JS Bach

Sonatas for Violin & Harpsichord Nos 1-6, BWV1014-1019 Isabelle Faust (violin),

Kristian Bezuidenhout (harpsichord) Harmonia Mundi HMM 902256-57

147:39 mins (2 discs)

Predominantly intimate, endlessly inventive, sometimes impishly playful, Bach’s Six Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord are essentially (though not exclusively) threeway conversations between two performers – and what a lot they have to say to each other! The harpsichordist’s left and right hands might account for two thirds of the dialogue, but Bach has no intention of letting the violin off the hook lightly. Rich double stopping engorges and animates; the E major’s opening Adagio is embellished with a sumptuous, almost Corellian sensibility; while the Sonata’s Finale is aquiver with a virtuosity that wouldn’t go amiss in the most effervescent of concertos.

Then there are the contrapuntal challenges. The music should always wear its deft counterpoint lightly, wide-eyed as a spring day. In their new recording Isabelle

Faust and Kristian Bezuidenhout understand this perfectly. At the (strictly canonic) start of the A major Sonata it’s as if, with nonchalant lightness, the violin tenderly leads the harpsichordist by the hand. However uplifting the individual contributions are throughout, that consummate sense of partnership prevails – whether extrovertly in the B minor’s Finale, turbo charged and crackling with an excitement that doesn’t neglect to take the corners expressively, or more hushed in the opening Adagio where the warmth and presence of Bezuidenhout’s harpsichord poignantly assuages the violin’s veiled asides. In the concluding G major Sonata they substitute a less elaborate version of the sublime Largo and sign off with a gloriously oxygenated final Allegro – a fitting adieu to a set that celebrates life from first note to last. Paul Riley PERFORMANCE ★★★★★

RECORDING ★★★★