Barton Pine Corelli

Violinist Rachel Barton Pine and harpsichordist Jory Vinikour, critically acclaimed artists of interntional renown- and also close friends-record together for the first time on this album of J.S. Bach's complete sonatas for violin and harpsichord. The artists approach these works as Bach intended: as trio sonatas with equally important roles for the violin and the harpsichord's treble and bass lines. In addition to the six Sonatas, the album offers the remarkable and ravishingly poetic Cantabile, BWV 1019a, a free-standing work that Bach originally conceived as a movement of the Sonata, BWV 1019. Cedille's audiophile engineering and the intimate acoustics of Evanston, Illinois' Nichols Hall allow the complex trio textures to blossom with detail. In all, the album sets a new standard for a body of work that Bach's son, CPE, considered among his father's finest compositions. Rachel Barton Pine is a Billboard chart-topping artist.

Rachel Barton Pine, a young violinist who has made headlines by trying to attract audiences unfamiliar with classical music, now makes a splash of a different kind: she ventures into the field of historical performance with an ambitious disc combining some of Bach's solo violin music with similar contemporary or slightly older works by other composers. Bach's Sonata No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001, opens the proceedings; Barton Pine argues in her lengthy notes (which range all the way from her girlhood experiences playing the violin in a Chicago church to detailed historical exegeses) that this piece most clearly shows Bach's links to the solo violin tradition in which he worked.

Any album of solo instrumental music subjects itself to a higher degree of vulnerability, for the artist must stand alone on his/her performance for the duration of the CD. Rachel Barton Pine succeeds brilliantly on these pieces for the solo violin (and narrator, as with Ferdinand the Bull), most of which have a Latin flavor. Barton's assured, solid technique, and strong musicianship carry her through the whole album. The Prélude Ibérique is one such example, which is full of fire and passion, an absolute joy to hear.

On Instrument of the Devil, gifted young violinist Rachel Barton Pine displays her technical prowess and the instrument's emotional range in an unusual, virtuosic program that, in her words, offers listeners something other than "the usual potpourri of encores."

Chicago-based violinist Rachel Barton Pine bounced back from a devastating accident (she was dragged for several hundred feet by a commuter train after her case strap was snared in the automated doors) and has delivered innovative programs in recordings for Chicago's Cedille label and, increasingly, for major labels. Here she tackles mainstays of the violin concerto repertory, the five Mozart violin concertos and the Sinfonia Concertante for violin, viola, and orchestra, K. 364. It's often a charming set, not only because of Barton Pine's efforts, but also because of the nature of her interaction with the conductor, 90-year-old Neville Marriner, leading the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields.

Violinist Rachel Barton Pine and harpsichordist Jory Vinikour, critically acclaimed artists of interntional renown- and also close friends-record together for the first time on this album of J.S. Bach's complete sonatas for violin and harpsichord. The artists approach these works as Bach intended: as trio sonatas with equally important roles for the violin and the harpsichord's treble and bass lines. In addition to the six Sonatas, the album offers the remarkable and ravishingly poetic Cantabile, BWV 1019a, a free-standing work that Bach originally conceived as a movement of the Sonata, BWV 1019.