Bach: Sonatas and Partitas, Vol. 1

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DescriptionExcerpt

On Bach: Sonatas and Partitas, Vol. 1, mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile performs three Bach works written for solo violin: Sonata No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001; Partita No. 1 in B minor, BWV 1002; and Sonata No. 2 in A minor, BWV 1003. "His timing is meticulous," says The New Yorker, "but his version also has the liveliness that improvising musicians sometimes can bring to written material." Gramophone exclaims: "This is extraordinary playing from an extraordinary musician who is willing to stretch stylistic and technical boundaries to further his art while paying homage to one of the greatest composers of all time." The album was produced by Edgar Meyer.

Description

Nonesuch Records releases an album of three Bach works recorded by mandolin virtuoso and MacArthur Fellow Chris Thile on August 6, 2013. Bach: Sonatas and Partitas, Vol. 1 comprises three works written for solo violin: Sonata No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001; Partita No. 1 in B minor, BWV 1002; and Sonata No. 2 in A minor, BWV 1003. The album was produced by Thile’s friend, mentor, and frequent collaborator, the double bassist and composer Edgar Meyer. 

Thile explains his connection to the composer: “Bach was my first meaningful experience with—for lack of a better word—classical music. It was the second recording of Glenn Gould playing the Goldberg Variations. Gould plays with the kind of rhythmic integrity that I had previously only associated with non-classical music: music with a groove, with a pocket, that made you move. Gould was playing that music like my heroes play fiddle tunes. It humanized the whole thing for me and the heavens opened up and Bach came down. I started devouring all the Bach I could get my hands on.”

He continues, “This record to me is not about this iconic violin music played on the mandolin—like, ‘Oh boy, what fun, he’s playing a weird instrument!’ It's about Bach being one of the greatest musicians of all time, the solo violin music being some of his best work, and the mandolin having the potential to cast it in a new and hopefully interesting light."

Chris Thile, whom London’s Independent calls “the most remarkable mandolinist in the world,” is the founding member and lead vocalist of Punch Brothers. With broad influences including progressive bluegrass, classical, rock, and jazz, Thile transcends the borders of conventionally circumscribed genres, creating a distinctly American canon and a new musical aesthetic. Thile will be touring this summer with Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, and Edgar Meyer, with whom he released last year’s The Goat Rodeo Sessions, which won two Grammys in 2013. 

As a soloist, Thile has released five previous albums. In 2011, Nonesuch Records released the Grammy–nominated Sleep with One Eye Open, an album of duets with guitarist Michael Daves. Thile has also collaborated with a pantheon of musical innovators from multiple genres including Béla Fleck, Brad Mehldau, and Hilary Hahn. For more than 15 years, Thile played in the wildly popular band Nickel Creek, with which he released three albums, sold two million records, and was awarded a Grammy.

The New Yorker’s Alec Wilkinson said of Punch Brothers: “each musician has a deep command of his instrument … their technique and specific sensibilities have given Punch Brothers a sound that is strikingly coherent and singular, even if they haven’t yet settled on a genre … Each of the musicians … plays with grace, thoughtfulness, and force to a degree that is not duplicated by any band I am aware of.” Their latest album, the critically acclaimed Who’s Feeling Young Now?, was released in 2012 on Nonesuch Records.

ProductionCredits

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Produced by Edgar Meyer
Recorded and Mixed by Richard King
Recorded January 12–17, 2013, at The Barn, Washington, MA
Mastered by Robert C. Ludwig at Gateway Mastering Studios, Portland ME

Illustration by Oliver Jeffers
Design by Rory Jeffers
Photography by Ryan Mastro

Executive Producer: Robert Hurwitz

Nonesuch Selection Number

535360

Number of Discs in Set
1disc
Album Status
Artist Name
Chris Thile
MusicianDetails

MUSICIANS
Chris Thile, mandolin

Cover Art
UPC/Price
Label
CD+MP3
UPC
075597958645BUN
Label
MP3
Price
10.00
UPC
075597958638
Label
FLAC
Price
11.00
UPC
075597950854
Label
CD+MP3+Print
UPC
075597958645BUN
  • 535360

News & Reviews

  • Chris Thile returned to CBS Saturday Morning to perform for the first time with guitarist Billy Strings in a Saturday Sessions set of three songs: "Wild Bill Jones," "I Am a Pilgrim," and "I've Been All Around This World." You can watch all three performances here.

