The catalog may contain more ebullient, elaborately ornamented versions of Bach’s Partitas and English Suites, yet Gustav Leonhardt’s knowing mastery offers its own rewards. His subtle deployment of agogics to compensate for the harpsichord’s lack of dynamics markedly contrasts to the choppy, discontinuous phrasing we often hear in the name of authenticity. What’s more, the relaxed lilt of Leonhardt’s basic tempos constantly reflects the music’s dance origins. In fact, these performances sound less dry and more flexible than I remembered from their original EMI release in the mid 1980s. But there’s a fly in the ointment: unlike most harpsichordists tackling this music on disc, Leonhardt observes no repeats. Consequently, the Menuets seem to finish before they’ve started, and listeners who look forward to imaginative textual elaboration on the Sarabandes’ second go-rounds must look elsewhere. The excellent recorded sound and bargain-box price tag make Leonhardt’s omissions all the more regrettable. [12/15/2004]
