Violin Sonata in G major
BWV 1021 performed by Shunske Sato, Fred Jacobs,
Siebe Henstra and Lucia Swarts
TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht
Behind the music
Story
Story
Credits
Credits
Italian flamboyance
Music to be enjoyed with wine
That’s how it should be. At least that’s how Bach and his contemporaries saw it. Nowadays we always perform instrumental works like this violin sonata in concert halls. But in Bach’s day, this sort of music was played at elite dinners or parties given by musical friends. So pouring a glass of beer or wine with this chamber music is allowed – or even encouraged.
When Bach wrote this sonata, he had already been working for a while in Leipzig, where he provided for a large family. His sons were exceptionally gifted, and his second wife Anna Magdalena was extremely musical as well. She was also eager to learn, enthusiastically mastering the harpsichord and copying her husband’s pieces, which she apparently wanted to understand thoroughly. We only know of this piece through a copy she made.
Bach had already composed violin sonatas at the court of Köthen, in which the melody lines were given not just to the violin, but also to the harpsichord. That was exceptional, as the keyboard often had only an accompanying role in sonatas. In this sonata, recorded here for All of Bach during the festive programme Bach’s Brewery, the ‘normal’ situation is restored. The violin is given the melody and the other instruments (harpsichord, cello and theorbo) play only the bass line and the chords. So what we hear is a conventional, yet very flamboyant sonata in the Italian style par excellence.
- BWV
- 1021
- Title
- Violin Sonata in G major
- Instrument
- violin
- Genre
- chamber music
- Year
- ca. 1732
- City
- Leipzig
Extra videos
Vocal texts
Original
Translation
Credits
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- Release date
- 16 March 2023
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- Recording date
- 10 October 2020
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- Location
- TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht
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- Violin
- Shunske Sato
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- Cello
- Lucia Swarts
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- Theorbo
- Fred Jacobs
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- Harpsichord
- Siebe Henstra
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- Theatre concept, direction and design
- Thomas Höft
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- Film director and editor
- Bas Wielenga
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- Music recording
- Guido Tichelman, Bastiaan Kuijt, Pim van der Lee, Rob Strolenberg
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- Music edit and mix
- Guido Tichelman
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- Camera
- Wesley Schipper, Wouter Revier, Jochem Timmermans, Chiel Hooijman
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- Lights
- Zen Bloot
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- Assistant film director
- Ferenc Soeteman
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- Set technique
- Justin Mutsaerts
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- Project manager nep
- Ron Vermeulen
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- Assistant music recording
- Marloes Biermans
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- Producer concert
- Imke Deters
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- Producer film
- Jessie Verbrugh
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