I. Prelude
II. Allemande.
III. Corrente.
IV. Saraband.
V. Menuets.
VI. Gigue.
The first of Bach's Six Partitas, the B Flat Major Partita is a work of warmth and celebration. The movements are written in the style of various dances from different regions with which Bach was familiar -- the Allemande (Germanic), the Corrente (Italian), the Sarabande (an expressive Spanish dance), the Menuets (French), and the Gigue (an energetic, virtuosic dance derived from the English jig). As with all of Bach's works, shadow and light are intermingled: woven throughout the warmth and light of these dances is also an understanding of shadow -- an understanding which deepens, rather than limits, the joy they express.
Jun Luke Foster, Pianist