Bach: The Sonatas and Partitas for solo Violin - Saskia Lethiec

Bach: The Sonatas and Partitas for solo Violin – Saskia Lethiec

CD1:
Johann Sebastian BACH: Violin Sonata No. 1 in G Minor, BWV 1001: I. Adagio – II. Fugue (Allegro) – III. Sicilienne – IV. Presto – Violin Partita No. 1 in B Minor, BWV 1002: I. Allemande – II. Double – III. Courante – IV. Double (Presto) – V. Sarabande – VI. Double I – VII. Tempo de bourrée – VIII. Double II – Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Minor, BWV 1003: I. Grave – II. Fugue – III. Andante – IV. Allegro.

CD2:
Johann Sebastian BACH: Violin Partita No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1004: I. Allemande – II. Courante – III. Sarabande – IV. Gigue – V. Chaconne – Violin Sonata No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1005: I. Adagio – II. Fugue – III. Largo – IV. Allegro Assai – Violin Partita No. 3 in E Major, BWV 1006: I. Prelude – II. Loure – III. Gavotte en rondeau – IV. Menuet I – V. Menuet II – VI. Bourrée – VII. Gigue.

Saskia Lethiec, Violin.

https://www.saskialethiec.com/

About the project

This year, 2025, marks the 325th anniversary of the death of Johann Sebastian Bach.
It is also the year of my fiftieth birthday, and I felt that it was the right moment in my musical journey to record the Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin, which have inspired and accompanied me musically since the age of 13.

I chose the church of Comps in the Drôme, a jewel of Romanesque architecture, built on a hill in the middle of nature.
For me, this place resonates perfectly with the interpretation of these works.

The natural reverberation brings out all the polyphonic interplay required by the writing and allows the microphones to capture the rich sound and timbre of my 1741 Louis Guersan violin with spun gut strings. The texture and attack of my bow, made by Craig Ryder in the late Baroque/early Classical period, also play an intimate role in shaping the discourse and highlighting the very subtle rhythmic interplay of the score.

All the conditions were in place to capture the violinistic expression of these Sonatas and Partitas, which I am deeply happy to share with you.

Many thanks
to Pascaline Dallemagne for co-producing and discovering this venue,
to Anton Xuereb for the sound engineering,
to Jacqueline Géron for her invaluable listening,
to Hélène Averous for the artwork that embellishes this booklet.

Saskia Lethiec

Saskia Lethiec, violin

A concert performer and professor of violin at the CRR in Versailles, Saskia Lethiec has been invited to play in the most beautiful venues in Europe, Asia, and Latin America (Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Philharmonie de Paris, Helsinki Philharmonic Hall, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Wiener Konzerthaus, Seoul National Center, Folles Journées de Nantes, Warsaw and Tokyo, Buenos Aires Theatro Gran Rex), at prestigious festivals (Pablo Casals, Guadalajara, Flâneries de Reims, Sceaux, Verbier), in various chamber music ensembles and as a soloist with orchestras (Simon Bolivar Orchestra of Caracas, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestre PACA de Cannes, North Portugal Orchestra, Orchestre de chambre de Toulouse).

Trained at the HEM in Geneva (J.P. Wallez), the CNSMD in Paris (G. Poulet), the Hochschule in Lübeck (Z. Bron) and Cologne (M. Martin), she was a semi-finalist in the Fritz Kreisler International Competition in Vienna, a finalist in the Georges Enesco International Competition in Bucharest and won third prize in the Ferras-Barbizet International Competition.

She has furthered her chamber music repertoire with such great masters as Alain Meunier, Walter Levin, Hatto Beyerle, and Günter Pichler for string quartet; Christian Ivaldi, Miriam Fried (Ravinia Festival), and Maurice Hasson for piano sonata; and Patrick Bismuth for Baroque music.

She has performed with the Lugha Quartet in the complete quartets of W.A. Mozart and in more than half of those of J. Haydn on classical bow.

She is the dedicatee of several works by contemporary composers (E. Canat de Chizy, P. Raynaud). The most recent premiere, Chants Haïku by K. Maratka, took place in July 2025 at the Nice Classic Festival.

She has recorded numerous albums, many of them with Jérôme Granjon, with whom she founded the Hoboken Trio and the Erard Festival.

They have received numerous awards from the press (Classica, Diapason, Le Monde).

VEL1759-1760 Booklet.pdf