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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.พ. 2025
- July 27, 2016 by TOM HUIZENGA • The music of Johann Sebastian Bach is essential, like air and water, for many classical musicians. Pianist András Schiff starts every day with Bach - sometimes before breakfast. "It's like taking care of your inner hygiene. There's something very pure about it," he says. Cellist Matt Haimovitz notes that he's been playing and thinking about the Bach Cello Suites for more than 30 years. He even plays them in bars.
Violinist Rachel Barton Pine began playing Bach in church at age 4. Ever since, she's been mastering and re-mastering Bach's set of six Sonatas and Partitas-more than two hours of solo violin music that looms like a proverbial Mount Everest for any serious fiddler. The trick is getting the details down. Bach left us with the notes but not much else. Pine recently analyzed every measure of these works, and prepared a new edition of the music with her own dynamic markings, phrasing indications, bowings and fingerings.
For this performance, Pine chose three contrasting movements from the set and plays them on her Guarneri del Gesu violin, which was built in 1742 - eight years before Bach died. She highlights the spirit of the dance in the "Tempo di Borea" (a Bourée from the First Partita). She unfolds a serene melody, just lightly accompanied, in the "Largo" (from the Third Sonata), and she closes with the intertwining "Fuga" (from the First Sonata), which sounds like three violinists in deep discussion.
Although the Sonatas and Partitas brim with technical demands, Pine says that every time she plays them, it's as if she's "conversing with the very best of friends."
Testament: Complete Sonatas & Partitas For Solo Violin By J.S. Bach is available now:
iTunes: itunes.apple.c...
Amazon: www.amazon.com...
Set List:
J.S. Bach: "Tempo di Borea" (from Partita No. 1)
J.S. Bach: "Largo" (from Sonata No. 3)
J.S. Bach: "Fuga" (from Sonata No. 1)
Credits:
Producers: Tom Huizenga, Niki Walker; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Niki Walker, Claire Hannah Collins; PA: Sophie Kemp; Photo: Claire Harbage/NPR.
For more Tiny Desk concerts, subscribe to our podcast: www.npr.org/pod...
Does anyone realize how how hard it it to sound this good in an an-echoic office?
Rachel is a goddess of this instrument!
It helps to have a Guarneri ;)
Not to most of us. Unfortunately.
@@liamnevilleviolist1809 I bet she could make a beginner grade violin sound incredible.
there should be lots more classical Tiny Desk Concerts!!
Its a shameful travesty that this has so few views compared to other Tiny Desks by lesser musicians. Rachel, you slayed, and that fugue at the end was one of the most amazing things I've heard all year. I appreciate how, in addition to the performance, you also taught us something about higher musical concepts in classical music, walking us through it with each piece, without turning it into some dull, pompous academic exercise. Thank you for sharing your passion and talent with us, many of our lives are now richer for the experience.
Greatly appreciate your comments! What a wonderful concert and artist!
YES! I love that you still include classical musicians, thank you NPR.
Rachel Barton Pine is awesome. I had the privilege of being able to attend an orchestra event that was led by her and she was an absolute joy to be around the entire time as well as an incredible performer
Agreed, I went to a fiddle camp she taught at and she was so nice and played amazingly
Caleb S. I love her Mozart. Beautiful tone and (sparing) vibrato, makes the music sound so pure.
00:00 J.S. Bach: "Tempo di Borea" (from Partita No. 1)
04:05 J.S. Bach: "Largo" (from Sonata No. 3)
07:52 J.S. Bach: "Fuga" (from Sonata No. 1)
Thank you NPR for this! I just can't get enough of this woman and her playing. It's so heartfelt and expressive. But so virtuosic, too! Plus she loves to play the violin and it totally shines through every performance. ♥
Also, that blouse is amazing.
I love tiny desk, but I'd love it so more if there will be more classical wonderful music like this one!
She really has special sound.
So lovely :)))
Especially in that studio not a lot of people can survive because it has such a severe truthful practice room acoustic
I greatly admire the discipline and dedication it takes to play a musical instrument at this level. Thanks, Rachel. 08/05/2016
She is such a wonderful violinist. And great baroque music playing!
The rarest privilege of the Century - if not the Millennium of knowing
(at the time & of course today)
Miss Barton...
I Thank You Very Much.
😁🎨🖌
This wonderful lady makes the world a better place.
Made my day! Thank you NPR. We need more classical musicians!!!!!
The Fugue was like a roller-coaster ride! Exciting!
talk about chills the whole time, what a great experience. keep it up npr. listen with headphones to get the full feeling
beautiful
This was the perfect way to start my Friday.
You can tell Rachel really enjoys playing! Thanks for sharing :). TRULY AMAZING!!!
She really feel what's playing
Bach is the Socrates of music and this musician is his priestess of Delphi.
Thank u soo much!
Maravilloso !!!! Yesss !!!!
