Mr. Totenberg was internationally recognized for his research in bowing and for his often featured “Bach Bow’’ which he adapted in collaboration with the California bow maker, John Bolander.
He studied music history with Kurt Sachs and Max Seifert at the Berlin Academy of Music where he was a violin student of Carl Flesch. Further studies were in Paris with George Enesco and Pierre Monteux.
In these recordings he performs on his “Ames” Stradivarius and François Tourte bow of the former Warburg collection.
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
SONATAS and PARTITAS for SOLO VIOLIN, BWV 1001-1006
Original LP: MHS 1460
SONATA in G MINOR, BWV 1001
I. Adagio - Fuga
II. Siciliana
III. Presto
III. Presto
PARTITA in B MINOR, BWV 1002
I. Allemande
II. Courante
III. Sarabande
IV. Tempo di Bourrée
Original LP: MHS 1461
SONATA in A MINOR, BWV 1003
I. Grave - Fuga
II. Andante
III. Allegro
PARTITA in D MINOR, BWV 1004
I. Allemande
II. Courante
III. Sarabande
IV. Gigue
V. Chaconne
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
SONATAS
and PARTITAS for SOLO VIOLIN, BWV 1001-1006
Original LP: MHS 1462
SONATA in C MAJOR, BWV 1005
I. Adagio - Fuga: Alla Breve
II. Largo
III. Allegro assai
PARTITA in E MAJOR, BWV 1006
I. Allemande
II. Loure
III. Gavotte en Rondeau
IV. Menuet I
V. Menuet II
VI. Bourrée
VII. Gigue
SOME THOUGHTS on PERFORMING the J. S. BACH SONATAS and PARTITAS for VIOLIN
ALONE
by ROMAN TOTENBERG
For many generations the six J. S, Bach Sonatas and Partitas for Violin Alone have been a paramount and unique source of study and musical enjoyment for violinists all over the world. Contrary to general belief, there were other outstanding baroque composers who wrote lovely music for unaccompanied violin. Among these were Pisendel, Geminiani, and Biber whose Pasacaglia may have been a prototype for Bach’s Ciaconne. It was Bach, however, who through the genius of his inventiveness and mastery of the idiom, was able to overcome the limitations of a melodic string instrument and thereby create the illusion of true polyphony. Musicological research has introduced much new understanding into performance practices of these compositions. This new insight has brought to light the element of
improvisation which we find in the earlier
Italian com posers. Improvisatory
practices were clearly explained in the English publication of Geminiani’s Art of Violin Playing (1751), and later we find a whole chapter de voted to ornamental techniques in Leopold Mozart’s School of Violin Playing (1756). Many essays on the art of playing viols, consorts, and violin have taught us the numerous possibilities of interpreting chords on string instruments. It is through such research that the standardized version of 19th century performances has become a thing of the past.
The most significant difference can be noticed in the arpeggiation of chords which, in the 19th century, were broken regularly in a ratio of two to two, or three to one. While in baroque times there was an infinite variety of execution. Most of the chords in these recordings are arpeggiated from bottom to top, following the usage of Bach’s contemporaries as suggested by Christopher Simpson in The Division Viol. This practice is also employed by today’s baroque virtuosi of the viol da gamba. It is only occasionally
that the melodic line is so well established in the middle or lower voices that one is obliged to use another way of arpeggiating, as Geminiani recommends in his Art of Violin Playing. In these performances some ornamentations and arpeggiandos are improvised and are certainly not meant to be the “only right way.” Generally speaking, the use of improvisation helps the performer sustain a fresh and lively interpretation and gives him a chance to mold his own inspiration with that of the Composer. It would suffice to compare the original versions of the Partitas and Sonatas with subsequent arrangements which Bach made for keyboard instruments in order to see how he used small changes in ornamentation to vary his interpretation. Furthermore, we can take into con sideration that this music was written for Bach’s contemporaries who were fine violinists, familiar with al1 the intricacies of their instrument and contemporary musical idiom, so much of which concerned itself with
ornamentation and improvisatory practices. It is thought that the Sonatas and Partitas may have been written for
Bach’s friend, the esteemed violinist and composer, Pisendel. Yet it is known that
Bach did not completely trust his contemporaries in respect to ornamentation. Contrary to the practice of the great Italian composers, he wrote out the ornamentation for his slow movements, giving us a marvelous heritage and example of how this should be done. For this reason, these movements must sound improvised, although the performer adds very little of his own figurations except for a few traditional notes and trills. Accordingly, the rhythmic values in these movements are to be taken as approximate, and not in the sense of 19th century precision where the mathematically pure division of a quarter note into eighths, sixteenths, and thirty seconds was considered to be an absolute prerequisite of a good performance.
While the Sonatas are in the form of church sonatas, the Partitas are sonatas
da camera, collections of dances. As such they demand a thorough knowledge of the historical development of the dance form of the period, indigenous particularly to France, Italy, Germany, and England. Naturally, in these dances tempi and rhythmical qualities are of prime importance. Dances under thc same title may have acquired quite different characteristics and speeds in different countries. For instance, the French courante and the Italian corrente evolved quite diversely. Bach had an extraordinary knowledge of the style of these countries, and he used this sophistication with masterly freedom. During Bach’s time the violin bow was not standardized. There was no one accepted norm for size, shape, or weight, and consequently an approximation of sound was all that could have been achieved. After extensive experimentation with Italian, French, and German baroque bows, it is my conclusion that the technique of playing baroque music, particularly the Solo Sonatas and Partitas, can be
adapted to modern instruments by the contemporary virtuoso, provided he is well
versed in baroque practices, and has developed a taste for the sound and style of the time.
Fortunately, we are in possession of a beautiful original manuscript of these
works. This manuscript, beside giving a marvelously clear picture of voice leading,
is very practically written, with all the page turns carefully arranged for the performer. It is living proof of Bach’s clear thinking and pragmatic approach to music making. Of course, there is much more to be said of the interpretation and performance of the Sonatas and Partitas which is too complex to entertain in this brief introduction. The fact remains that the fascination and revelation in performing and hearing this music lies in the artful use of the baroque tradition. In such a way one would hope for an end product which would sound not only beautiful, but also free and unstereotyped.
