Customer Reviews

Morimur

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This album attempts (and largely succeeds, in my opinion) to make clear to the listener what musicologists are exploring theoretically: that J.S. Bach used concepts of numerology to write a subtext within his Six Sonatas and Partitas for Violin.

The Six Sonatas and Partitas have long been a favorite of mine. Vocalists hold the vocal line of several familiar Chorales against the solo violin part, and demonstrate that Bach used the Chorales as an unheard cantus firmus for the solo violin part.

I enjoy this recording not only for the musicological exercise but because the end result is richly satisfying simply to the casual listener. It brings a whole new dimension to the Partita.
Often music theorists expound ideas which are visible only on the printed page, not audible to listeners, or at least not audible to other than highly specialized listeners. In this album, for once we get a chance to actually hear the results.

this is about as good as it gets and those who have criticized the violin playing ("shallow tone" etc.) probably just don't happen to like the sound of the baroque violin and the style in which it invites one to play it. the instruments played by your veghs, menuhins, heifetzes etc. have without exception been extensively tampered with since they left their makers' workbenches in order to produce the bigger but blander sound more suited to more recent music and preferred by many modern ears. a modern g, and i think, d string notwithstanding (see telltale photo), poppen is playing an instrument that more closely resembles what bach and near contemporaries such as antonio stradivari and guarneri del gesu would have recognised as a violin. a correspondingly "modern" approach to the singing would probably have disfigured bach's harmonies (exquisitely tuned by the hilliards) with pitch-altering vibrato - ugh!

The Austrian Monastary where this recording was made must have inspired the artists to achieve the results that are evident on this album. Pitch perfect four part vocals combine with Baroque violin to transport the listener to a spiritual place Bach surely intended. And I am not even particularly religious. Let it suffice to say, for anyone with a modicum of appreciation for harmony and melody, this music will provide much enjoyment.

"Morimur," as you can read (ad nauseum) on the rest of the page, is the product of an astonishing amount of Bach scholarship on the part of Professor Helga Thoene, a noted Bach scholar. It is important to note two things: 1) Thoene's research applies ONLY to the Partita II D Minor, not to the Six Solos from which it comes as a whole, and 2) The CD contains ONLY the Partita and associated chorales, NOT any of the other Six Solos. Morimur is a truly intriguing experience, quite unlike anything else in all of Bach's music. Thoene has reconstructed a number of "chorale fragments" within the monumental "Ciaccona" movement of the Partita, making the claim that the presence of these fragments in the music validates the belief that the Ciaccona was originally meant as a musical epitaph for Bach's first wife, Maria Barbara, who died suddenly and was buried while Bach was away. Thoene provides a number of musical examples from the score to the Ciaccona that demonstrate her theory in action, and these examples are critical for a layperson (such as myself) to come to an understanding of her theory (which can only be proven by studying the WRITTEN music, not listening to the Ciaccona itself). The disc contains the entire D Minor Partita, played wonderfully by Baroque violinist Christoph Poppen, as well as the associated chorales whose fragments appear in the Ciaccona, sung by the Hilliard Ensemble. The disc concludes with a magical second performance of the Ciaccona by Poppen (a completely different performance, not just a simple copy of his earlier, unaccompanied performance on the disc). As he plays this most difficult and monumental of string works, the Hilliards sing the chorale fragments atop his melody, putting Helga Thoene's research into practical use. The effect is dazzling and moving, opening new horizons for this piece that listeners will never forget. The Hilliards balance perfectly with the violin, never overwhelming it, but always making themselves heard. As for Poppen, he is wilfully expressive and brings a unique voice to the Ciaccona and to the Partita D Minor as a whole, and it is a shame that he has not recorded the remainder of the Six Solos. This is certainly a unique disc, one that will challenge the way many people view the Ciaccona and the omnipresence of symbolism in Bach's music.

It is well known that Bach was a mystical composer in the most Lutheran sense.

