<<  -- 2 --  Jennifer Paull    A BORN MUSICIAN

The Partita ex F [listen -- track 4, 0:00-0:50] by Christian Pezold (1677-1733) is a set of charming dances by a composer little known today, although two of his minuets were included anonymously in the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach. This Partita opens the sound pages, and there is a second, the Partita ex A by the same composer. They are played with equal subtlety, conjuring up enough proof in the pair to underscore the words and opinion of Leopold Mozart's mots justes!

Between these two Pezold Partitas, is placed the superb Partita in A BWV 1013 (originally for transverse flute), by J S Bach (1685-1750). This work has been arranged by Thomas Georgi himself for viola d'amore. It is simply a jewel not to miss [listen -- track 9, 3:01-4:11]. Many were the instruments and singers interchanging scores and vocal lines during the Baroque Era. As mentioned above, Bach himself quoted and used themes from Pezold (just as he did from Alessandro Marcello and others), and used them within his own music. Bach reconstructions also form the basis of many solo works for oboe d'amore and bassoon. Other instruments too would be sadly under-nourished without this possibility of expression from the Great Master. If Bach himself saw 'borrowing' as flattery, how could I see a possible reason for contradiction? That we know, Bach intended four works for the viola d'amore, the St John Passion alone being responsible for keeping this beautiful instrument inside the pages of musical history books.

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