Nils Anders Mortensen - Im Freien: Piano Music - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Album Tracks 1. I 2. II 3. III 4. Variations on a Folk-Song

It is an adventure to immerse oneself in the Norwegian treasury of song. There is so much magnificent music, and so much of it bears witness to the time in which it was written. The songs on this - volume 1 - are all songs that were published during Sigurd Lie's lifetime (1871-1904). Album Tracks 1. Sne (Snow) [02 58] 2. No. 1. GRÆD Kun, Du Blege [01 33] 3. No. 2. Valborgsnat [02 59] 4. No. 3. Der Skreg en Fugl [01 49] 5. No. 4. Alverden Skal Synge [01 21] 6. No. 5. Jeg Vilde Sadle [01 37] 7. No. 6. Hel Mig Mine Strenge [02 28] 8. No. 1. Min Maidags Brud [01 51] 9. No. 2. Bestikkelse [ 00 56] 10. No. 3. Jeg Havde Begravet [02 30] 11. No. 4. Sommerkveld [01 40] 12. No. 1. Nyt LIV [01 00] 13. No. 2. Han Saar [03 24] 14. No. 3. December [03 26] 15. No. 4. Moderens Vuggesang [01 50] 16. No. 5. Jeg Gjemmer en Undersød DRØM [01 29] 17. No. 6. Heiloen [04 04] 18. No. 1. Solkverv [01 49] 19. No. 2. Ljos [01 31] 20. No. 3. Vaar-Von [03 25] 21. No. 4. Haust [01 25] 22. No. 5. Heim [01 54] 23. No. 1. Sindet Sødmefyldt Og Ungt [01 15] 24. No. 1. Solskinnsvise [02 28] 25. No. 1. Sletten [01 15] 26. No. 2. Nat [01 29] 27. No. 3. Sang [01 26] 28. No. 4. Hvor Er Mit Haab [02 05] 29. No. 5. Gule Og Hvide Baade [02 13] 30. No. 6. Træet [02 29] 31. No. 7. Menuettino [00 50] 32. No. 8. HØST [02 21] 33. No. 1. Vuggesang [01 32] 34. No. 2. Midsommer-Sang [01 51] 35. No. 2. Det Var en Dag Saa Let Og Lys [01 04] 36. No. 1. Det Er Vaar [01 07] 37. No. 2. Du Solguld Over Jorden Ind [01 25] 38. No. 3. SKJÆR Er Din Hud [01 14] 39. No. 4. Hav Og Fjeld [01 48] 40. No. 5. Solskins-Dus [02 03] 41. No. 6. Det Er, Som de Nynnende Sange [01 24] 42. No. 7. Sommermorgen [00 42}

Bach composed ten partitas - three for solo violin, one for solo flute and six for keyboard. As the term partita may mean, to quote from the Oxford Composer Companion to Bach, Incha suite of dances or a set of variationsInch - it is no more precise than many other musical terms. If there is no obvious difference between the partita and the suite, there seems to be no justification for two separate terms. In the sixteenth century partita indicated one of a sequence of variations, but this meaning evolved, coming to signify a collection of movements and later - by the time of Bach's keyboard partitas - a suite of dances. Bach's six partitas for keyboard, BWV 825-830, were published individually beginning in 1726, then, in 1731, as a group entitled Clavier-Übung 1 (Übung may be translated as practice or exercise). Among what may be described as Bach's various sets of dance-suites - also including the English Suites and the French Suites - the partitas are the most technically demanding. Johann Kuhnau, Bach's predecessor as cantor of St. Thomas's Church in Leipzig, had published a collection of partitas under the title Clavier-Übung - two volumes (1689 and 1692), each containing seven works. These two collections by Kuhnau, together with two other volumes which he published during his time at Leipzig, proved to be an important influence on German keyboard music. Bach's keyboard partitas in general mark a further advance on his French Suites - even more adventurous in terms of new handling of the dance-forms, more favouring of galant melody-with-harmony rather than imitative counterpoint, and new types of texture. With eegard to the dance-movements in particular, Bach shows remarkable creative freedom and diversity while departing from the traditional models. On this recording, Norwegian pianist Nils Anders Mortensen presents three of the six partitas for keyboard (nos. 1,