Isabelle Faust Completes Bach Cycle with Nuanced Sonatas for Violin and Continuo
A new recording featuring violinist Isabelle Faust, cellist Kristin von der Goltz, and harpsichordist Kristian Bezuidenhout offers a compelling interpretation of Johann Sebastian Bach’s sonatas for violin and continuo, completing Faust’s acclaimed cycle of the composer’s works.
Isabelle Faust, renowned for her interpretations of Bach, has culminated a significant artistic undertaking with this release, bringing together lesser-known sonatas that complement her previous recordings of solo violin works and concertos. The album, recorded in August 2023 at the Vereenigde Doopsgezinde Gementee in Haarlem, Netherlands, and released by Harmonia Mundi, presents a collection of pieces often considered more intimate in scale than Bach’s celebrated sonatas and partitas.
The recording features sonatas in E minor (BWV 1023), G major (BWV 1021), C minor (BWV 1024), G major (first version – BWV 1019a), a Fugue in G minor (BWV 1026), and a Sonata in G minor (BWV 1029). These works, while perhaps not the “cathedrals of sound” found elsewhere in Bach’s oeuvre, reveal a profound beauty, particularly when rendered with the “solar violin” of Faust – a copy of the 1704 Stradivarius “Sleeping Beauty.”
The recording is notable for its striking sound, with a particularly prominent harpsichord. This bold approach provides a “grandiose setting” for these occasionally modest works. From the opening toccata-like introduction of the Sonata in E minor, Faust demonstrates a “nobility of tone, precision, musicality and breadth of her bow playing.” The compositions themselves showcase Bach’s versatility, blending Germanic and Italian styles within pieces that are often concise yet continually renewed.
One piece of particular interest is the Sonata in C minor (BWV 1024), initially attributed to Johann Georg Pisendel, a violinist friend of Bach. Regardless of its original authorship, the work’s “sumptuous ornamentations” are firmly rooted in Bach’s stylistic language. The Fugue in G minor (BWV 1026) stands out as a “strange page,” a solitary and virtuosic work brimming with complex textures and intricate passages, which Faust transforms into an “immense rainbow” of sound.
The album concludes with the powerful Sonata in G minor (BWV 1029), a transcription of a sonata originally written for the viola da gamba. This adaptation elevates the piece to a “real mini concerto,” with the harpsichord functioning as a complete orchestra. The result is a fitting, “solar conclusion” to a recording that invites repeated listening.
A related release, a double album of violin and Bach orchestra by Isabelle Faust, has also garnered attention. This new collection of sonatas further solidifies Faust’s position as a leading interpreter of Bach’s music, offering listeners a fresh perspective on these often-overlooked gems.
