Ana Vidović: Bach on Guitar
This performance of Bach’s Flute Partita, Corrente movement is my new favourite.
I was not previously familiar with the piece, but I haven’t been able to find a better rendition, and I am a new convert to the beauty of Bach on classical guitar.
As Ana says the voicing, especially the bass, comes out more clearly on a classical guitar. The plucking initiation of each note is more clean than the muffed hammer of a piano (let alone a flute) while the ability to vary the resonance and dynamics of each note is not possible on a harpsichord. This marriage of precision and emotion is what Bach performance means to me.
Ana is the consummate maestro. She shows superb technique and tonal balance of the combining voices. Corrente (a dance style) translates as “current” and her dynamics swept me along, especially in the building passages with progressing bass lines. Ana is a musician whose extreme proficiency and passion for the piece lifts her performance from control of an instrument to control of the listener. I found it deeply moving.