Isabelle Faust, Bach Sonatas & Partitas (Harmonia Mundi, through Ode Records)
Rating: *****
Albrecht Mayer, Voices of Bach (Decca)
Rating: *****
Verdict: "The glories of Bach prove an endless source of inspiration"
Just last year Isabelle Faust and Alexander Melnikov gave us their revelatory set of Beethoven Violin and Piano Sonatas; now Faust returns, alone, with solo Bach.
Settling on the C major Sonata and the D minor and E major Partitas, the German violinist goes to the source. Her interpretations have been informed by studying original manuscripts and experiencing the composer's own handwriting which, according to the violinist, "radiates grandeur and resolution alongside pulsating vitality".
The result of this marriage of scholarship and artistry is a set of superlative performances, which Harmonia Mundi has captured with a resonance that gives the great D minor Chaconne an almost tangible architectural sweep. The E major Preludio, delivering some of Bach's most dazzling pyrotechnics, is a shimmerfest.
Where lesser violinists might meander, Faust makes every note sing. A Gavotte en Rondeau is clean and spirited, without fussy ornamentation; an earlier Largo deals in subtle shifts of mood, although here, as elsewhere, some might find Faust's heavy breathing a tad intrusive.
Listening to the effortless outpouring of Albrecht Mayer's oboe, oboe d'amore and cor anglais in his new Visions of Bach, one might be forgiven for wondering whether this man has any need of mere mortal lungs.
This is a fascinating collection of music fashioned from the composer's immense Cantata catalogue. Throughout the CD Mayer descants eloquently against and around the immaculate singing of Trinity Baroque and spirited playing of The English Concert.
Most striking is the final Was Gott tut, with Mayer spiralling high above hushed choir and stark continuo.
Bach himself would have heartily approved of Andreas Tarkmann's resourceful arrangements of three concertos from this cantata material - one for each of Mayer's instruments. The oboe d'amore transports us to southern climes, with a concerto taken from one of the composer's sunny Italian cantatas, complete with zesty pizzicato. On the other hand, the cor anglais catches the anguish of Cantata BWV 54 with an achingly beautiful Larghetto drawn from its opening aria Pray resist sin, lest its poison seize you. Thanks to Mayer's rapturous tone and sinuous lines, the music itself is totally irresistible.
William Dart
