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JS Bach - Partitas & Sonatas, BWV1001-1006

£19.27

In stock - available for despatch within 1 working day

Label: Delphian

Cat No: DCD34300

Barcode: 0801918343001

Format: CD

Number of Discs: 2

Genre: Instrumental

Release Date: 21st July 2023

Works

Bach, Johann Sebastian

Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin (complete), BWV1001-1006

Artists

Bojan Cicic (violin)

Works

Bach, Johann Sebastian

Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin (complete), BWV1001-1006

Artists

Bojan Cicic (violin)

About

Hearing guitarist Sean Shibe’s Bach recital, recorded in Delphian’s fifteenth-century Scottish venue, Baroque violinist Bojan Čičić was inspired during the first lockdown to begin recording Bach’s iconic Partitas and Sonatas. Amid the gloom of the pandemic and restrictions on performances, Čičić travelled north – when allowed – to explore the intense rigours of Bach’s fugues and shining virtuosity of the Partitas’ fast movements.

Dedicated to his late violin professor and with a booklet essay written by Mahan Esfahani, for Bojan Čičić the making of this recording in the snowbound Scottish countryside has been his greatest career highlight – a journey for him from darkness into light.

Sound/Video

Paused

1

Partita No.1 in B minor, BWV 1002: 1. Allemanda
2

Partita No.1 in B minor, BWV 1002: 2. Double I
3

Partita No.1 in B minor, BWV 1002: 3. Corrente
4

Partita No.1 in B minor, BWV 1002: 4. Double II (Presto)
5

Partita No.1 in B minor, BWV 1002: 5. Sarabande
6

Partita No.1 in B minor, BWV 1002: 6. Double III
7

Partita No.1 in B minor, BWV 1002: 7. Tempo di Borea
8

Partita No.1 in B minor, BWV 1002: 8. Double IV
9

Partita No.2 in D minor, BWV 1004: 1. Allemanda
10

Partita No.2 in D minor, BWV 1004: 2. Corrente
11

Partita No.2 in D minor, BWV 1004: 3. Sarabanda
12

Partita No.2 in D minor, BWV 1004: 4. Giga
13

Partita No.2 in D minor, BWV 1004: 5. Ciaccona
14

Partita No.3 in E major, BWV 1006: 1. Preludio
15

Partita No.3 in E major, BWV 1006: 2. Loure
16

Partita No.3 in E major, BWV 1006: 3. Gavotte en rondeau
17

Partita No.3 in E major, BWV 1006: 4. Menuet I
18

Partita No.3 in E major, BWV 1006: 5. Menuet II
19

Partita No.3 in E major, BWV 1006: 6. Menuet I da capo
20

Partita No.3 in E major, BWV 1006: 7. Bourrée
21

Partita No.3 in E major, BWV 1006: 8. Gigue
22

Sonata No.1 in G minor, BWV 1001: 1. Adagio
23

Sonata No.1 in G minor, BWV 1001: 2. Fuga (Allegro)
24

Sonata No.1 in G minor, BWV 1001: 3. Siciliana
25

Sonata No.1 in G minor, BWV 1001: 4. Presto
26

Sonata No.2 in A minor, BWV 1003: 1. Grave
27

Sonata No.2 in A minor, BWV 1003: 2. Fuga
28

Sonata No.2 in A minor, BWV 1003: 3. Andante
29

Sonata No.2 in A minor, BWV 1003: 4. Allegro
30

Sonata No.3 in C major, BWV 1005: 1. Adagio
31

Sonata No.3 in C major, BWV 1005: 2. Fuga
32

Sonata No.3 in C major, BWV 1005: 3. Largo
33

Sonata No.3 in C major, BWV 1005: 4. Allegro assai

Europadisc Review

Recordings of J.S. Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin have become increasingly frequent in recent decades. Indeed, they now seem to be a required ‘rite of passage’ for violinists of every possible kind, whether on modern instruments or ones with a period set-up and bow. It wasn’t that long ago that modern-instrument recordings heavily outnumbered ‘HIP’ ones, but now the Croatian-born Bojan Čičić – leader of the Academy of Ancient Music as well as director of his own Illyria Consort – joins the growing number of period players to set down his own version of these works on the Delphian label.

And what works they are! Comprising three Sonatas and three Partitas (suites), they bring together the two main instrumental genres of the time, building on the legacy of such violinist-composers as Westhoff, Biber, J.J. Walter and Bach’s contemporary J.G. Pisendel, all of whom wrote demanding music for solo violin, but far surpassing them in both scope and musical depth. In the surviving manuscript copies, sonatas alternate with partitas – Sonata no.1, Partita no.1, Sonata no.2, etc. – but Čičić groups the three Partitas successively on disc 1, with the three Sonatas occupying the second disc.

