No. 3 is where it all began for me with a recording from the radio in the mid 70's and the Bourree brings with it a certain frisson. It begins with what sounds to me like a re-make of the famous Prelude to no. 1, either the same notes in a different order or different notes in the same order. It is, as Pavlos explains, 'adventurous'. After the customary exegesis, which is like having complex ideas set out very clearly so that you can understand them, the left-hand has apparently more work to do than the right, bowing, hand but Pavlos doesn't make it look as difficult as it sounds in the onrush to the conclusion of the Gigue which is not far short of hectic.
No. 5 is more pensive and 'mature' with the unadorned minimalism of the Sarabande at its still centre. Arvo Part might not have been quite so avant garde after all with the likes of Fratres or Spiegel in Spiegel. Bach was doing something similar circa 1720 when it might have been avant garde but didn't need to be labelled as such.
Pavlos made the point that Bach is always fresh, with more to offer, whereas with some music you can feel that you've reached the bottom of a piece and can move on. He quoted one particular composer but he's not only that one it applies to, whose music is tremendous in its own way, and so we won't put a name to him here.
And that is the same reason he gave afterwards when I asked how many takes he was using in making his record of the suites. You could keep recording them forever but have to draw a line early on and go with what you've got.
As a bonus, he gave us the Prelude to. no. 1, that builds from its natural progression of notes to extrapolate like a natural thing to the controlled intensity of its climax. He's right. There is something about such pieces that means they never wear out.
It's hard to know how many versions of the same music one needs. I don't even have favourites like Isserlis or Natalie Clein,m, or Yo Yo Ma. Casals and Rostropovich suffice with Tortellier not having been updated from LP. I might have to keep a watchful eye for when Pavlos releases his set, though. Charming man completely devoted to his art. The symbiotic gratitude between audience and performer is exactly what it should be like.