Wonderful.
this is phenomenal.
I like her additude. It's obvious she loves what she is doing.
Gorgeous 🥺❤️☺️
Speechless.
Wonderful!
Fantastic!
Extraordinary!
a true virtuoso!!!
Excellent.
She totally rocks!
so impressive!
Wish these npr music had a better place with better acoustics for these wonderful musicians
Is it me or she really found out how to be BACH for some moments!?
Would be better if she went full hip especially she opted baroque bow
If the passion of Rachel’s playing, plus that of the music, don’t add up to make you cry a little bit, you’re a stony hearted ogre.
I love it how she's using a baroque bow!!! I only got to see one in use with my violin teacher, i wonder if it is really different from the normal bows. does anyone know if there are any significant differences besides looking cool as hell?
There's quite a difference because the bow is curved the other way, upwards rather than downwards. It makes it harder to get a really massive tone like you would with a modern bow, but what it compensates it by making it easer to play chords as the bow-hair has less tension, and it "hugs" the strings easier. Also, this looks some sort a hybrid. Maybe I'm mistaken, but it looks as lengthy as a modern bow, while baroque bows are usually considerably shorter.
Unlike modern bows, there isn't one "standard" size, but rather several. Mine is 55cm or something like that and it's considerably lighter than my modern bow. The sound it makes is quite different than modern bows too! It's fun to play. Shar has an intro baroque bow that's pretty great for about $100. Check it out if you can!
That fugue at the end was intense!
shouldn't be able to do that
how does she get the violin sounds like in a really good atmosphere? The office has such a dry acoustic.fantastic sound!!!
Yayyy
wow
I recall hearing RBP play in Edinburgh some decade ago (encore was Der Erlkonig!?). This is no less impressive and also nice to see a baroque bow(-ing) albeit on synthetic strings.
Wanderfull
I got this from a search "rachel delevoryas violinist" is she related to the one Randy Stonehill sang about?
unusual bow, pefect intonation, very little or no vibrato and superb sound
"Girl fiddles with herself on camera". Actually, she's amazing. But she could've gone viral with that title.
Bahahahahahahahaha too ridiculous
im dead
How are you
りずむ
that is impossible
I like Pine very much but i really don't like her Bach. She focuses too much on making the sound colorful but i can't feel the harmony and peacefulness which belong's to Bach.
Not best space for baroque violin
Oh I do get annoyed when people describe certain key centres as embodying a certain emotion. THE INTERVALS ARE THE SAME!!
I get what you're saying but you're forgetting the fact that different keys encourage you to use different string and different parts of the neck on certain instruments. To mind mind that is what changes the mood the most. I play mandolin, and playing in F makes me more likely to use the middle of the fretboard, which is rounder and warmer than anywhere else on the instrument.
Nigel Tufnel used "D Minor... the saddest of all keys" to write his Mach piece "Lick My Love Pump."
(Mozart vs Bach) Spinal Tap, 1984
Not only that but on violin as well as other string instruments, depending on the key there's more or less resonance from the body, sympathetic vibrations from open strings, etc., which affects the tone, and mood of the piece (or at least the mood of the musician). But I do think that much of the association of certain keys with specific emotions is probably learned behavior; would be interesting to know what someone who had no prior experience with Western music would make of it--if they would have the same associations as someone who has been trained to think of G minor as melancholy e.g.
TheDruidKing You're awesome :)
***** I'm inclined to believe more that it is a learned thing. I studied contemporary music composition from the POV of a guitarist and had to frequently work with classical musicians, and most times out of ten, their posturing about Key centres relating to certain emotion seemed to just validate the authenticity of their academic status. In short, it's what most artists do, which is sadly kind of pretentious. Suffice to say, I as a student of Popular Music, will probably always getting a bit grumpy at students of Classical. However, there is also a lot I can agree with in regards to the difference of sound depending on where we play it on our stringed instrument. Then again, I can make a "warmer" sounding G minor when my root is on the lower strings and equally a "harsher" sounding G minor if I play it on the highest strings. So, I dunno.
i miss hilary hahn every time someone else plays bach
I personally prefer Rachel Barton Pine's interpretations of Bach much more than more standard interpretations. Very gentle and sensitive, much more lyrical than those who just 'power through'. However, it is subjective, so to each his own.
don't like hearing in nasal intake of air. very distracting
HTP 04041 if you didn't breathe you would be dead.
it's art don't question it.
That's what using an ambient mic does unfortunately. This is a wonderful performance but this not a context in which a violin shines, it's an acoustic instrument and a concert hall is where it really works as intended. These are also very demanding pieces, proper breathing, even at he expense of hearing it essential. Also, non-violinists just can't grasp just how challenging and unpleasant is to play a violin with no natural acoustics to support it, everything works against you in such conditions.
Right? That breathing thing is the worst... 🤔😂
You wouldn't want her passing out would you buddy?
Wonderful.