bach partita 1 corrente

[philip]

From bar one there are triplets in the right hand and four beats in the left and occasionally vice versa. Should this combination be played strictly (very difficult!) or is there some convention whereby both hands play triplets?
On recordings esp. by Trevor Pinnock it's just too fast to tell.

Look forward to an informed answer.

Philip

[pml]

A slightly well informed answer, perhaps – in other Bach works which have the appearance of duplets against triplets (for a good example, the Sanctus of the B minor mass), it is normal to treat the even duplets as notes inégales that mesh with the triplets, rather than keeping to the strict interpretation of rhythm, and this practice is evidenced in many other Baroque composers; and dotted rhythms are relaxed to coincide with the triplet rhythm (and they are certainly not overdotted to become sextuplets!). As for the specific work you cite, BWV 825, although I’m unfamiliar with Pinnock’s interpretation, I’d be very surprised if the dotted rhythms are not relaxed slightly to correspond with the triplet rhythm – so instead of dotted quaver and semiquaver, they become triplet crotchet and quaver.

Regards, Philip (snap!)

[philip]

Hi Philip!

That's what I thought and did naturally. But recently I became aware of the exact notation and got into a frenzy1
Will return to what comes naturally.

Many thanks
Philip Kimber