Violin and mandolin in the castle of heaven

I have been listening to a CD I recently bought with Jascha Heifetz playing Bach's violin sonatas and partitas. They call Heifetz "God's fiddler" and he is certainly the greatest violinist in my (obviously limited) ken. His renditions of the Bach pieces were all I expected. But, what may be even more remarkable is that the renditions of these pieces by the gifted young mandolinist, Chris Thiele, compare favorably with those of the great fiddler.

I have been on a Bach jag for quite some time now, listening to as much of the music of the great composer as I can. And, obviously, I consider Heifetz divine. But, I had never listened to the combination of Heifetz playing the Bach sonatas and partitas. In fact, I had never (to my great shame) listened to all the Bach sonatas and partitas. And my experience of Heifetz came rather through the great romantic and heroic violin concertos of Beethoven, Brahms, and Felix Mendelsohn.

So, instead of coming to the Bach pieces through Heifetz, I happened to buy Thiele's CD last year and listened to all the Bach pieces together for the first time in his brilliant interpretation on the mandolin. I immediately recognized that Thiele, like a Heifetz, was the best player of his instrument for the last, say, 100 odd years or so.

But, now I have bought the Heifetz CD and I find it stunning. But, I find that I am appreciating the Heifetz renditions of the Bach pieces all the more because I am so familiar with them from having listened to Thiele play them with such feeling, virtuosity, and verve.

Heifetz and Thiele. Each is the great modern master of his own respective instrument. Each does things with his instrument that do not seem possible for mere mortals. And when you put such virtuosity together with the Bible (as Heifetz called Bach), you surely end up with music in the castle of heaven.

BTW, for a wholly unique record of musical genius, you can listen to and watch Heifetz play the Chaconne from the Bach Violin Partita in D minor here. (I love the "Take one!" at the beginning of the tape. Did the technician think that God's fiddler was going to require more than one take?)