Thursday, December 2, 2010

The Friday Phonograph


Glenn Gould and Jaime Laredo
Form Perfect Union with Bach
Sonatas for Violin & Harpsichord

by Anne French



On this first Friday in December, I am happy to present a gift to devoted fans of Glenn Gould everywhere, as he teams up with violinist Jaime Laredo for a veritable feast of Bach sonatas written for violin and harpsichord. The stunning collection of sonatas (there are six in all) was recorded in 1975-1976 and only very recently appeared on YouTube. One individual who personally knew Jaime Laredo told me, "I remember when Jaime and Gould recorded the complete sonatas...I never met Gould, but Jaime said it was some experience to play with hum...I can just imagine...." Yes, "hum" is the appropriate word, as GG's hallmark humming is audible on some selections, but it doesn't detract one bit from this remarkable musical collaboration. It was hard to choose just one, but I finally settled on No. 4 in C minor BWV 1017. Enjoy!

2 comments:

Rodney Punt said...

Good one, Anne. Great combination musically and a nice lead in. Keep 'em coming.

Maja Trochimczyk said...

What a treat. After Louis Andriessen played it for me back in 1999, when I was working on the Andriessen book and interviewing him in Amsterdam, I got a CD of historical performance recordings of this sonata and played it so often it broke down! Since it was around Christmas time, it is now my Christmas music. As a result, I'm used to the sound of the baroque violin and harpsichord, but hearing this version really made my day!