Arthur Grumiaux

Arthur Grumiaux

I'm beyond words. It's frightening how the late Arthur Grumiaux had played the masterpieces of Bach. It's not the average recording which sounds soothing and enjoyable, but one that pierces straight through your defences and grabs your total attention. The solo violin partitas and sonatas may be secular works, yet his recordings made them absolutely divine and spiritual. This is a record which deserves a place in every music lover's collection.

Now that I've listened to such a legendary recording, it makes me feel a little sad for the level of the guitar isn't even close. I realised that it's the violin recordings which inspire me mostly to practise Bach and the recordings of Bach on the guitar are merely used for casual listening. But well, the guitar is beautiful in a different way. A beautiful note will not completely die off on the guitar, for it will linger on subconsciously in the listener's mind, while the next note will take its position. (I'll leave the debate on whether to allow the notes to sustain or be stop like how Bach wrote in his scores to some other time.) No, none of the violin's intensity, yet it provides the wonderful soothing and calming effect...