DANIEL LOZAKOVICH / DAVID FRAY

Bach’s six violin and keyboard sonatas broke new ground for raising the keyboardist’s status from mere accompanist to melodic conversationist, the two instruments even sometimes swapping roles, over close dialogue playing to their respective strengths. Features of tonight’s three include nos 1 and 5’s fugal second movements, and the beautiful moment in No. 3’s slow third movement where the keyboard suddenly leaves its chords to converse with the violin. The six solo violin sonatas and partitas meanwhile were a revolutionary experiment in creating multi-voiced music from a melodic instrument, the biggest surprise of all being the climax of Partita No. 2 – a gargantuan Chaconne spinning 64 variations over a four-bar choral progression. By contrast, Bach published his keyboard partitas,‘For music-lovers, to refresh their spirits.’ Six-movement No. 2 concludes on a Capriccio with jauntily jazzy syncopations.