Search - Johann Sebastian Bach, Janine Jansen, Maxim Rysanov :: Bach: Inventions & Partita

Delightful Bach, Joyfully Performed & Beautifully Recorded

T. Swensen | S.F. Bay Area | 11/22/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The playing here is at the highest level, and is a real pleasure

to listen to. You hear a sense of joy being conveyed from the

performers, and you hear it in altogether excellent sound.



The articulation is lighter here than in many Bach string recordings

of previous decades, showing the effect of the whole Period Instrument

movement over the last 30 years, but this is certainly modern playing.

There are no extremes in these performances, and everything is done in

good taste, with very clean playing throughout, and yet a richness to

the sound.



The Partita and its justly famous Chaconne are up against very stiff

competition from the likes of Perlman, whose set of the Sonatas and

Partitas is magnificent. The approach here is less labored than in

some performances, though not without pathos. It works very well.

Where the double stopped notes are accented more heavily by Perlman

and Milstein, Jansen halts the pace less severly and keeps the

line flowing. Her intonation is absolutely superb, as is her

tone throughout. Truly gorgeous tone production, which in itself

draws the listener into the music. Hers is a tone and style of

articulation entirely appropriate to this music, and good enough

to make you stop thinking about the performer, at least until it

dawns on you that you seldom hear string playing this enthralling,

and then you wonder what else this artist has been up to lately.

Catch her live if you get the chance.



A refreshing disc, unreservedly recommended.

"

Finest violinist in the land...

justwarren | Westport, CT | 11/24/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I should provide the disclaimer that I am an unabashed Janine Jansen fan. But, I am certainly not alone. This rendition of the Bach Inventions and Partitas adapted for violin and strings is a revelation. Jansen is, in my opinion the finest violinist performing on the concert stage today. No one I have heard can match her energy and her abandon combined with her prodigious talent. While Bach doesn't offer the opportunity for "abandon" that Mendelssohn does (see my other review on her last CD, which I highly recommend), her interpretation of Bach here is lively and fresh. I love Bach and I feel, as many people do, that most recently, Hilary Hahn has offered a wonderful, "pure" interpretation of her own. But while Hahn clearly has a feel for Bach, Jansen has a feel for expressive violin that makes virtually everything she does unique and often inspired. Her Bach is lively and original yet maintains the tempo and dynamics you would expect. I loved it. I play the CD all of the time. I am not representing myself as an expert on classical music, but I do love to listen to classical CD's and I feel that this one is yet another Janine Jansen masterpiece. If you like and appreciate Janine Jansen, you will certainly not be disappointed with this CD. If you love Bach, again, Jansen's Bach is different but refreshing and original."

Musical find of a generation

A techno geek | Kihei, Maui, HI USA | 09/08/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've done comparison listens to the 2nd Partita between Jansen and numerous other violinists (Grumiaux, Menuhin, Szeryng, Steinhardt, Hahn, Fischer, Van Dael, Podger, St. John), and compared to Jansen, they all sound humorless and earth bound. Jansen is like a bird who can follow the music wherever it goes, from the earth to the tree tops to the mountains to the sea shore. She is able to find the "animal" within in each rhythmic structure and bring the full creature into view. The Partitas are, remember, dance collections, and Jansen seems to return to this essential fact. For most musicians, listening to them is like looking at the brush strokes of a painting. With Jansen, it is like being actually transported into the scene she is painting and gazing all around it. I can think of few musicians with this precious ability --- Toscanini comes first to mind. I hope she will record the Sonatas and the rest of the Partitas, and release them on SACD so that our living rooms may become the Bach dream she is painting.



The Inventions, which make up the bulk of this album, don't rise to the heights of Jansen's Partita for me, but are quite spirited and enjoyable. I could use more "impishness" in the playing for these particular pieces (Perlman's Beethoven op. 47 here comes to mind!), more dramatic contrast, but hey, they sound good. These are Jansen's own string transcriptions of the pieces Bach wrote for his son's piano practice. In this way they are unique contributions to the repertoire.



By the way, you here Jansen playing the "Barrere" Stradivarius of 1727, Rysanov playing a Guadagnini 1780 viola, and Thedeen playing a Tecchler 1811 cello."