Together with the Partita in B flat major the Partita in E flat major is without a doubt one of the most important compositions of Johann Ludwig Krebs, a pupil of Bach. Both works are from a six-part cycle, of which only these two Partitas and the Partita in A minor have survived. Although in these works Krebs has oriented himself very closely on the model of his mentor Bach, nevertheless they show strong individual moments of creativity, wholly indebted to the sensitive (“empfindsam”) style. The Partita in E flat major has been handed down in two distinct versions, both as an autograph with eight movements, and in a copy with ten movements. Presumably, the ten-movement version is a later reworking made by the composer. This first critical edition of the work presents the later version of the Partita for the first time.
