Lara St. John

I LOVE LISTENING TO THIS CD. IT GIVES ME ENERGY AND IS VERY UPLIFTING. SO MUCH TALENT. I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS TO ANYONE. I HAVE NEVER HEARD ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE. IT IS FANTASTIC.

I found this CD while looking for violin music for my grand-daughter who's studying violin. I was completely blown away by the varieties included on the CD.
It is a wonderful blend of classical,medleys,dances,reels, jazz,Celtic pieces, reels,jazz,and western, all performed by leading artists who provide their talents and interpretations to enhance your enjoyment.
Your feet will tap, your ears delighted to 17 selections you will want to play over and over again.

This is a great CD which invokes wonderful memories of the show. My wife and I took our son last year and became fans. We saw Lara St. John perform recently and already have tickets for the next Bowfire show in our area 4 months in advance.

There's not a bad track on this CD. Don't miss track 14 "Galloping Horses" featuring George Gao on the Chinese urhu. It blew me away and became an instant all time favorite when I saw it performed . I play it all the time.

I saw them in concert and was blown away by them! A fantastic mix of different genres of music all played exceptionally well. Very catchy, upbeat songs that you will not tire of. If you get the opportunity to see them in concert - go -- the CD, although good, doesn't do them justice!!

This is a terrific representation of what these super-talented musicians can do. Each note, phrase & passage is produced with emotion you can almost see pouring out of the speakers. If they're in your area, it is a show you should not miss!! And if you can't see 'em, you need to own this cd!!

I kind of hate to rain on the parade of 5 star reviews, but in my opinion, this is just a good -- NOT notable -- version of Bach's sonatas and partitas.

I'm very familiar with releases of the complete sonatas and partitas by Itzhak Perlman, Nathan Milstein, and Henryk Szeryng. In my opinion, Szeryng's version (Label: Deutsche Grammophon ASIN: B000001GXY) is best, followed closely by Milstein (Label: Deutsche Grammophon ASIN: B000001H00). Perlman's is quite good, although I think his playing is a bit too "clean" and "Classical" for these Baroque works.

Additionally, on "Hilary Hahn Plays Bach" are the second and third partitas and the third sonata, and on "J.S. Bach: Violin Concertos; 3 Partitas" are Viktoria Mullova's version of the partitas. Hahn's version of Partita 2 is OK, though her tempo on the Ciaccona is way too slow. I like Mullova's partitas at least as much as Perlman's, because they're played beautifully, and her "take" on them is quite different from the others.

I would place St. John's version slightly below Hilary Hahn's, at the bottom of this list. St. John is unquestionably a gifted violinist, but her playing is flawed in places, she doesn't establish any sort of "mood", and this release doesn't compare well with Szeryng's and Milstein's versions of these works, which are simply phenomenal.

So please take all these 5 star reviews with a grain of salt. These performances are good, but there are many that are better.

This is a technically brilliant and artistically moving performance of Bach's classic works for the solo violin. Listen to the sample of track 10 on Disc 2 or Track 12 on Disc 1 and you'll get a sense for what I mean.

I am not in position to compare Ms. St. John's interpretation of this oft recorded work with others on the market. However, I can say that she plays with a superior freshness, energy, and flair. Her love for these pieces shines through. I've had this recording for over six months and it remains one of my favorites.

As for the music itself, I was surprised at its depth and variation of tempos, harmonies, dynamics, and textures. Although written for a solo instrument, these partitas and sonatas are far beyond mere technical exercises or the predictable baroque machine gun of sixteenth notes in four or eight bar phrases. This music has fits and starts, bursts of energy and periods of contemplation, and chords and harmonies that range from pristine to anguished. In short, this is *great* music. If these pieces or this style is new to you, it might take a few listens, but rest assured you WILL become absorbed and fascinated by this beautiful music.

Hope this helps. Enjoy!

Lara St. John is a superb violinist and a great intrepreter of Bach. I've been listening to Hillary Hahn play the same pieces and she is wonderful, too. But Lara has more "oomph" and sounds less technically motivated than Hahn. I mean no disparagement to Hahn here. St. John has the capacity to infuse high emotion into some very technically challenging solo violin pieces by the master. Much like Yo Yo Ma opened up a new audience to Bach's Cello Concerto's, St. John is doing the same for the solo Violin masterpieces of Bach.

