Recitals from home
Bach & Ysaÿe
When the concert halls of the world closed in the middle of March, I, like all performing musicians, found myself in a strange new world, with no opportunities to share music and no artistic outlet. I was completely unprepared to share music from my home, having no recording equipment and, just as importantly, no understanding of the process! When I was contacted by several European festivals to create some content for online events, I reached out to some friends in the recording world for advice, and made an investment in some microphones (Telefunken M60 Master Set), an audio interface (Audient iD44), a few tripods and a studio light. I was delighted to discover that my living room made a rather nice recording studio, and my and my wife’s iPhones made perfectly acceptable cameras (Filmic Pro is an app that has my absolute highest recommendation).
While giving some online masterclasses in April, I found myself telling students over and over to create their own opportunities to share their music, and how that was more important than ever during these unprecedented times. I realized that for me as well, making my own opportunities was tremendously important, not just to keep artistically engaged, but also to hopefully find a model that can be sustainable for performing musicians during this extended time of upheaval in the industry.
The Bach 6 Sonatas and Partitas and the 6 Sonatas of Ysaÿe are, of course, two of the most important cornerstones in the solo violin repertoire, and I’ve felt tremendously lucky during this time of musical isolation to have this music in my life. I first recorded the Bach Sonatas and Partitas twenty years ago, and had been thinking for the past several years that it might be a good idea to revisit them. I would never have expected I’d end up recording them in my living room. And being able to record the Ysaÿe Sonatas, pieces that have been dear to me for many years, for the first time, has been a joy.
It was important for me to do this project only if I could do it without any artistic compromises. While all the work on location was done only by me and my wife, I have been fortunate to partner with some of the best people in the audiovisual industry for remote post-production. Many, many thanks to audio producer Simon Kiln, and video producers Richard Wilson, Benjamin Ealovega, and Ed Beck. Many thanks as well to my wonderful team at Intermusica Artists’ Management, whose support, advice, and enthusiasm has been invaluable.
This project has been made entirely without outside funding or sponsorship. It is important to me to see if I can create a workable business model for sharing performances directly with music lovers. All financial risk is my own.
It has been a great pleasure to spend the last 4 weeks immersed in the music of Bach and Ysaÿe, and I’m tremendously grateful to my family for putting up with my dismantling of the living room, my middle-of-the-night recording sessions (the only time when noise isn’t an issue), and the all-consuming effort it has taken to put this all together.
James Ehnes
June 23, 2020
Individual episodes are $10 for 48 hour rental, $20 for purchase. Complete series can be purchased for $120, or rented for $60 with a one-week rental period. Group student discounts are available; please contact jbarra@intermusica.co.uk for more information.
