Martin Gester – J.S. Bach: Clavier-Übung I (6 Partitas) (2014) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Here is yet another high-standard new addition to Ligia’s roster. Martin Gester has a wealth of all kinds of experience in the field of music. He comes back to the keyboard in the same way one returns from numerous trips, with one’s outlook enriched by accumulated know-how, focusing here on a preferred domain: the harpsichord which, after the organ, has become his main instrument. As it did for Bach, it has become the place where he “speaks” music instead of “playing” it or conducting it.

A little after his fortieth birthday, Bach commenced work on one of the greatest monuments of all keyboard composition, his Clavier-Übung in four parts. Entitled Partitas, the six Overtures and Dance Suites, which comprise the first volume, surpassed all expectations. Under the pen of the maestro, the customary “galanteries” became epics showcasing impressive mastery and depth.

The illustration of a genre in which subtlety, wit and elegance usually reigned supreme became in this instance the compositional sum of an extraordinary degree of elaboration and intensity – whilst at the same time not repudiating the genre with its dictates of order, variety and occasional frivolity. Often, Bach appears to exceed the boundaries of the genre…

For the performer approaching the work, amongst the many difficulties of all types posed by reproducing complex music, is the synthesis of the concertante, polyphonic and virtuosic aspect, and the reproduction of the dance movements, which are an essential construct in the genre and always respected by Bach.
Here, as is frequently the case with Bach, virtuosity is a virtue. Within an overall vision, it reconciles the diversity of the music and Baroque language in an exacting balance.

Tracklist:
1-01. Martin Gester – Partita No. 1 in B-Flat Major, BWV 825:Præludium (01:59)
1-02. Martin Gester – Partita No. 1 in B-Flat Major, BWV 825:Allemande (05:31)
1-03. Martin Gester – Partita No. 1 in B-Flat Major, BWV 825:Corrente (03:10)
1-04. Martin Gester – Partita No. 1 in B-Flat Major, BWV 825:Sarabande (03:57)
1-05. Martin Gester – Partita No. 1 in B-Flat Major, BWV 825:Menuet 1 (01:23)
1-06. Martin Gester – Partita No. 1 in B-Flat Major, BWV 825:Menuet 2 (01:28)
1-07. Martin Gester – Partita No. 1 in B-Flat Major, BWV 825:Giga (02:42)
1-08. Martin Gester – Partita No. 2 in C minor, BWV 826:Sinfonia (grave adagio – andante – allegro) (04:43)
1-09. Martin Gester – Partita No. 2 in C minor, BWV 826:Allemande (05:32)
1-10. Martin Gester – Partita No. 2 in C minor, BWV 826:Courante (02:42)
1-11. Martin Gester – Partita No. 2 in C minor, BWV 826:Sarabande (03:37)
1-12. Martin Gester – Partita No. 2 in C minor, BWV 826:Rondeaux (01:48)
1-13. Martin Gester – Partita No. 2 in C minor, BWV 826:Capriccio (04:10)
1-14. Martin Gester – Partita No. 3 in A minor, BWV 827:Fantasia (02:16)
1-15. Martin Gester – Partita No. 3 in A minor, BWV 827:Allemande (03:10)
1-16. Martin Gester – Partita No. 3 in A minor, BWV 827:Corrente (03:28)
1-17. Martin Gester – Partita No. 3 in A minor, BWV 827:Sarabande (03:03)
1-18. Martin Gester – Partita No. 3 in A minor, BWV 827:Burlesca (02:16)
1-19. Martin Gester – Partita No. 3 in A minor, BWV 827:Scherzo (01:09)
1-20. Martin Gester – Partita No. 3 in A minor, BWV 827:Gigue (03:37)
2-01. Martin Gester – Partita No. 4 in D major, BWV 828:Ouverture (05:56)
2-02. Martin Gester – Partita No. 4 in D major, BWV 828:Allemande (09:32)
2-03. Martin Gester – Partita No. 4 in D major, BWV 828:Courante (04:00)
2-04. Martin Gester – Partita No. 4 in D major, BWV 828:Aria (02:21)
2-05. Martin Gester – Partita No. 4 in D major, BWV 828:Sarabande (05:43)
2-06. Martin Gester – Partita No. 4 in D major, BWV 828:Menuet (02:07)
2-07. Martin Gester – Partita No. 4 in D major, BWV 828:Gigue (04:24)
2-08. Martin Gester – Partita No. 5 in G major, BWV 829:Præambulum (02:34)
2-09. Martin Gester – Partita No. 5 in G major, BWV 829:Allemande (05:09)
2-10. Martin Gester – Partita No. 5 in G major, BWV 829:Corrente (02:14)
2-11. Martin Gester – Partita No. 5 in G major, BWV 829:Sarabande (04:21)
2-12. Martin Gester – Partita No. 5 in G major, BWV 829:Tempo di Minuetta (01:52)
2-13. Martin Gester – Partita No. 5 in G major, BWV 829:Passepied (01:44)
2-14. Martin Gester – Partita No. 5 in G major, BWV 829:Gigue (04:32)
2-15. Martin Gester – Partita No. 6 in E minor, BWV 830:Toccata (07:00)
2-16. Martin Gester – Partita No. 6 in E minor, BWV 830:Allemanda (03:42)
2-17. Martin Gester – Partita No. 6 in E minor, BWV 830:Corrente (05:45)
2-18. Martin Gester – Partita No. 6 in E minor, BWV 830:Air (01:24)
2-19. Martin Gester – Partita No. 6 in E minor, BWV 830:Sarabande (05:39)
2-20. Martin Gester – Partita No. 6 in E minor, BWV 830:Tempo di Gavotta (02:23)
2-21. Martin Gester – Partita No. 6 in E minor, BWV 830:Gigue (06:02)