Master musicians first learn the technique perfecting it to a high degree of precision, especially when playing Bach then they add the emotion to it. This is exceedingly difficult and only the greatest players pull it off convincingly. To say that St. John's Bach Violin work is "sweet" or "rapturous" would be close to the truth but something of an understatement. Listening to this music is like enjoying a fine wine, just a little bit can take you to lovely, stunning places that only the great master JS Bach could create. Bach was a gift to the world just as great players are such as St. John.

The CD artwork shows an oceanside view with St. John standing on the shore, confidently holding her violin. It's as if she's preparing the listener for the great voyage with Bach to wherever the listener's mind is led by the music. Flawless and stunning, Ms. St. John is a superb Bach violinist.

Although I regularly review my personal favourite violinists Julia Fischer's and Hilary Hahn's latest recordings (which I adore so much!), I must say that I am so impressed by and happy about the great musicality - besides all technical abilities these Bach works for Solo Violin bear - LARA ST. JOHN manages to express in this her latest recording. So I decided to write a review about her very great CD as well!

As a "collector" of Bach works for Solo Violin (and Goldberg Variations) I try to get as many recordings of Bach for Solo Violin (and of his Goldberg Variations) as I can get - so I lukily came to this one as well as to LARA ST. JOHN'S very first Bach recording for Solo Violin, and I find it truly even more expressive and more mature than her first recording of the same pieces (which I really like and recommend as well). This recording has therefore now become one of my few personal favourite recordings of Bach for Solo Violin. Very well-done LARA ST. JOHN!

In short, this recording bears everything in it: LARA ST. JOHN expresses with much intenlligence a deep warmth, intensity and power and reaches a superb level of musicality which makes this recording examplary for other violinists. Her phrasings are shaped with liveliness and much spirit and bring out a great level of inspiration and imagination.

Besides, I also really love the CD cover and booklet; this is really artistically designed (unlike so many other classical CD covers and booklets). For example, the dress she wears on the cover matches the colours of the letters of "Violin Solo" and her name (orange), which "connects" the main parts of this CD programme to a unit, and in the inside of the CD cover there is a red background and LARA wears a red dress - how matching! And one CD is coloured orange, the other one red. So, this CD is, as I think, a perfect example of how to produce a superb CD (cover/booklet) design! (Deutsche Grammophone and Pentatone - this is how it's done!) So, congratulations to the designer(s) of it!

In conclusion, it is a great experience and pleasure and a great delight listing to these two CDs of wonderful recordings of Bach's works for Solo Violin! Five stars for LARA ST. JOHN, actually even more stars..., same for the designer(s) of the CD cover and booklet!


Please also see LARA ST. JOHN'S first BACH Solo Violin recording:
Bach Works for Violin Solo

A superb rendition by Canada's most beautiful Violinist & Violin
Play the discs sit back and listen. My words could not describe the
sensation - You just have to buy it and listen.

It is certainly the best recording yet from Lara St John - with an
integrated informative 18 page booklet and some nice photo's of
Ms St John this 2 disc recording is a must for all lovers of Bach,
The Violin, Classical music & Ms St John.

The only negative I have is the 'GREEN' slip Card Packaging
CDs should be in plastic Jewel cases - end of story.
These 2 discs should actually be in a Titanium one - It is that good !

There are those who still do not like Glenn Gould becuase "you do not play Bach like that". I am so tired of hearing pedantic musicians put down interpretations that are fresh and full of energy. Yes, Lara is very young and attractive. Great. I detect more than a little envy in some of the reviews. Good for you Lara. Be your own musician and continue on what you are doing. I love your performances and recommend them highly. And yes I have heard lots of other performers do Bach. I manage to get something out of most of them. The world needs more Lara St. Johns!

Interesting that Hilary Hahn and Lara both took a bachelors at the Curtis School of Music.

Also both were concertizing early in life.

Also Hahn's first recording was Bach solo violin.


I haven't heard this CD (but probably will order it) so don't pay attention to my three stars review. .