In this fabulous CD, the arduous studies of Helga Thoene in connecting the glorious Bach Chaconne in D minor to several of standard German church hymns are realized.

We hear each of the crucial hymns sung by themselves, interspersed with interludes of each of the famous Second Partita's movements played on the Solo Violin. The Finale is the coup de grace: the violin plays the final Chaconne once more - but this time the hymns are heard at the same time.

The result is one of great spirituality and profound subtleties and of the most enjoyable revelations of the music of Bach yet.

I recommend this to lovers of Bach, Hymns, Chorales, Violin music and mysticism. If it were possible to rate this higher than 5 stars, I would not hesitate. The singing is exquisitely sensitive as is the violin interpretation.

Being a classical novice (but I'm getting there), I have to say that the concept behind this recording is a bit over my head, but it sounds simply amazing. Combine a Bach violin partita with the "hidden" choral melodies that theoretically lie beneath it, and you have one of my favorite albums of 2001 (even though I didn't hear it until the following year).

Christopher Poppen's violin playing is indeed exquisite, but it isn't just the playing that moves me. The sound quality is unique and haunting -- it reverberates as if it were played in a large abandoned cathedral. It doesn't sound at all like a studio recording, giving it an eerie, "old world" authenticity. That may be an odd description, but it's the best I can come up with.

And the Hilliard Ensemble...wow. Once again, they sound flawless. The combination of their voices and Poppen's violin playing make for a winning combination. I love this disc!

Last but not least, praise must go out to ECM Records. Time after time they come out with beautifully packaged and beautiful sounding releases. They are one of the finest independent labels ever and are a significant factor in my somewhat recent increase in classical music purchases.

A lot of wonderful things have been written about "Morimur" and there's a reason for it. It's outstanding.

Beginning by quoting from the back of the album (which should have appeared in the Editorial Reviews in the first place):

"Ancient art has a specific inner content. At one time, art possessed the same purpose that books do in our day, namely: to preserve and transmit knowledge. In olden days, people did not write books, they incorporated their knowledge into works of art. We would find a great many ideas in the works of ancient art passed down to us, if only we knew how to read them." (G. Gurdjeff)

If you would have but one album of Johann Sebastian Bach (and I have many), this would be it. It captures the essence of the career and life and loves of the man. It has beauty, it has majesty, it has mystery and it has illusion. I regret that I don't know the German language, for I would be able to have a literal comprehension of this work. Notwithstanding that, by listening, I am back in the early Eighteenth Century and I can sense the profound love and loss of Maria Barbara and many of the children she bore him. Morimur is transcendence to another era in its purest sense.

This is a fascinating and deeply satisfying release which is based around Bach's Dm Partita for solo violin. Building on new research into the relationship of the Partita with a number of contemporary Choral works by Bach, this disc realises what is claimed to be an arrangement intended by Bach. This arrangement joins together the known and established Choral and Instrumental pieces to realise Bach's ideas more fully. As well as this the original versions are also presented so it is possible to compare the "before and after" versions.

So, how does it work? Well, undeniably it works very well and the results are sublime. The versions where the choir elements are overlaid on the instrumental pieces from the Partita are very powerful, very complex arrangements. It is clear that the thesis is more than adequately supported by the results.

It is instructive to remember that the music we have had handed down from Bach has gone through a tortuous process lasting over 250 years. Some of this music did not survive the long period of Bach's obscurity which lasted from his death in 1750 up to around 1900. That's 150 years in an age before the photocopier when printing was an expensive and low volume activity. Much of Bach's works are simply lost to us; a rather depressing thought. Bach frequently transcribed and rearranged his compositions from one instrument or group of instruments to another and it is quite likely that there were other settings of elements of the Partita. The central thesis behind this disc is therefore quite plausible and the significance of the Chaconne, being as it is connected to the death of his first wife, would lead it to being used in other instrumentations.

