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Track(s) taken from CDA67691/2

Partita No 1 in B minor, BWV1002

composer
1720; Cöthen; Sei Solo a Violino senza Basso accompagnato Libro Primo; first published in 1802

Alina Ibragimova (violin)
Recording details: February 2009
Henry Wood Hall, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Andrew Keener
Engineered by Simon Eadon
Release date: October 2009
Total duration: 27 minutes 59 seconds

Cover artwork: Photograph by Sussie Ahlburg.
 

Other recordings available for download

Elizabeth Wallfisch (violin)

Reviews

‘Ibragimova reveals herself to be an exquisite interpreter of solo Bach … her Bach comes as something of a revelation. The finesse we've previously admired in her playing is here combined with thoughtful stylistic awareness and a distinctive, individual approach … all her stylishness and technical refinement is at the service of an ingrained understanding of the music’ (Gramophone)

‘She's supremely alert to the idiomatic nuances of each dance … her technical accomplishment is awesome. The D minor Giga scampers along as if mindful of the transcendent monumentality of the Ciaccona lurking around the corner—and when it arrives, Ibragimova tip-toes and soars with aplomb’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘Ibragimova comes of age with this superb set … this is a violinist of interpretative maturity and thrilling spark’ (The Daily Telegraph)

‘Alina Ibragimova is a player of great musical imagination and intelligence and this—combined with superb technique—produces some exceptional results in her new recording of the Bach Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin … this set reveals a Bach player of real stature … warmly recommended’ (International Record Review)

‘Alina Ibragimova's previous discs for Hyperion have all been of 20th-century repertoire … all in their different ways were first rate, but none of them gave any inkling of just how startlingly good Ibragimova's solo Bach recordings might be. This is an absolutely compelling set of performances, the kind that have you on the edge of your seat wondering at the freshness of it all and what she might do next. Every phrase in these familiar works seems newly minted, every bar totally alive’ (The Guardian)

‘Young, excellent and serious, this 24-year old violinist plays with a maturity far beyond her years. In this two-CD set she's right inside the music, whether Bach calls for roaring fire or the tenderest melancholy’ (The Times)

‘One baulks at reducing this sublime discourse to adjectives … these solo structures are thin yet monumental, linear yet multilayered, technically specialised yet altogether soul-rending, and she capitalises on every paradox. More simply, her sound is seductive, her virtuosity bracing and every movement a victory … a true enshrining of the violin's soul’ (The Sunday Times)

‘Admirable agility, clean articulation and perfectly true intonation, and everywhere her technique is impressive … she continually looks to the beauty of the music … the sound quality is fabulous’ (The Strad)

‘Ibragimova's combination of intelligence and intuition, vulnerability and steel on display in this new set will surely prove revelatory … she makes familiar works sound both spontaneously conceived and inevitable’ (The New York Times)
The Partita in B minor (BWV1002) is outwardly, perhaps, the most straightforward and expressively undemonstrative of the three. It consists of four classical suite movements, though each has its own Double, or variation. The work begins with an Allemanda whose character is defined by angular, even seemingly awkward contours. By comparison, its Double is uncomplicated, yet here as throughout the suite Bach’s writing appears tinged with an underlying expressive melancholy. Following a brisker Corrente and its Double, marked Presto, is the Sarabande and Double, whose graceful gestures and noble eloquence establish its position as a focal point of the suite. The concluding Tempo di borea, or Bourrée, and its Double make effective use of sequences to extend phrases and to generate energy.

from notes by Nicholas Anderson © 2009

En apparence, la Partita en si mineur (BWV1002) est peut-être la plus simple et directe et la moins démonstrative sur le plan expressif des trois. Elle se compose de quatre mouvements de suite classiques, mais chacun d’entre eux a son propre double, ou variation. L’œuvre commence par une Allemanda, dont le caractère est défini par des contours angulaires, voire maladroits en apparence. En comparaison, son double est simple, mais ici comme dans toute la suite, l’écriture de Bach semble pourtant teintée d’une mélancolie expressive sous-jacente. Après une Corrente plus vive et son double, marqué Presto, les gestes gracieux et la noble éloquence de la Sarabande et de son double en font le point central de la suite. Le Tempo di borea, ou Bourrée, conclusif, avec son double, fait une usage efficace des séquences pour développer les phrases et créer de l’énergie.

extrait des notes rédigées par Nicholas Anderson © 2009
Français: Marie-Stella Pâris

Die Partita in h-Moll (BWV 1002) scheint zunächst das vielleicht überschaubarste und unkomplizierteste der drei Stücke zu sein. Es besteht aus vier klassischen Suitensätzen, obwohl jeder Satz ein Double, bzw. eine Variation, hat. Das Werk beginnt mit einer Allemanda, die eckige, fast ungelenk anmutende Konturen aufweist. Das Double dazu hingegen ist unkompliziert, doch scheint Bachs Stil hier, wie auch in den anderen Sätzen der Suite, von einer ausdrucksvollen melancholischen Grundstimmung durchdrungen zu sein. Auf die forschere Corrente samt Double, das mit Presto überschrieben ist, folgt die Sarabande mit Double, deren elegante Gesten und edle Eloquenz sie zum Blickpunkt der Suite machen. Im abschließenden Tempo di borea, oder Bourrée, und Double werden Sequenzen effektiv dazu eingesetzt, gewisse Phrasen zu verlängern und Energie zu erzeugen.

aus dem Begleittext von Nicholas Anderson © 2009
Deutsch: Viola Scheffel

Other albums featuring this work

Bach: Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin
CDD220092CDs Dyad (2 for the price of 1) — Download only
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