Bach: Sonatas and Partitas (2015)

Gil Shaham Plays Bach For Solo Violin

In May, 2001, the esteemed late Amazon reviewer Bob Zeidler, in a review of a recording by Arthur Grumiaux, described Bach's sonatas and partitas for violin as a "cornerstone of Western art' and wrote: "The name Johann Sebastian Bach conjures up a multitude of musical vistas: Cantatas and oratorios, instrumental concerti, solo keyboard works, chamber music, and, ultimately, a handful of cornerstones of Western art: The B Minor Mass, The Well-Tempered Clavier, The Art of Fugue, the Suites for Unaccompanied Cello, and these Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin. By these five works alone, Bach's place in history is assured. Not that he needs my vote, or opinion for that matter, to decide the issue".

A brief search on Amazon shows that there have been many outstanding recordings of the sonatas and partitas by gifted violinists performing in a variety of styles. These recordings tend to attract more informed and enthusiastic reviews than most other recordings of classical music. Gil Shaham's new recording of the Bach sonatas and partitas offers a stellar performance of this inexhaustible music. The performance shows, as Shaham states in this CDs unusually detailed liner notes, how Bach's music transcends individual interpretations and performance practices, whether period or modern. Shaham in fact uses a combination of period and modern approaches. He plays on a Stradivarius specially fitted with a high bridge and with gut strings. His performance is based upon working and experimenting with the music extensively over the years before committing his understanding of the works to the recording studio.

Shaham's readings show beautiful tone, articulation, phrasing, and dynamic range together with thought and emotional involvement. The music is austere, demanding and spiritual. Shaham captures the sense of joy and of dance in these works, especially in the partitas. His playing is fast, lively, and energetic. The partitas are based upon dance forms, and Shaham emphasizes the dancelike, lyrical character of these works. He has listened carefully to the "French Suites" for keyboard, and his performance offer me insight as I struggle on the piano with these works. His performance of the more austere, solemn moments of the sonatas and partitas is enhanced by the lightness which he brings to the dances. The music illuminates the intimate relationship between solemnity and joy.

The most famous movement of the sonatas and partitas is the lengthy chaconne which concludes partita no. 2. Shaham's performance is lively, brilliant and propulsive, with many dynamic and emotional shifts even while he captures the austerity of the music. Similarly, the fugal movements in each of the sonatas are taken at a fast tempo and have a joyful spirit together with the profundity of the music. The Partita no. 3 which concludes the set is exhilarating in its energy and freshness, particularly in the minuets and gavotte. In the partita no. 1, Shaham's playing invites concentration on each dance movement and on the variation or "double" which follows. The performance of the four short opening movements of Partita No. 2 admirably set the stage for the climactic chaconne.

Bob Zeidler wrote in his review of the Grumiaux recording discussed above: "while perhaps not easy for the novice to grasp at first hearing, these works are of such sublime perfection as performed by Grumiaux that even the novice will surely be won over and revisit this performance again and again, each time bringing something new and fresh away from the performance. THIS, in a nutshell, is what this recording is all about." I can only offer the same praise for Shaham's performance in this recording. Shaham offers a reading of this "cornerstone of Western art" that will captivate the newcomer to this music. Those listeners who know the music well and have listened to many interpretations will also love Shaham's performance. The music will bear repeated hearings for itself and for a stimulus to imagination and allusiveness.

The CD is a product of Shaham's own recording company, Canary Classics. It is distributed by Naxos, and Naxos kindly sent me a copy for review.

Total Time:
CD 1: 57:30
CD 2: 60:06

Robin Friedman