This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution7NonCommercial7ShareAlike 4.0 International License J.S. BACH 6 Sonatas & Partitas for Solo Violin With technical indications and comments by George Enescu, collected and edited by Serge Blanc During the years of instruction he received from Maestro George Enescu, Serge Blanc noted and collected technical and interpretive indications for what Enescu called « The Himalayas of violinists »: the Sonatas & Partitas for solo violin by Johann Sebastian Bach. This exceptional document brings together these notes which concern sonority, phrasing, tempo, fingering, and expression. It is the culmination of the life’s work of a master considered as one of the greatest interpreters of this work. After having taught his own students for more than half a century, Serge Blanc wished to pass on to future generations of violinists the valuable guidance of George Enescu by collecting and commenting on his notes. This document, as well as Serge Blanc's recordings with Enescu are available free on www.sergeblanc.com PREFACE .............................................................................................................................................. 3 SONATA I (BWV 1001) ............................................................................................................ 6 PARTITA I (BWV 1002) ....................................................................................................... 19 SONATA II (BWV 1003) ....................................................................................................... 32 PARTITA II (BWV 1004) ..................................................................................................... 43 SONATA III (BWV 1005) ..................................................................................................... 63 PARTITA III (BWV 1006) ................................................................................................... 78 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................. 89 Preface It is common knowledge that the Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin of JS Bach were the daily bread of George Enescu, as they are for any musician who recognizes their value and necessity to their culture. He considered these masterpieces as «the Himalayas of violinists» of which he was one of the greatest of the twentieth century! He studied and taught this music all his life, both as a great performer with his reflection on all the technical problems posed by these particularly difficult works, but especially from the point of view of the brilliant composer that he was, understanding as well what this music expressed from the greatest musician of all time: JS Bach! It was first and foremost necessary for George Enescu to transmit to future generations the wealth of his research, artistic, cultural and technical, that he had carried out and tested through his own magnificent career as a violinist alongside the career which mattered most to him, composer. Once George Enescu returned to France in 1947 and decided to give lessons again, I had the opportunity to take them for five years, after which he offered me the unique opportunity to give a recital of the Sonatas with him at the piano! It was the chance of a lifetime. During those five years, I had collected an enormous amount of his teachings, especially regarding what he considered the essential of musical culture: JS Bach! I could not imagine at the time that the treasure he had passed to me, and to all his students (whom he modestly called his «colleagues»!), would serve me all my life as a musician... because it is only through experience that we understand what is contained in these works essential to the culture of any musician who plays a string instrument (violin, viola or cello). It is no coincidence that all the great artists playing these instruments have spent their lives studying and playing these pieces throughout their careers... indeed reediting them in their own manner. But though George Enescu played, taught, and recorded them often... there is unfortunately no edition revealing his precise indications and his abundant comments! One should be aware of the hardships that faced him at the time; he was over sixty years old and suffered from a serious disease of the spinal column, and he had lost at the same time all his possesions and his beloved homeland: Romania! During the 55 years that followed, I continued thinking about the precious fruits of the education that I had received from this great master, learning how to pass on in my turn what I had received, passing on to each of my students the information that he had generously given to me in order to help them understand and interpret these pieces. Proper tone, phrasing, musicality expressed in an artistic or intimate way, are the results obtained through a strict application of information and commentary gathered by patience and fierce determination! For example concerning tempi advised by Enescu and shown at the beginning of each piece in this edition, he established these according to the indications given by the hand of JS Bach. This single indication is essential... but is not in any edition. But when a young student (or teacher!) approaches these works for the first time, they cannot have this knowledge innately... Only later experience will eventually allow them to make their own interpretation and personal changes, having first understood the essential foundation thanks to proven sources. It is the precious inheritance received by George Enescu that justifies the title Educational Edition that I have chosen. Serge Blanc Sonata I BWV 1001 Sonata I BWV 1001 ADAGIO (Prelude) Imagine the gate of a cathedral Clearly the mind and soul of George Enescu were stimulated by poetic imagery which inspired his musical genius... See in particular his Childhood Reminiscences written in full maturity. His constant revisiting of the Sonatas and Partitas by JS Bach throughout his life as a musician-composer-performer-teacher thus underwent the lasting effect of this imagery, and every valuable piece of this monument to the human spirit evoked for him a precise poetic vision that deeply marked his personal interpretation and therefore his teaching. I cannot forget the particular effect that marked his face and his musical demonstration at the piano when he wanted to communicate a particular interpretation. That of the first opening Adagio, such a majestic Cathedral gate, this fabulous treasure of the human mind that are these Sonatas and Partitas that follow, was particularly striking. Every time I happen to pass by the majestic door of Notre-Dame de Paris, the same emotion seizes me by the throat as when I interpret this sacred work... or teach it! Technically speaking, this means the search for a wide and beautiful sound, made possible by the use of great bow length and the observation of Enescu’s indications in this direction. I honestly think that this evocative power left a particular mark above all on the personality of George Enescu and that his students loved to submerse themselves in it. They felt that their artistic life would be influenced and enriched in a profound way. We only had to let ourselves be carried along by the unforgettable memory, and then carry out the years of work that we would have to fulfill in order to approach as close as possible that level. Regarding this first work, one must above all follow with great precision the rhythmic contours so clearly expressed by the hand of this demigod who was its author. It is commonly known as a written improvisation... and it is. But that of JS Bach and not just any performer who dares to take it up. If we carefully observe the details of its rhythms, precise to the hundred twenty-eighth note, we must recognize that we have no more right to change a note value than to change a detail of a much admired Rembrandt or a Michelangelo. But a musical work must also undergo the special handling of each performer as it cannot stay in manuscript form... This is where the personality, more or less cultivated and respectfully intelligent of each artist who dares to approach, intervenes. We must therefore start by trying to understand every detail conveyed by the author and not spare any time or trouble in finding the exact phrase. This requires a lifetime, but what enrichment for the one who glimpses the infinite beauty. Next >