Hyperion Records

The Concerto in G, BWV571, is in the standard three-movement form of the concerto grosso but is identified in the sources both as ‘Fantasia’ and ‘Partita’. Although the lively first movement occasionally hints at the tutti/solo alternation of the concerto it can also be heard as a rigorous working-out of the opening theme. After a dramatic interrupted cadence, the figuration with which the movement ends is definitely that of the fantasia rather than the concerto. The brief slow movement in E minor is based on a sighing figure, heard both in its original descending form and in inversion. This leads directly into the third movement, a chaconne based on a descending six-note theme clearly present throughout. On its final appearance in the bass, two extra notes are added to make a complete octave, leading to a pedal point for the final flourish and cadence.

from notes by Stephen Westrop © 1999