Bach: Sonatas and Partitas, Vol. 2

A virtuoso mandolin player, singer, composer, bandleader, and radio personality, US artist Chris Thile is one of the leading lights of progressive bluegrass. He also has a deep love of the music of J.S. Bach, and in 2013 released Vol. 1 of his take on the complete solo violin works. Twelve years later, in 2025, Thile has returned to finish the job, recording Partitas Nos. 2 (including the mighty “Chaconne”) and 3, and the Sonata No. 3. The mandolin’s clavichord-like intimacy and Thile’s astonishing virtuosity are seasoned with exuberant instrument slapping, foot stomping, sounds of nature, and some judicious additional musical ornamentation. All of which take Bach’s music into a magical realm, flying free of its time and place.