Craig Sheppard performed Bach’s Two- and Three-Part Inventions as a short concert without interruption in Seattle’s Meany Theater in April 2006. The event was recorded, and the results largely mirror the invigorating, imaginative interpretive spirit that informed Sheppard’s previous Romeo Bach release devoted to the Six Partitas. Like Glenn Gould, Sheppard pairs each two-part invention with its three-voiced counterpart in the same key. Although Sheppard favors the kind of dry-point fingerwork and x-ray clarity Gould popularized, he goes his own way regarding nuance, voicing, and tempo. I’ll cite a few examples.
Notice how tellingly Sheppard shapes the F minor sinfonia’s extraordinary chromatic tension-and-release by way of carefully orchestrated dynamics and just a soupçon of rubato. And the C major, F major, E minor, and D minor Two-Part Inventions I hated to practice as a kid thoroughly transcend their “teaching piece” status via Sheppard’s infectious swing, unexpected accents, and genuine sense of dialogue between the hands.
Only a few selections edge below this standard of excellence, such as the C major sinfonia, where Sheppard works too hard articulating the ornaments–a problem not evident elsewhere. Close microphone placement imparts a slightly metallic, “harpsi-piano” edge to the piano sonority that softens only when Sheppard employs the una corda pedal. Despite these quibbles, Sheppard’s Bach simply is a joy, and I look forward to more.
