Concert for 2 Violins, Strings and Basso continuo d minor, BWV 1043
Arrangement: Janoska Ensemble
Johann Sebastian Bach
Duration: 15'
Originally composed for two violins, this work is tailor-made for the Janoska Ensemble. It was a genuine jazz-meets-classic interpretation, probably the first since the legendary summit meeting between Stéphane Grappelli and Yehudi Menuhin. While Ondrej very closely follows the original, Roman improvises pretty much all the time. František dabbles with harmonies, some of them new. Julius takes over the basso continuo in all three movements, sometimes playing pizzicato, then bowing.
In this 1st movement one can very well locate the two different violins composed in dialogue or Bach's typical question-answer technique: exciting and new listening experience when one hears the "classical" question and shortly afterwards receives the "jazzy" answer...
The 2nd movement - probably one of the most beautiful movements ever written for two violins - shows the dialogue between classical and jazz violin particularly well: unbelievably, but almost imperceptibly Frantisek on piano, supported by Julius on bass creates new timbres in the form of jazzy chords and accompanying bass line. A movement for eternity!
The composition thrives on its groove: especially the third movement, which is in a jazzy 6/8 metre. Even the bass motif seems as though Bach is inviting the performers to improvise. If you were to make a film to this music, you would show two fencers dueling: That's how the Janoska Ensemble did it in a video clip by Universal - and the synergy between music and image was amazing…
