Violin Concertos
BWV 1041 and 1042; Concerto for Violin and Oboe; Sonatas for Harpsichord and
Violin BWV 1016 and 1017. Janine Jansen and friends. Decca B0019301-02.
When I first received this album, I asked myself, Didn’t I
already review this thing? I mean, didn’t Janine Jansen record the Bach violin
concertos years ago? I must have been thinking of someone else, Hilary Hahn,
perhaps, Julia Fischer, Anne Akiko Meyers, or Lara St. John. Or maybe it’s just
that I assumed a violinist of Ms. Jansen’s stature had already done them. In
any case, Mr. Jansen is a fine violinist, and I enjoyed her zesty, alert Bach
interpretations.
In fact, she never fails to provide anything but
stimulating, energetic, compassionate performances of whatever she’s
performing, and the Bach is no different. This should come as no surprise as
the Dutch violinist and violist has been playing and studying the violin since
she was six. In 2001 she appeared with the National Youth Orchestra of
Scotland, performing the Brahms Violin
Concerto, and in 2005 she opened the BBC Proms. She has toured
internationally, recorded a number of albums for Decca, and plays on a
“Barrere” by Antonio Stradivari, on extended loan from the Elise Methilde
Foundation.
Following her customary recording practice, Ms. Jansen
plays with a small ensemble of accompanists, this time a group of friends:
Ramon Ortega Quero, oboe; Jan Jensen, harpsichord; Boris Brovtsyn, Cindy
Albracht, Fredrick Paulsson, Julia-Maria Kretz, Tijmen Huisingh, and Monica
Urbonaite, violins; Nimrod Guez and Pauline Sachse, violas; Maarten Jansen,
cello; and Rick Stotijn, double bass.
Anyway, about the program: Bach wrote his two Violin Concertos, No. 1 in A minor, BWV1041 and No.
2 in E major, BWV1042, between 1717 and 1723, about the time he was writing
the Brandenburg Concertos, so if you
hear any similarities, especially in the opening movement of 1042, you know
why. Ms. Jansen begins the music with BWV1042, probably the earlier of the two
concertos despite the catalogue number. Here, she exhibits an incisive
technique, pacing the work at a reasonably zippy pace yet never so fast as we
hear from many period-instruments’ groups. She observes tempos that should keep
most listeners involved and inspired. She also maintains a style that eschews
too much flourish or ornamentation, preferring to keep herself pretty much in
accord with the surrounding ensemble rather than completely dominating it. In
this regard, it’s a somewhat self-effacing performance with wonderful tone, a
performance that serves the music well.
Ms. Jansen’s rendering of the opening Allegro is bracing without being in any way hurried. The central Adagio is haunting enough if a tad less inspired
than, say, Menuhin's rendition. Still, a minor quibble. The little Allegro assai that concludes the piece
seems less weighty than the preceding movements, but that is hardly Ms.
Jansen's fault, and she handles it in an appropriately playful fashion.
Next comes the Violin
Concerto in A minor, BWV 1041, which is, for me, a more dramatic work than
1042, with a lovelier central section, an Andante
of exceptional strength. Here, Ms. Jansen seems to take great care to ensure
the work's structural integrity. The entire composition seems of a single
piece, with the violin, too, taking its part within the music's structure
rather than overpowering it. So, we've got vigorous yet relaxed readings of
both concertos, ultrasophisticated yet with no undue ostentation. While perhaps
one may sense a certain hesitancy in regard to ultimate tension and
characterization, the readings more than compensate with their sheer comfort
level and beauty. Besides, it's always a pleasure listening to Ms. Jansen's
virtuosity on the violin.
The couplings for the album do not include the more-usual
choice, the double violin concerto. Rather, it includes, first, the Concerto for Violin and Oboe in C minor,
BWV 1060, a reconstruction of a transcription of a double harpsichord concerto.
It is quite rhapsodic for a Baroque composition, and the oboe contributions
sound particularly pleasing.
The final tracks on the program contain the Sonatas for Harpsichord and Violin Nos. 3
and 4, BMW 1016 and 1017. These are
lovely works of four movements each, alternating slow and fast sections.
Although Ms. Jansen's violin is clearly in the fore, for that matter the two
players share the music almost equally. It's all quite charming, actually, and
I can't imagine a listener not responding favorably to the interpretations.
Decca’s recording team made the album in Andreaskirche,
Berlin, Germany, in June of 2013. A pleasant ambient bloom goes a long way in
making this a most-realistic and most-listenable experience. There is not a lot
of depth to the ensemble, yet the degree of hall resonance helps make up for
it. The sonics are very smooth, slightly warm, and, while not exactly
audiophile in their transparency, quite natural. Ms. Jansen's violin sounds
nicely integrated into the ensemble, and as with the performances it never
dominates her companions but becomes a part of the whole.
To listen to a brief excerpt from this album, click here:
JJP