Although the significance of Bach’s original ordering can be debated, Čičić’s ordering has certain benefits. The listener can directly compare the astonishing formal variety of the Partitas: the First (in B minor) made up of four typical suite dances (Allemanda, Corrente, Sarabande and Borea) each followed by its own paired variation (or ‘Double’); the Second (in D minor), which starts more conventionally (albeit on an already ambitious scale) with Allemanda, Corrente, Sarabanda and Giga, but then trumps them all with the mighty Ciaccona (Chaconne), a set of 64 variations on a potent four-bar phrase, going from minor to major and back again, and in the process plumbing the depths and scaling the heights of human emotion; and finally the E major Partita, lighter, more Gallic in character, with its catchy Prelude, seductively swaying Loure, toe-tapping Gavotte, Menuets, Bourrée and airy concluding Gigue.

The four-movement Sonatas, meanwhile, follow the Corellian model, alternating slow and fast movements, with the first movement having an improvisatory feel, the second being a fugue (the most obvious instance in these works of Bach’s utilisation of suggestive counterpoint), the third a more relaxed slow movement that cools the temperature after the preceding fugal exertions, the fourth a sparkling conclusion. Even in these Sonatas, there’s variety aplenty, but hearing them alongside one another you can appreciate how the fugues gradually expand in scale: at over 11 minutes, the Fugue of the C major Sonata is one of Bach’s most ambitious for any instrument, and all the more remarkable as a vehicle for a lone violin.

Čičić’s command of period style is second to none, the tuning immaculate, the tone attractive but with a pleasingly ‘grainy’ aspect (he uses an Italian instrument dating from 1701). His mastery of the frequent double- and triple- and quadruple-stopped chords is formidable. Occasionally, as in the Giga of the D minor Partita, he chops up the phrasing a little too much for some tastes, but his refusal to be hurried (in contrast to many of his period-instrument rivals in these works) reaps huge rewards in terms of formal cohesion and a sense of long-range thinking. It is this capacity for pacing that makes the famous D minor Ciaccona as well as the Fugues of the three Sonatas particularly memorable in these performances. The slow movements, too, benefit from Čičić’s patient way.

Yet there’s no lack of excitement, either: the Presto Double of the B minor Corrente goes at a cracking pace, every note sparklingly articulated. Echo effects are deployed without exaggeration, and the E major Partita has a wonderfully buoyant feel without ever feeling pushed. There is some occasional slightly clunky editing (between the dances and their Doubles in Partita no.1, and at the da capo of Menuet I in Partita no.3); but against this set the command of steady tempo, the subtle use of rubato and the general lack of sensationalism. The result is a thoughtful, mature traversal of these masterpieces that seems to grow in stature on each successive listening, where others make a bigger initial splash but the excitement soon pales.

Although not producing a ‘big’ sound in conventional terms, Čičić is arguably at his strongest in the broader canvases of the D minor Partita and the Sonatas. Taken as a whole – and with an ideally resonant acoustic in the Crichton Collegiate Church in Midlothian, and perceptive notes by Mahan Esfahani, no less – these are accounts of the Partitas and Sonatas (sic!) that stand out In a crowded catalogue against starry competition. We’ll certainly be returning to them again and again.

Reviews

Avoiding some violinists’ febrile interpretations, Cicic likes to keep his dignity, though that doesn’t stop his presto movements from being dizzying. His double-stopped flourishes are impressive, too. ... The end result is an album that splendidly showcases Bach’s special pleasure: music that engages both heart and head, and leaves us humbled, disarmed, and uplifted. Geoff Brown

The Times

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Condition	Description
New	Brand new item, only ever sourced from the official UK distributor. Usually seal-wrapped, although a minority of labels do not use seal-wrap.
Used - Mint	Used item in excellent condition. Not usually seal-wrapped.
Used - Good	Used item with some minor signs of wear and tear. Never seal-wrapped.
Used - Acceptable	Used item with obvious scuffs or cosmetic damage to the case or booklet. Never seal-wrapped.

Condition	Description
New	Brand new item, only ever sourced from the official UK distributor. Usually seal-wrapped, although a minority of labels do not use seal-wrap.
Used - Mint	Used item in excellent condition. Not usually seal-wrapped.
Used - Good	Used item with some minor signs of wear and tear. Never seal-wrapped.
Used - Acceptable	Used item with obvious scuffs or cosmetic damage to the case or booklet. Never seal-wrapped.

JS Bach - Partitas & Sonatas, BWV1001-1006

In stock - available for despatch within 1 working day

Despatch Information

Contents

Works

Artists

Works

Artists

About

Sound/Video

Paused

Europadisc Review

Reviews

Also Available

£14.67

£19.27

£14.67

£14.67

£23.87

Condition Information

Condition Information