  • Chris Thile has announced his inaugural Acousticamp to take place July 30–August 3 at Glen Cove Mansion in Glen Cove, New York. For the four-day event, he and his fellow instructor/collaborators—including several Punch Brothers and Nickel Creek band mates—will explore the width and breadth of acoustic music practice, performance, and composition, anchored by but not limited to string band instruments and vernacular singing, buoyed by coffee and cocktails, all bookended by intimate concerts from Nickel Creek and Punch Brothers.

  • About This Album

    Nonesuch Records releases an album of three Bach works recorded by mandolin virtuoso and MacArthur Fellow Chris Thile on August 6, 2013. Bach: Sonatas and Partitas, Vol. 1 comprises three works written for solo violin: Sonata No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001; Partita No. 1 in B minor, BWV 1002; and Sonata No. 2 in A minor, BWV 1003. The album was produced by Thile’s friend, mentor, and frequent collaborator, the double bassist and composer Edgar Meyer. 

    Thile explains his connection to the composer: “Bach was my first meaningful experience with—for lack of a better word—classical music. It was the second recording of Glenn Gould playing the Goldberg Variations. Gould plays with the kind of rhythmic integrity that I had previously only associated with non-classical music: music with a groove, with a pocket, that made you move. Gould was playing that music like my heroes play fiddle tunes. It humanized the whole thing for me and the heavens opened up and Bach came down. I started devouring all the Bach I could get my hands on.”

    He continues, “This record to me is not about this iconic violin music played on the mandolin—like, ‘Oh boy, what fun, he’s playing a weird instrument!’ It's about Bach being one of the greatest musicians of all time, the solo violin music being some of his best work, and the mandolin having the potential to cast it in a new and hopefully interesting light."

    Chris Thile, whom London’s Independent calls “the most remarkable mandolinist in the world,” is the founding member and lead vocalist of Punch Brothers. With broad influences including progressive bluegrass, classical, rock, and jazz, Thile transcends the borders of conventionally circumscribed genres, creating a distinctly American canon and a new musical aesthetic. Thile will be touring this summer with Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, and Edgar Meyer, with whom he released last year’s The Goat Rodeo Sessions, which won two Grammys in 2013. 

    As a soloist, Thile has released five previous albums. In 2011, Nonesuch Records released the Grammy–nominated Sleep with One Eye Open, an album of duets with guitarist Michael Daves. Thile has also collaborated with a pantheon of musical innovators from multiple genres including Béla Fleck, Brad Mehldau, and Hilary Hahn. For more than 15 years, Thile played in the wildly popular band Nickel Creek, with which he released three albums, sold two million records, and was awarded a Grammy.

    The New Yorker’s Alec Wilkinson said of Punch Brothers: “each musician has a deep command of his instrument … their technique and specific sensibilities have given Punch Brothers a sound that is strikingly coherent and singular, even if they haven’t yet settled on a genre … Each of the musicians … plays with grace, thoughtfulness, and force to a degree that is not duplicated by any band I am aware of.” Their latest album, the critically acclaimed Who’s Feeling Young Now?, was released in 2012 on Nonesuch Records.

    Credits

    MUSICIANS
    Chris Thile, mandolin

    PRODUCTION CREDITS
    Produced by Edgar Meyer
    Recorded and Mixed by Richard King
    Recorded January 12–17, 2013, at The Barn, Washington, MA
    Mastered by Robert C. Ludwig at Gateway Mastering Studios, Portland ME

    Illustration by Oliver Jeffers
    Design by Rory Jeffers
    Photography by Ryan Mastro

    Executive Producer: Robert Hurwitz