Take one motivated and talented young British violinist, inspired by the solo violin music of JS Bach, and mix with some of the best British composing talent of today and the result is: Fenella Humpreys’ “Bach 2 the Future”.

Fenella Humphreys came to performing Bach’s masterpieces in their complete form relatively recently, but was frustrated by a lack of solo works to perform alongside them.

A Kickstarter and remarkable fundraising drive ensued, and Fenella has been able to commission the works that appear on this CD by Adrian Sutton, Peter Maxwell Davies and Sally Beamish (the first volume included works by Cheryl Frances-Hoad, Gordon Crosse and Piers Hellawell).

Bridging the connection Bach’s Sonata no.3 in C major, BWV 1005 and the new commissions are three iconic works for solo violin – Ysaÿe’s Sonata in D Minor, op.27 no.3 ‘Ballade’, Stravinsky’s Élégie and Sibelius’s En glad muiskant, JS70.

Praise for the first volume:

“… [Humphreys’] performance of the Bach is among the finest on record…” - American Record Guide

“[Humphreys] rises emphatically to their challenges” - The Guardian

Reviews

Last year, I enthusiastically welcomed this project’s first volume. This sequel is also impressive, both in the quality of the playing and the variety of music. Sutton’s Variations uses arpeggiated figures, its intensity matched by Humphreys’s strong, focused playing, especially in the lento movement. … In Beamish’s Intrada, a meditative piece with a folk-like insistence on a drone note, double stops are immaculately delivered, as they are in the complex textures of the Fuga… Martin Cotton (Instrumental Choice)

BBC Music Magazine January 2017

Vol 2 ... opens with Sutton’s Arpeggiare Variations, a deftly constructed contrapuntal exploration of the possibilities of the arpeggio. Then Sally Beamish’s Norwegian- and folk-influenced Intrada e Fuga is entirely different, as is Maxwell Davies’s melancholic Sonatina for Violin Alone, and Humphreys’s utter absorption and delight in all three shines forth at every turn. A particular joy is her realisation of the contrapuntal part-writing that is such a feature of these three and the other works on the disc, carving it with a strong-toned, easy fluidity and immaculate technique. Charlotte Gardner

Gramophone February 2017