Violin Harpsichord

Forkel's life of Bach was finally published in 1802, more than half a century after Bach's death. In it, following a long eulogy of Bach's genius and achievements, Forkel gives a list of the composer's music, first the engraved works and then the unpublished manuscripts, in the second category, at the head of Bach's chamber works and harpsichord concertos, he places the violin sonatas he had received from Emanuel. "Six Sonatas for the clavier with the accompaniment of violin obbligato. They were composed at Cöthen and may be reckoned among Bach's first masterpieces in this field.”

In October 1774, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach sent Johann Nikolaus Forkel, who was slowly gathering material for a biography of J. S. Bach, a parcel of his father's music. It contained eleven "Trii," some organ pieces with a pedal part, the variations on "Vom Himmel hoch" and a covering note. "The six Clavier trios—[violin sonatas, but notice Emanuel's choice of words]—are among my departed father's best works. They still sound splendid and give me much pleasure, although they were written more than fifty years ago. Some of their slow movements ("Adagii") could not be set more lyrically even today. I beg you, as the scores are very tattered, to take good care of them.” The other five "trios" were presumably the two for flute in B minor and A major (BWV 1030) The word "trio" was a normal eighteenth century description for a three-voice piece with the second melody line taken by the keyboard right hand—“violin sonata" would imply a solo violin with harpsichord continuo.

The intelligence, sensitivity, and innate musicality distinguishing violinist James Ehnes' terrific unaccompanied Bach carries over to his first volume of the composer's sonatas with harpsichord. What immediately strikes you is the ideal balance between Ehnes and harpsichordist Luc Beauséjour–not just sonically speaking, but in how they effortlessly proportion their phrases and perfectly synchronize trills, turns, and other ornaments. Beauséjour's discreet and effective registrations complement the subtle variations in Ehnes' tone, especially in slower, sustained writing (the quicker-than-usual A major sonata's Andante is a good example).

Johann Sebastian Bach - Sonatas
Lara St. John, Violin / Marie-Pierre Langlamet, Harp
SACD ISO: 3,23 GB (Stereo + MCH DSD) | FLAC @ 24bit/88.2kHz: 1,14 GB | Full Artwork: 268 MB
Label/Cat#: Ancalagon # ANC 139 | Country/Year: UK 2012 | 5% Rec. Info
Genre: Classical | Style: Baroque

"…As usual, Ancalagon gives us an absolutely first-rate production, superb booklet notes in full color, and some of the best Super Audio surround sound on the market today. I keep insisting that small group chamber music provides some of the best opportunities to show off surround sound, and this disc proves the point. When the music is as brilliant and sparkling as we have here—Bach would certainly be thrilled—there simply remains no excuse under the sun to avoid acquiring this disc immediately. This composer oozes from the souls of these two performers." 5/5 ~Audiophile Audition

Brilliant mixture of well known and rather unknown highly virtuosic violin music from the 18th Century. Inspired by Johann Sebastian Bach and the importance of this works for various Italian composers of the time. Including a violin sonata by Johann Paul von Westhoff (1656-1705), a German Baroque composer and violinist. One of the most important exponents of the Dresden violin school, he was among the highest ranked violinists of his day, and composed some of the earliest known music for solo violin. There are actually no other recordings of this second violin sonata available.