Bach - Violin Sonatas -
Andrew Manze has been called "the Grappelli of the Baroque violin" because of the
... more
improvisatory liveliness of his approach. But he might with equal appropriateness be called the Rory Bremner of period playing, because--as he shows on this recording--he seems to be able to inhabit different musical personalities, and move between them with astonishing ease. Sometimes he pads along with sinewy grace like a panther ready to spring (the "Preludio" to BWV1023, for example), sometimes he goes for a much more relaxedcantabileline, and sometimes he plays with a sparkling and infectious sense of fun ("Presto", BWV1021). Add into the mix his varied styles of vibrato, and the result is positively Shakespearean in its sense of teeming life and characterful drama. He is accompanied with an almost telepathic sense of partnership by Richard Egarr, and in four of the nine sonatas by Jaap ter Linden. As an extra treat, Manze also includes his own arrangement (which he calls a reconstruction) of Bach'sToccata and Fuguein D minor for organ. You'll never hear the original the same way again! --Warwick Thompson
Bach - Violin Sonatas -
Andrew Manze has been called "the Grappelli of the Baroque violin" because of the
... more
improvisatory liveliness of his approach. But he might with equal appropriateness be called the Rory Bremner of period playing, because--as he shows on this recording--he seems to be able to inhabit different musical personalities, and move between them with astonishing ease. Sometimes he pads along with sinewy grace like a panther ready to spring (the "Preludio" to BWV1023, for example), sometimes he goes for a much more relaxed cantabile line, and sometimes he plays with a sparkling and infectious sense of fun ("Presto", BWV1021). Add into the mix his varied styles of vibrato, and the result is positively Shakespearean in its sense of teeming life and characterful drama. He is accompanied with an almost telepathic sense of partnership by Richard Egarr, and in four of the nine sonatas by Jaap ter Linden. As an extra treat, Manze also includes his own arrangement (which he calls a reconstruction) of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor for organ. You'll never hear the original the same way again! --Warwick Thompson