Janine Jansen: Bach Inventions & Partitia

The last movement of the Partita, the “Ciaconna” is a fifteen minute long hypnotic circledance deemed the ultimate test for each violinist. When Baiba Skride, for example, recently presented a stunningly clear rendition of the track on her debut CD, her career took off right away. With her own interpretation on “Bach Inventions & Partitia”, Janine Jansen now follows in the footsteps of the great with a piece for which she fostered almost too much respect: “I must have been playing the Partita for fifteen years, but when the time came to record it I was so overwhelmed by feelings of awe and respect that for a while I simply couldn’t put bow to string.”

Thanks to her producer and Maxim Rysanov, who happend to be present during her solo sessions as well, Janine Jansen finally got through this difficult phase and in the end found herself discovering new aspects of the piece even while performing it: “As I listened to the playbacks I discovered I was subtly changing my approach with each take in order to play more effectively for the microphone. I found myself changing the way I played chords, for example, so that I achieved the same kind of rounded tone quality I strive for when playing this remarkable piece in concert.” A short videoclip, shot as promotional footage to support “Bach Inventions & Partitia”, and featuring Janine Jansen playing the Ciaconna (freely available from her MySpace account) shows her passion and determination in finding the right angle.

The sessions between Janine Jansen, Maxim Rysanov and Torleif Thedéen were equally exploratory yet very relaxed at the same time. Friends and musical companions since first meeting at Spectrum Concerts Berlin, the trio has constantly been looking for a chance to record together, until the opportunity finally offered itself with the project of “Bach Inventions & Partitia”. For Janine Jansen, it is a perfect example of three instrumentalists getting together, having fun and pushing each other to the brink: “I think I learnt more about Bach in these five days than in my whole life.”

“Bach Inventions & Partitia” by Janine Jansen.will be released both as a CD Version by Decca as well as a digital version on iTunes (which will feature a bonus video for American customers).

Homepage: Janine Jansen
Homepage: Janine Jansen at MySpace
Homepage: Decca Classical Recordings