Album

For those uninitiated into the world of Baroque or harpsichord music, be forewarned: this budget-priced trio of CDs from Archiv is a hefty amount of Bach on the harpsichord. These are reissues of recordings of Bach's greatest keyboard works made in the early '80s by Trevor Pinnock. While you may be able to listen to nearly four straight hours of Bach, some may find it hard to listen to the harpsichord for that long. Three different harpsichords were used in these recordings, so the sound does vary from work to work, and these are harpsichords with a more gentle, mellower sound than other instruments. Even within the works, Pinnock employs different stops to add another dimension to each movement's coloring. He plays with dexterity and even spirit, primarily in the faster movements. The Partitas and the Italian Concerto are performed with confidence and strength, with attention paid to the articulation of rhythms and syncopations. His playing of the French Overture and the Goldberg Variations is more learned and drier than the other works, but they are still very well-done performances, making the set well worth its price. But if you aren't used to the sound of the harpsichord, take your time getting to know the instrument by listening to one work at a time.

© Patsy Morita, All Music Guide

CD 1 of 3
Johann Sebastian Bach Composer Partita No.1 in Bb, BWV825 Work Recorded 1984 18:18 Trevor Pinnock Harpsichord
1	1.Praeludium	1:58			$0.49
2	2.Allemande	4:14			$0.99
3	3.Courante	2:51			$0.99
4	4.Sarabande	4:12			$0.99
5	5.Menuet 1 and 2	2:35			$0.99
6	6.Gigue	2:28			$0.99
Johann Sebastian Bach Composer Partita No.2 in C-, BWV826 Work Recorded 1984 20:03 Trevor Pinnock Harpsichord
7	1.Sinfonia	4:36			$0.99
8	2.Allemande	5:33			$0.99
9	3.Courante	2:02			$0.99
10	4.Sarabande	2:49			$0.99
11	5.Rondeau	1:26			$0.49
12	6.Capriccio	3:37			$0.99
Johann Sebastian Bach Composer Partita No.3 in A-, BWV827 Work Recorded 1984 18:04 Trevor Pinnock Harpsichord
13	1.Fantasia	2:19			$0.99
14	2.Allemande	3:22			$0.99
15	3.Corrente	1:55			$0.49
16	4.Sarabande	3:49			$0.99
17	5.Burlesca	1:54			$0.49
18	6.Scherzo	1:14			$0.49
19	7.Gigue	3:31			$0.99
Johann Sebastian Bach Composer Partita No.5 in G, BWV829 Work Recorded 1984 19:58 Trevor Pinnock Harpsichord
20	1.Praeambulum	2:51			$0.99
21	2.Allemande	4:05			$0.99
22	3.Corrente	1:54			$0.49
23	4.Sarabande	3:49			$0.99
24	5.Tempo di minuetto	1:16			$0.49
25	6.Passepied	1:43			$0.49
26	7.Gigue	4:20			$0.99
CD 2 of 3
Johann Sebastian Bach Composer Partita No.4 in D, BWV828 Work Recorded 1984 26:21 Trevor Pinnock Harpsichord
1	1.Ouverture	6:38			$0.99
2	2.Allemande	5:38			$0.99
3	3.Courante	2:29			$0.99
4	4.Aria	1:33			$0.49
5	5.Sarabande	4:32			$0.99
6	6.Menuet	1:27			$0.49
7	7.Gigue	4:04			$0.99
Johann Sebastian Bach Composer Partita No.6 in E-, BWV830 Work Recorded 1984 26:34 Trevor Pinnock Harpsichord
8	1.Toccata	7:46			$1.49
9	2.Allemande	3:05			$0.99
10	3.Corrente	3:12			$0.99
11	4.Air	1:43			$0.49
12	5.Sarabande	4:18			$0.99
13	6.Tempo di gavotta	1:24			$0.49
14	7.Gigue	5:06			$0.99
Johann Sebastian Bach Composer French Overture (Partita) in B-, BWV831 Work Recorded 1979 27:34 Trevor Pinnock Harpsichord
15	1.Overture	7:31			$1.49
16	2.Courante	1:46			$0.49
17	3.Gavotte 1 and 2	2:57			$0.99
18	4.Passepied 1 and 2	2:33			$0.99
19	5.Sarabande	5:02			$0.99
20	6.Bourrée 1 and 2	2:41			$0.99
21	7.Gigue	2:04			$0.99
22	8.Echo	3:00			$0.99
CD 3 of 3
Johann Sebastian Bach Composer Italian Concerto, BWV971 Work Recorded 1983 12:11 Trevor Pinnock Harpsichord
1	1.(Allegro)	3:51			$0.99
2	2.Andante	4:30			$0.99
3	3.Presto	3:50			$0.99
Johann Sebastian Bach Composer Goldberg Variations, BWV988 (Clavier-Übung IV) Work Recorded 1980 1:00:30 Trevor Pinnock Harpsichord
4	Aria	2:32			$0.99
5	Variation 1 (a 1 clav.)	2:12			$0.99
6	Variation 2 (a 1 clav.)	1:35			$0.49
7	Variation 3 (canone all'unisuono a 1 clav.)	0:56			$0.49
8	Variation 4 (a 1 clav.)	1:05			$0.49
9	Variation 5 (a 1 o vero 2 clav.)	1:42			$0.49
10	Variation 6 (canone alla seconda a 1 clav.)	1:38			$0.49
11	Variation 7 (a 1 o vero 2 clav., al tempo di giga)	0:51			$0.49
12	Variation 8 (a 2 clav.)	1:50			$0.49
13	Variation 9 (canone alla terza a 1 clav.)	1:32			$0.49
14	Variation 10 (fughetta a 1 clav.)	1:40			$0.49
15	Variation 11 (a 2 clav.)	2:08			$0.99
16	Variation 12 (canone alla quarta a 1 clav.)	2:28			$0.99
17	Variation 13 (a 2 clav.)	2:39			$0.99
18	Variation 14 (a 2 clav.)	1:59			$0.49
19	Variation 15 (canone alla quinta a 1 clav.: Andante)	2:32			$0.99
20	Variation 16 (ouverture a 1 clav.)	2:40			$0.99
21	Variation 17 (a 2 clav.)	0:57			$0.49
22	Variation 18 (canone alla sexta a 1 clav.)	1:31			$0.49
23	Variation 19 (a 1 clav.)	1:33			$0.49
24	Variation 20 (a 2 clav.)	1:58			$0.49
25	Variation 21 (canone alla settima a 1 clav.)	2:21			$0.99
26	Variation 22 (a 1 clav. alla breve)	1:30			$0.49
27	Variation 23 (a 2 clav.)	2:11			$0.99
28	Variation 24 (canone all'ottava a 1 clav.)	1:36			$0.49
29	Variation 25 (a 2 clav.: Adagio)	4:26			$0.99
30	Variation 26 (a 2 clav.)	2:16			$0.99
31	Variation 27 (canone alla nona a 2 clav.)	0:53			$0.49
32	Variation 28 (a 2 clav.)	1:09			$0.49
33	Variation 29 (a 1 o vero 2 clav.)	1:11			$0.49
34	Variation 30 (quodlibet a 1 clav.)	2:17			$0.99
35	Aria da capo	2:42			$0.99