Practicing the Bach Double, or New Wine in Old Bottles

October 8, 2007, 8:31 PM · My violist friend and I finally have a date for playing the 2nd mvt. of the Bach double in church: December 2. We'd been talking about doing this for a while, and I want to thank v.com and v.commer Jennifer Warren for making it possible. Jennifer arranged the 2nd violin part for viola. As my friend is the real violist of the two of us, she will be playing the viola part, and I'm going to be playing the 1st violin part. On the violin. My friend had seen a viola part on the web already last spring but said it wasn't very viola-friendly. We ended up tabling the idea until Jennifer's arrangement became available.

So, I guess one could fairly ask, why do this at all? Bach wrote the piece for two violins, not for violin and viola. And I have to admit, the first time I heard the 2nd violin part on viola, it was a little jarring. Here in the 2nd movement, it starts an octave down from what I'm used to, and, well, it's a little weird the first time through. But I want to bear with this and give it a try anyway. I don't feel that I'm mature enough or that my reactions are mature enough to dismiss it out of hand. I may come to the conclusion that it's better on two violins after all, or I may be invigorated by the experiment. This is a UU church we're playing in, and Unitarian-Universalist ministers like to play around with the "new wine in old bottles" metaphor. The bottles and/or the wine don't always end up spoiled in the attempt.

So I'm struggling a little bit, but not in a bad way, with how I should play my own part. I first learned the piece in 1978: it says so on the music, in my then-teacher's handwriting. 10/31/78 is written there right after letter B. An interesting Halloween that must have been. I was 13. I actually still went trick-or-treating that year--with my orchestra stand partner. And Jennifer Warren wasn't even born yet.

Okay, enough distractions, it's time to get serious. I'm supposed to be practicing. Heifetz, is he serious enough? Heifetz, on YouTube, playing with Friedman, plays the 1st violin part as my teacher had me do it: lots of shifting up and down on the A - string.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXRlnO3K3hk

But a recording I recently downloaded, with Elizabeth Wallfisch and Allison Bury, seems to do it differently. Since I've probably offended all the purists already with this violin-viola business, I might as well go all out and be honest and say I prefer this Wallfisch/Bury recording to the Heifetz one. It looks like it's an "authentic" period recording, trying to capture the Baroque style as period musicians would have played it. To my ear, this sounds cleaner and sharper, with less vibrato and more on the E - string.

This is how I want to play it too, and my violin seems to concur. Its best range is on the A and E. It has a sweet, clear, bell-like tone on those strings. This is not a viola sound, and perhaps that's the point. But on the other hand, maybe it would be better to play my part more on the A-string and lower, when possible, because it would blend better with the viola part that way. Contrast or blending, contrast or blending?

Already I'm thinking about this much more deeply than I ever did in 1978, and it seems to me that's all to the good.

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Stephen Brivati

October 9, 2007 at 04:07 AM · Greetings,

you have highlighted a very significant aspect of Heifetz art: he tended to keep phrases on one stirng, just going highe ran dhigher. Very much part of his sound. Of all the Heifetz recordings my leats favorite is the Bach double recorded with himslef. Yes, I would rathe rlisten to Manze.

Cheers,

Buri

Pauline Lerner

October 9, 2007 at 04:58 AM · Karen, thanks for posting the link to Heifetz's performance. Heifetz and his student seemed to play together seamlessly. I haven't played this piece seriously in years, but I listen to recordings frequently and play a little of it from time to time. The way I was taught it, probably at about age 13, sticks with me, and it may be good to make some changes. Heifetz did some things differently than I do, including bowing and glissando. Also, as Buri pointed out, he liked to keep playing on one string, just shifting higher. I will study that clip. There is so much to learn from it. The first movement of this concerto is in Suzuki Book 5, and I'm looking forward to playing it with one of my students.

I've been playing violin with a violist recently, having lots of fun. Sometimes she tries to play the second violin part in different ways -- playing the notes as written, playing them an octave lower, or other variations. When she plays in third or fourth position on the A string, we both tend not to like the sound. It's a lot of fun trying things and figuring out what we do and don't like. I think the depth and richness of the viola complement the violin so well. I've become so fond of the sound of the viola and it's "linking" properties, that I'm almost tempted to learn to play it. If my friend is interested, I will ask Jennifer for her transcription, too.

Tom Holzman

October 9, 2007 at 04:20 PM · It is important to experiment as you are doing, whether or not the A-415 crowd likes it or not. Some experiments of this type work, and some do not (I particularly hate the substitution of violin for clarinet in Beethoven's opus 11 trio). If it works for you, that is the test. Keep at it and good luck!

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Practicing the Bach Double, or New Wine in Old Bottles

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