Sarabande 1

Domenico da Cortona, (with Leonardo da Vinci?), Chambord, Chåteau. This palatial residence, with its riotous mass of towers, turrets, and dormers, has been compared to a lovely lady whose hair has been blown apart by the wind. Begun in 1519, some years before Francis I was imprisoned in Spain by Charles V, it was used only infrequently by the French monarchy. In the late seventeenth century, Louis XIV rediscovered Chambord and made numerous renovations in the then prevailing baroque style.

The Partita in D Minor is a six-movement work which clearly evinces the influence of Bach and Handel, although no identical dance sequence is found in either of the baroque masters' keyboard compositions.

The first sarabande is alternately impassioned and pensive. Ford counts it among his best essays in the baroque style.