held by The British Harpsichord Society at The Handel House Museum, London

Saturday 21st June

with

Charlotte Wilson

Robert Koolstra

Masumi Yamamoto

Elenlucia Pappalardo

‘Harpsichord Partitas of J. S. Bach’

The prospect of a very happy and interesting afternoon’s music at the British Harpsichord Society’s Bach Partitas event, hosted by courtesy of the Handel House Museum, was only marred by the news that one of the performers, Charlotte Wilson, was indisposed. This was a great shame, as those of us who attended her BHS solo recital last year were keenly looking forward to hearing her play again; however, we must seek another opportunity. Otherwise, all was well set up, with three young professionals (Masumi Yamamoto, whom we have heard at BHS events before; together with Robert Koostra and Elenlucia Pappalardo, who were both playing for us for the first time). In the chair, as well as finally on the stool, was the seasoned recitalist and top-level teacher Sharon Gould, a Bach specialist who has made the Partitas one of her special areas of study.

Robert Koolstra bravely stepped in, with literally only minutes’ notice, to play the Partita Number One in B-flat major (BWV 825) in place of Charlotte. And in such circumstances, the inevitable technical blemishes may be disregarded: it was the interpretation and style of the performance that was of interest. This was playing whose excitement was generated above all by forward movement. In the Praeludium, less importance was given to phrasing than might have been expected; and indeed, this was generally a performance that did not favour the more affecting, flexible approach: surprisingly, there was a much more marked ritardando at the end of the second movement, the Allemande, which again was played in quite a driven manner, but with a swinging rhythm well brought out. This performer’s energetic style seemed happily appropriate in the Corrente. More freedom was demonstrated in the Sarabande, and the little decorations added in the repeat were enjoyable; one might have wished in addition for the phrasing of gestures to be more rhetorical, in the interests of making such a movement rather more affecting. The Menuets were performed in an interesting manner, and again there was some pleasantly played decoration. As the Giga was performed, there could be but one thought: what a pace!

Those of us who heard Masumi Yamamoto play the Fourth Partita (in D major, BWV 828) at her recent St James’s recital were looking forward to hearing her play it again: we were by no means disappointed. In the Ouverture, the dotting might have been sharper, perhaps, to give more grandeur and ‘Frenchness’; the second section had beautiful clarity, though more might have been made of the glorious moments when the thirds come in. The beautiful Allemande was (with paradoxical bravery) taken slowly: it was a very fine performance - wanting only perhaps, for absolute perfection, a little more pointing within the legato. There was certainly flexibility here, and very appropriate it seemed too: the impression was that it increased as the movement went on, giving a sense of heightening emotion. The Courante was confident, with a good pulse; the Aria was taken at a sensible pace, with its rhythms well pointed. The Sarabande was the second high-point: some holding back of the pulse (again seeming to increase towards the end of the peace) and subtle leaning on the top notes of gestures, together with a consistently fine tone, all combined to make this a moving performance. The Minuet was taken in the same manner as the Aria; and the Gigue matched the Courante - with perhaps some sacrifice of clarity at times in the concern for pace. There can be little doubt that Masumi is now a young player beyond the norm: her two slower movements formed the kernel of a performance that was able to interest and move an audience. There is the essence of something outstanding here.

Robert Koolstra then returned to play the piece he had specifically prepared: the Partita Number Two in C minor BWV 826. The Sinfonia opened in grand style, followed by an Andante that was precise and well shaped, though clarity in the left-hand declined a little in the third section. The Allemande was performed rather ‘as one’: it might have benefited from more characterisation. The Sarabande was nicely decorated; surprisingly - though, inevitably, it was interesting - the expected phrasing of four-note groups just into the second section was not applied. In the Rondeaux (one of many interesting details about these pieces is the variety of spelling in different editions), the concern for a good forward movement dominated: one result was that the dropping two-note motif could not be so clearly pointed as it might have been. The final movement was played with great bravura, but rhythmic clarity was somewhat clouded in the total volume of sound by this point, when the instrument was suffering from the heat of the room, and a full registration was problematic: one could only sympathise with the performer. Clearly, the more subtle stylistic choices behind the playing could have been more consistently applied to advantage; but here was a harpsichordist of great energy and panache, with the potential to give exciting performances.

The great Sixth Partita was shared between Sharon Gould and Elenlucia Pappalardo, who began with a truly rhetorical opening to the Toccata. Perhaps some of the gestures could have been more evenly executed, but there was a very careful application of phrasing to those groups of four quavers in which the first three are slurred. The Allemanda was taken at a well-judged pace, followed by a Corrente in which the rhythms were just nicely spiked up; if gestures were not always completely clear, there was nevertheless a gathering sense of flair to the whole performance. We can look forward to hearing more from this new performer.

Sharon Gould then took over, giving the Air a very crisp and commanding execution. The Sarabande was an absolute inspiration: the rhetoric of every gesture integrated into a sense of overall structure. The profundity of the piece was entirely communicated; and yet it was still, in essence, a Sarabande. Similarly, the structuring rhythms in the Tempo di Gavotta were made clear. The extraordinarily challenging Gigue was given a most exciting and (in the very best sense of the term) ‘jazzy’ performance. To do that, whilst coping of course with the purely technical demands of the movement, was a feat well worth making the journey to hear just in itself. Indisputably, we were in the hands of an expert: we must demand the appearance of a ‘Sharon Gould Bach Partitas CD’ in the near future.

In fact, the whole afternoon could not fail to be voted a huge success: the discussions which punctuated the performances - Sharon making full use of her co-performers’ opinions as well as regularly bringing in the audience - were an integral part of the experience. We must obviously be looking for a follow-up event, and in the meantime are enormously grateful to all four performers.

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