Bach’s Six Partitas form what is presumably the most famous and challenging collection of suites in music history. Bach was aware of the weightiness of his cycle as he initially had these multi-movement partitas, composed in Leipzig between 1726 and 1730, published in individual editions. This culminated in their publication in an anthology that proudly sports the opus number “1” in 1731. Their diversity of forms knows no bounds and the musical texture is infused with the most ingenious counterpoint, but at the same time performers will not miss out on the enjoyment of virtuosic playing in any way.
G. Henle Publishers presents this magnum opus in a revised Urtext edition that consults the original editions as well as autograph sources while also extensively documenting the numerous entries in correction copies from Bach’s circle. In addition, the ornamented versions have been included in the appendix. A true milestone!
G. Henle Publishers stands for Urtext sheet music of the highest quality. The Urtext editions not only provide the undistorted and authoritative musical text but are also aesthetically pleasing, optimised for practical use and extremely durable. And then there is the strong, distinctive blue profile: (almost) all of the Urtext editions are bound in the characteristic blue cardboard.
Musicians trust Henle's blue Urtext editions because they:
- provide an undistorted, reliable and authoritative musical text
- offer superb, aesthetically appealing music engraving
- are optimised for practical use (page turns, fingerings)
- are of high quality and durable (cover, paper, binding)
- contain a short preface that introduces the work (particularly useful for AMEB exams) in German, English and French, as well as explanatory footnotes for particularly interesting passages in the score
- contain a description of the sources, an evaluation of the sources, readings and a documentation of the corrections made (= "Critical Report") in German and English, and often also in French
