Segovia Sunday #5: The Maestro Plays Two Short Pieces by Bach

For this week’s Andrés Segovia Sunday, we present a pair of unrelated Bach pieces: the Sarabande from  Suite for Lute  No. 1 in E minor, BWV 996, followed by the Gavotte en rondeau from Violin Partita No. 3 in E, BWV 1006. The Maestro originally recorded the material from the sonata in London in 1927, and that movement from the lute suite in London 20 years later, in 1947. The tempo difference between earlier Gavotte and this version is quite noticeable; the older Segovia played it slower, though I don’t think that’s necessarily a negative.  —Blair Jackson