The sonatas in Bach's solo violin works are structured in four movements, alternating slow-fast-slow-fast, to create satisfying gestures of tension and release.
Recording & Production
This recording was produced by Edgar Meyer and recorded and mixed by Richard King at The Barn in Lenox, MA, in January 2013.
Compositional Technique
The partitas in Bach's solo violin works are collections of dances, where each dance is followed by a "Double," which is a variation or "remix" of the preceding dance.
Compositional Technique
In Bach's solo violin works, the composer converts the problem of missing accompaniment into an almost spiritual tension by making sequential what might be simultaneous, creating a "music of implication."
Interpretation
Playing Bach's violin works on the mandolin, as Chris Thile does on this recording, is described as a "transformation" or "translation" that brings out new qualities, such as a stillness reminiscent of the Renaissance.
Composer's Artistic Vision
J.S. Bach's violin sonatas and partitas are unusual because they require the solo violinist to perform all melodic, harmonic, and bass lines without accompaniment, creating a "music of implication."
