Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Lara St. John and Marie-Pierre Langlamet: Bach Sonatas
Lara St. John and Marie-Pierre Langlamet: Bach Sonatas
ByViolinist Lara St. John and Berlin Philharmonic harpist Marie-Pierre Langlamet have done no less in their recital of Bach ensemble pieces for violin and flute with harpsichord accompaniment. This project was borne by St. John's desire to simplify the harmonic support, distilling it, as it were, to an essence...the essence of Bach. The harp is a perfect foil for her crisp interpretation of Bach and Langlamet fully fits the bill as its driver. This prepares Bach for the parlor, that time-tested tradition of intimate performance among close friends. St. John's Bach bona fides are beyond question, with her earliest recordings culminating in the triumphant Bach: The Six Sonatas & Partitas for Violin Solo (2007), the first release on her own eclectic label, Ancalagon.
While equally informed, this incarnation of Bach is decidedly different from St. John's sparks-throwing early days. Here is a measured, fully mature Bach, played with a loving and tempered Romantic flair. This is most evident on the slower sections, like the "Adagio ma non tanto" of Sonata No. 3 in E Major for Violin and Harpsichord, BWV 1016, where St. John effects a more mellow and round tone, one well suited to the quiet majesty of Langlamet's warm and secure harp.
The interpretation of the three sonatas for flute and harpsichord are most revealing. The two adopted instruments meld well with the harmony and melody, time and temperature of the original intent. These are amazingly cool performances in temperament that generate warmth as the two instruments unite synergistically. On Bach Sonata, St. John finds a musical soul mate and continues to cultivate her unique approach to making old music new again.
Track Listing
Sonata No. 1 for Violin and Keyboard in B minor, BWV 1014: I. Adagio; II. Allegro, III Andante, IV Allegro; Sonata No. 3 for Violin and Keyboard in E major, BWV 1016: I. Adagio, II. Allegro, III. Adagio ma non tanto, IV. Allegro; Sonata for Violin and Keyboard in G minor, BWV 1020: I. Allegro, II. Adagio, III. Allegro; Sonata for Flute and Keyboard in B minor, BWV 1030: I. Andante, II. Largo e dolce, III. Presto; Sonata for Flute and Keyboard in B minor, BWV 1030: IV. Siciliana.
Personnel
Lara St. John
violinLara St. John: violin; Marie-Pierre Langlamet: harp.
Album information
Title: Bach Sonatas | Year Released: 2012 | Record Label: Ancalagon
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