The all ’round goodness of the historically informed performance movement gets strong reinforcement when modern artists like Dutch violinist Janine Jansen use its principles to put a compelling individual stamp on their music.

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John Terauds

John Terauds, Editor-Emeritus of Ludwig van Toronto, is currently a Divinity student at the University of Toronto and a church music director. He joined the Toronto Star in 1988, was the classical music critic from 2005 to 2012, and continues as a freelance critic for the paper. He is the co-author of Roy Thomson Hall: A Portrait, a book written with Toronto Star Colleague, William Littler.

Latest posts by John Terauds (see all)

• Classical Music 101: What Does A Conductor Do? - June 17, 2019
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Jansen’s new, all-Bach album on the Decca label percolates beguilingly from beginning to end, thanks to her spirited yet sensitive playing — and the help of 12 hand-picked collaborators. Jansen is clearly playing a modern instrument, but she wields her bow with the lightness and rhythmic sensitivity of the very best period performers — and her colleagues follow suit.

The material on the album is familiar and well-loved: the two Violin Concertos, in A minor, BWV 1041 and E Major, BWV 1042, and the third and fourth of the Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord, BWV 1016 & 1017, as well as the C minor Concerto for Violin and Oboe, BWV 1060 (with lovely work on the double-reed instrument by Ramón Ortega Quero).

Thanks to Tafelmusik, Torontonians have had regular opportunities to hear this music rendered in a historically sensitive way. There are also many recordings out there that embrace all performance styles. Jansen’s work stands out for its elegant clarity and the way in which she and her collaborators bring out lyrical side of J.S. Bach’s craft.

This is human Bach, not Bach the musical mathematician or self-conscious contrapuntalist. This is music with soul, given the breath of new life by a supremely talented soloist.

In short, this is one of the best new albums of the season.

Decca’s website and CD booklets are amazingly unhelpful, but you can start here anyway.

Here is a sampler:

John Terauds

• Author
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John Terauds

John Terauds, Editor-Emeritus of Ludwig van Toronto, is currently a Divinity student at the University of Toronto and a church music director. He joined the Toronto Star in 1988, was the classical music critic from 2005 to 2012, and continues as a freelance critic for the paper. He is the co-author of Roy Thomson Hall: A Portrait, a book written with Toronto Star Colleague, William Littler.

Latest posts by John Terauds (see all)

• Classical Music 101: What Does A Conductor Do? - June 17, 2019
• Classical Music 101 | What Does Period Instrument Mean? - May 6, 2019
• CLASSICAL MUSIC 101 | What Does It Mean To Be In Tune? - April 23, 2019