Search - Johann Sebastian Bach, Elizabeth Wallfisch :: Bach: Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin

Original Instrument vs Schmaltz

Hartley Severns | Moorestown, N.J. USA | 07/31/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The performances on these CDs show a devotion to the notion that the music as heard by the composer (during his lifetime) might just be closer to what he had in mind during the process of composition. Ms Wallfisch has great credentials as a sensitive performer on the Baroque violin. Anyone reading "Strad", for example, will find references to her in this specialization. The performances speak for themselves; the samples available at this site are sufficent to draw one into the complexities of single line music implying chords and rhythms not written in the text, but triggered in the mind of the listener (yes, I know there are double stops, but I prefer to think of these as road signs for change in the emotional flux within the line as well as chordal interplay).I would refer the reader to Anthony Tommasini's review of Christian Tetzlaff's recent performance of this same literature in April 28's NYT for a marvelous discription of what to look for in these Sonatas and Partitas.Past performances, both attempting innovative Baroque bowing techniques (Albert Schweitzer wrote the liner notes for that one) and sweetly saccharine Romantic tone (ala Tchaikovsky), have missed the musical point. The intense personal power of Bach requires differences in both attack and tone to bring out the dialoque potential along with a rhythmic pulse only found in the most passionate of performers...as close a music to Zen as is possible in Western Civilization. These performances are just such a reading of Bach's inspired compositions."

Not the Ideal Authentic Instrument Version

Michael | Washington, D.C. area | 06/05/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I believe the Penguin Guide's dictum on this recording was something along the lines of "only for hard-core baroque enthusiasts". I have no doubt that Ms. Wallfisch plays with all the requisite historical knowledge and insights, and that her articulation reveals an understanding of the inner workings of Bach's polyphony. But the tone of her violin is so thin and astringent that it will all but repel many modern listeners; the fact that the violin is tuned down nearly a whole step makes it doubly hard to get used to. Although this recording has been vital in helping me as a violinist to interpret these works in a historically conscious manner, it is not my first recommendation. For a more pleasurable (and inexpensive) authentic-instrument recording I reccomend Jaap Schroeder's version as re-released on Naxos; you get two CD's for roughly the price of one middle-priced label CD."

Astonishing virtuosity, profound musical insight

Michael | 02/09/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"At last we have a performance which not only brings out the most recent scholarly insight into the nuances of performance practice in Bach's day, but also captures the listener's ear with a beautiful tone and some astonishing virtuosity. Wallfisch gives real clarity to the polyphonic argument in the Fugues, and her sense of pace in the Partitas shows true insight into the inner workings of the music. Any listener with a remote sensitivity to Bach's language can surely only admire these recordings. Highly recommended."