Search - Schmitt/Gervreau, Alain/Jans, Johann Sebastian Bach :: Johann Sebastian Bach: Pièces pour violon & basse continue

Earthy Sensuality and Wild Dance Rhythms

Leslie Richford | Selsingen, Lower Saxony | 03/01/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Johann Sebastian Bach: Pieces for Violin and Basso Continuo. Performed by Hélène Schmitt, baroque violin; Alain Gervreau, baroque cello; Jan Willem Jansen, harpsichord. Recorded in Paris in April, 2000. Released in 2001 as Alpha 008. Total playing time: 69'18".



Contents:

1. Sonata for Violin and Basso continuo, BWV Anh. II 153 [probably either by Johann Nicolaus Mey or by Telemann; fairly certainly not by Bach]

2. Sonata for Violin and Basso continuo BWV 1023 [probably by Bach, but its authenticity has never been proved beyond doubt]

3. Sonata for Violin and Basso continuo BWV 1024 [possibly by Pisendel, although some would give this to Bach himself]

4. Fugue for Violin and Basso Continuo BWV 1026 [the earliest surviving chamber music by Bach himself]

5. Suite for Violin and Obligato Harpsichord BWV 1025 [originally for lute by Silvius Leopold Weiss, Bach added a third voice]



Listening to this was, at first, a challenge. Not only did the music sound unfamiliar (see the list above, most of it is not genuine Bach), but I found Hélène Schmitt's earthy, sensual style and her dance-like joie-de-vivre so unusual that I had to listen over and over again to reassure myself that this was really what I was hearing. In addition to this, the excellent Alpha engineering has placed the violin very much in the forefront, upsetting my ingrained listening habits. However, after listening to this again and again over the past couple of weeks, I have come to the conclusion that it is a truly lovely disc, and that the music to be heard here, no matter who composed it, is well worth more than a casual listening. And that Hélène Schmitt's approach, un-German and controversial as it may be, is a valid contribution to my understanding of 18th century German violin music. There can be no doubt that her playing is, in the midst of its fiddler-like sensuality, highly skilled, and it would have been nice to have been told something about her instrument, but Alpha here draws a veil of silence over all but Jan Willem Jansen's copy of a Ruckers harpsichord, an instrument with a very sweet and charming sound which complements the idiosyncratic character of Ms. Schmitt's playing very well. Alain Gervreau on the cello is an able accompanist who never takes the limelight. All in all, another valuable addition to the Alpha catalogue."