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Whatever stars align in March they are baroque ones that's for sure. We were spoilt for choice this month, with Bach, Handel, Telemann, Vivaldi in with a shout. It may not surprise you that I went for Bach, who is one of the most prolific writers for the keyboard in his time or any other. With literally hundreds of pieces, from huge bombastic organ works to microcosmic studies for students (and his children), where to start? Well, as we are celebrating Johann's birthday, I thought at the very beginning - the first piece in his first publication, the 'Praeludium' of the Partita no.1 in Bb major. And it is actually a birthday piece: a few months after he had published the Partita in 1726, Bach copied it out and presented it to the new-born Prince Emanuel Ludwig of Anhalt-Kothen. Not a bad gift, that..
Jonathan Darbourne
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