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The inspiration behind this album is centred around the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and the concept formed in honour of the 300th anniversary of the completion of his 6 Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin.
Bach’s Chaconne from Partita No.2 in D minor for solo violin was the first track recorded on the album back in 2019 in a beautiful church called St James’s Church, Sussex Gardens in London. It is widely regarded as one of the greatest pieces ever written in the classical repertoire and is a personal favourite of mine. It expresses an array of emotions from despair to hope and rejoice, which I felt was very appropriate during this particularly challenging time.
On one of the tracks, I perform on the baroque violin at 415 pitch playing a wonderful reconstruction of the iconic Toccata and Fugue in D minor for organ titled as "Sonata for Solo Violin BWV 565” by Bruce Fox-Lefriche. Widely regarded as an organ piece by J.S. Bach, musicologists including Bruce believe it was originally written by a contemporary of Bach and was intended to be the first two movements of an anonymous sonata for solo violin. Additionally, I have arranged a few of the Two-Part Inventions for violin and viola (originally written for keyboard) for a special collaboration with my mentor Isabelle Van Keulen on the viola.
I have also included personal compositions quoting the composer and featuring a variety of contemporary styles. A couple of these works were also written during the global pandemic and reflect my emotions at the time. "Insanity" directly quotes Bach's Fugue from Sonata No.1 in G minor for solo violin as well as drawing inspiration from Eugène Ysaÿe's "Obsession" from his Sonata No.2 in A minor for solo violin. "Nostalgia" uses the opening bass line of the famous "Air" from Bach's 3rd Orchestral Suite. Finally, the album ends on my piece "¡ Brava !", a gypsy tango based on Bach’s monumental Chaconne, which I have written for solo violin and a string quartet including my friends and alumni from the Royal College of Music: Eleonora Consta on violin, Nazlı Erdoğan on viola, Robbie Stanley-Smith on cello and Matt Begg on the double bass.
Through this album my aim was to shine different lights on the composer: the spiritual, religious nature of Bach, as well as the light-hearted, youthful and innovative character.