings made on this wonderful instrument (Bach's favorite), and with good reason. There are pitfalls aplenty in store for the would-be recording artist bent on rendering something wonderful on the clavichord. In some cases, the player simply isn't up to the task either technically or expressively (a keyboard is a keyboard isn't it? If one can play piano or harpsichord convincingly, surely the clavichord can pose no real challenge! Guess again.). In other cases, the instrument is the culprit. Naive construction or upkeep can render a clavichord virtually unplayable, or at least unlistenable. Lastly, the instrument is unrelentingly difficult to record.

Troeger transcends all of these in a manner I've simply never heard before. The tone is sweet and lyrical, the technique absolutely perfect, the interpretations solid, valid and refreshing. Before hearing his clavichord artistry, I had a regrettable tendency to dismiss the instrument as a baroque novelty. He has changed all that for good. His technique and sensitivity are simply not easily believed. Most of the credit clearly belongs to him, but a good deal must also go to the builder (the great Ron Haas) of this very fine clavichord. The recording engineer and producer also worthy of mention. All know what they're doing.

This is a "must have" for anyone looking to expand their Bach keyboard work CD collection with something new and exciting. By all means, keep your favorite harpsichord and piano versions of the partitas as well. I have a feeling this is the one you'll listen to most often. One can only wonder at the next offering of this incredibly gifted man.

I have studied the Bach Keyboard Partitas in depth. In my opinion, and speaking as an accomplished classical guitarist and an advanced keyboard artist, Richard Troeger's rendering of the Partitas on this CD is
outstanding and profound. I'd say Bach himself would have approved, and you, the listener, will not be disappointed. Richard Troeger is a leading proponent of all things Baroque: harpsichord, clavichord, and fortepiano; he has recorded and written extensively on the subject. His knowledge shows in this recording. Enjoy it.

The Bach Partitas have been recorded by pianists, harpsichordists, and clavichordists. In order to fully understand how the clavichord works and why it sounds the way it does, google up 'clavichord' and also
'Richard Troeger', and listen to samples of clavichord recordings. The clavichord should be compared only to itself and as the Baroque Period instrument it was. It's not a harpsichord, it's not a piano. It's a clavichord.

Read up on it, be open-minded, and learn something new.

I feel that Paul Wachowicz gave an excellent review of Bach's most mature keyboard work, The Six Partitas. I, however, didn't walk away with the same feeling. The problem for me is the choice of instrument. The clavichord has such a soft voice. I have a number or recordings of the clavichord and the suggestions for playback are generaly the same, that is, the volume should be set at a level that any external noise will interrupt the sound of the instrument. The clavichord was primary a domestic instrument because it could be played on without disturbing anyone else, say, in the next room or when playing late into the night. These are concert pieces (by Bach's standards) and should be played on a large instument such as a harpsichord or piano to get the full effect of just how modern and ahead of it's time these pieces really are when compared to his contemporaries or even now. I do have to say that this recording of the work does have great effect when played late into the night. However, I feel that if your shopping for a great recording of the Six Partitas, this performance shouldn't be your primary choice, unless of course, you love the soft voice of the clavichord.

This was the first recording of Bach's Partitas on clavichord, a historic instrument that preceded the more well known (and well liked) harpsichord.

I was skeptical that another period induced performer using this instrument could add much to this repertory. So I eschewed this recording until I could locate it on sale in a discount store.

What strikes me most about Troeger's progression through Bach's great Partitas is this:

1. He is slavishly metrical and almost completely unimaginative. Except for Partita 4, which I will explain shortly, he shows almost no imagination in any of these works.

2. The sound of his instrument, a clavichord, is clangy and becomes nearly unbearable in louder moments, which are many because Troeger shows little repose as he goes through the pages of the music.

3. For a period performer, Troeger does not seem to me to use much Baroque style. His ornaments are few and not as well placed as I've heard on the better harpsichord collections I have heard by Kipnis and Pinnock.

The signature of this collection is the overwhelmingly unappealing sound of his instrument, which is akin to a string guitar being struck by a hammer. When you combine this with Troeger's relatively humorless and lifeless metrical performances, where rubato and vibrato are apparently the enemies, this collection is not very memorable in a positive way.

The one Partita where Troeger differentiates from this pattern is the wonderful Partita No. 4. However, his performance here in terms of tempo, rubato and emotion is an exact duplication of Glenn Gould's performance from the early 1960s. I know what Gould has to say in this music. I've heard other good performance including Weissenberg. I'd like to know what Troeger has to say, too, but he seems only to have what Gould had to say.

As for the reamining pieces, Troeger almost completely misses the mystery, humanity and wonder that other performers (especially pianists like Turek, Gould, Tomsic and others) find in this music. The boxy and thunderous sound of his instrument is often worsened in slow movements by Troeger's tendency to continue pounding away over the gentlest of Bach's messages.

With the exception of the Partita 4, Troeger almost never demonstrates any subtlety in this music. Perhaps that is an outcome of his instrument. If so, it adds to my verdict that no one should again try ot communicate this music on ths particular piece of ancient equipment.

To me, the only saving grace here is Troeger's playing, which is fleet and accurate although regularly burdened by his harsh and extreme slow movements and the indefensibly metrical approach to music that is supposed to dance and be full of life. Combined with the dark and ugly sound of his instrument, I could never recommend this recording to another buyer.