Mark Fewer
violin
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Unusual, enlightening toe-tappin' BAch
May 2, 2010, 12:00 am
Edition 1 - StateSAT 01 MAY 2010, Page 040
Unusual, enlightening toe-tappin' Bach
By Elizabeth Silsbury
Mark Fewer
MUSIC
When: Tuesday
Where: St Peter's
Reviewer: Elizabeth Silsbury
CANADIAN violinist Mark Fewer seemed to be drawing a long bow. Irish
fiddle tunes as an interpretative source for J.S. Bach's revered
unaccompanied violin masterpieces?
Not much evidence for his claim in the opening Allemanda of Partita no
2, but come the Corrente, the fiddler kicked up his heels and our toes
began to twitch.
A prestissimo Giga settled any remaining doubts, and even the final
Ciaccona sparkled with vivacity more redolent of the countryside than
the salon.
Next up another Partita for solo violin, a fierce and fearsome
virtuoso piece composed in 1993 by compatriot Chris Paul Harman. Fewer
said it is about the note D wanting to be the note E and is as hard as
stink.
Clambering up from D to D sharp to E equalled scaling Everest.
In the skilled hands of this highly accomplished player, the
Passacaglia of Heinrich Biber proved its composer as rich in invention
for his time as was Bach, 40 years later.
Umpteen repetitions of just four descending, minor flavoured notes,
were elaborated above, below and around with realisations that probed
into their myriad harmonic possibilities.
Finally, minor conceded to major in an angelic arpeggio, rounding off
an unusually enlightening recital.
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