However, even without this new thesis linking the Choral works to the Partita this music is absolultely indispensable. The high point of the partita, "the" Chaconne, as it's generally called, is a glorious, emotional journey through Bach's creative mind at a time when he had just lost his first wife. This is music of the deepest most heart-felt beauty mixed with anguish. Every bar, every note of the Chaconne means something and adds something to this work. Can anyone who has heard it deny that the Chaconne is one of the greatest examples of musical art?

It is known that Bach was a gifted violinist and the level of understanding of the instrument that he brings to the solo violin composition is amazing. Who but Bach could have created such a deep, multi-level musical experience from what is effectively a single-toned instrument?

Using a baroque feel throughout, including a baroque violin this release endeavours to recreate the music as it would have been realised in Bach's day. I fully support this approach as we should always give Bach and his musicians the credit of putting forward his music in the best way; was he not, after all, the outstanding musical genius of his time or, as some would argue, of all time.

Buy this disc, lose yourself in the music and be in awe of the great master of the Baroque. His music transcends the centuries and reaches out to us in all its beauty and perfection.

What is extraordinary on this CD is Christoph Poppen's exposition of Bach. Profoundly "beautiful" yes, but more than that, it opened the door for me to Bach. Now, many Bach pieces later, by so many gifted people, I return to this site to recommend this work to others and to thank Mr. Poppen (and ECM).
It would be wonderful if he were to record ALL of Bach's sonatas/partitas for violin - with ECM. The quality of what he has achieved here calls out for that.

There are two ways you can listen to this recording: first, as an elegantly elegiac performance of Bach's Partita in D minor for solo violin, played by Christoph Poppen, interspersed with marvelously plaintive singing of several of Bach's chorale settings by the Hilliard Ensemble augmented by soprano Monica Mauch; second, as a challenging intellectual exercise, a musicological demonstration of the sources of the partita in phrases quoted from selected chorales, in the mystical lore of numerology, and in allusions to the seasonal 'feasts' of the Christian calendar. This "Bach Code" is elucidated very convincingly in the thick booklet that accompanies the CD, in essays by Herbert Glossner and Helga Thoene. And if your ears can't quite pick out of the Partita the elements of the code, the profound Ciaconna, 14 minutes long, is performed twice; on the second time, track 21, the Hilliards sing along with the violin, the precise quotations from chorales that constitute the melody of the Ciaconna concealed beneath the arpeggios and embellishments.

The number of reviews this performance has attracted is a fair indication of the defensiveness many modern listeners feel toward a historically-informed understanding of Bach's music. Some people need to be picked up and shaken, I guess. Believe me, if you work your mind and ears through this decryption of Bach's intentions, you WILL understand why I and others get so outraged at the naive post-romantic interpretations of Bach that do what might 'sound cool' to the notes but fail to feel the soul of the music. If only someone would do an comparable musicological exegesis of the Goldberg Variations -- and trust me, it could be done -- perhaps we could lay the sophomoric bludgeonings of certain pianists to blessed rest.

The evidence is good that Bach had written three of the six solo violin works as early as 1718, while he was happily employed by Prince Leopold in Anhalt-Coethen. Then, in 1720, Bach traveled with the Prince to Karlsbad for three months. When he came home, he found that his wife Maria Barbara had died and already been buried. The three partitas that he wrote soon thereafter, and especially the D minor, constituted a personal musical elegy for the woman whose death he deeply grieved. Hearing these sublime works for solo violin as a passionate expression of mourning, rather than an opportunity for fancy fiddling, changes one's appreciation of them quite profoundly.

Harking back to the simple pleasure of listening, I want to say that the addition of Monica Mauch to the Hilliard Ensemble is a stroke of genius, and I'd rush to buy any other recordings produced with that ensemble. Likewise, the expressive fiddling of Cristoph Poppen makes me long for a complete performance of all six sonatas/partitas under his bow.