I confess that I was curios about the debate related to the cover photo, so I bought this recording. I liked the photographs, textbook and recording quality is also good.

Lara St. John is neat, has a high-quality instrument and it is evident that she has remarkable technical skill. In the recording, partita is generally played "fast", hurrying to catch something (I don't know what). And in a point to hurry, Ms. St. John slows down. Generally her tempo and nuances do not follow the emotional stress in the music. In many places she focuses plain musical text, rather than Partita or Bach. I'm afraid famous "German spirit" is missing in Ciaccona. I absolutely do not agree with reviewers that generously praise her, and give 5 stars. In my opinion recording gets 3 over 5. (I believe it is fair in European standarts) I may try Romantic composers from Ms. St. John. She's 'good', but Partita needs more than being 'good' I guess.

It's interesting that a recording this mundane could generate any controversy at all, but that's what you get when stick a nekkid girl on the album cover, I guess. I could care less about the cover --- it isn't as though Lara St. John is the only one doing this right now. That kind of marketing will get you noticed in the short run, but this really is a case of the proof being in the pudding.

The sad truth of the matter is that Lara St. John has turned in a very pedantic, paint-by-numbers performance. There is no no depth here...noone will come away from this with any new insights into Bach's music. The tone is good enough, but the interpretation is bland as bland can be. Aside from the occasional stray note and an undisciplined vibrato that sometimes gets away from her, there is nothing in St. John's performance that sets her apart from the thousands of conservatory students who play solo Bach every day.

But she is nekkid on the cover. Nekkid is good, right? Download a picture of Lara, frame it & stick it on your wall. Then listen to Grumiaux, Szigeti or Szeryng (none of whom would I want to see nekkid) give Bach the treatment he deserves.

I would think a crowd as sophisticated and worldly as classical music fans believe themselves to be, would not be so scandalized by a young woman apparently wearing only a violin on her album cover, but I guess I expect too much. Heaven forbid a classical artist try to show a little creativity in her album art!

I have seen many a baroque album with a painting of the same era on the cover, featuring women, sometimes even children, with exposed breasts or genitalia, but this, apparently, is art, while a modern young woman showing less flesh than your average bikini should is shameful and disgusting. The only ones who should feel ashamed are those listeners who apparently are so revolted by a woman's body that the site of bare shoulders sends them into fits.

Let me explain this to everybody just once. This CD is "naked" Bach. Get it? No piano accompaniment, nothing else but naked violin, naked music, naked emotion. Lara's technique, while not perfect, is great and she has a knack for bringing out the passion in this music more than her peers, many of whom excel technically, but fail emotionally.

My only complaint is the price of the CD compared to the amount of music on the disc. There is only 55 minutes worth of music on here, barely half of the capacity of a CD. Surely some brief Bach solo violin work could have been found to fill out the remaining 25 minutes. But otherwise a great CD I highly recommend.

Gypsy

How cool is that? The champion of the 2008 USA Olympic Team, gold medal winning gymnast Nastia Liukin used this CD, the song 'Variations on Dark Eyes,' as her floor routine music. Arranged by the pianist on this recording, Ilan Rechtman. Fabulous!

Not what I thought it would be according the the jacket. Very limp and not a gypsy verve that would attend with a CD title like that

Overall, this wasn't a bad album, just a silly one. Most of these "gypsy" themed confections are throwaway encore pieces anyway, and one really cannot fill an album with nothing but encores. Thus, a few genuinely weighty compositions from Ravel & Bartok are necessary to fill out the album as a whole.

Sadly, she struggles at times with the Tzigane and gives an interpretation that I did not care for at all. What appears to be some overly close miking did not help matters, as one can at times hear her fingers hitting the strings & fingerboard, as well as occasional scratchy bowing.

The Bartok, however --- this gives me hope that perhaps some day Lara St. John can get away from dippy albums such as this and concentrate on making some real music. There is real, honest-to-goodness musical sophistacation to be found here. Why can't she do this all of the time?

Its fair to say that violinist Lara St. John projects a public image that can be described as provocative, daring, uninhibited and free-spirited (forget the open top here - check out the bold leather blazer, confident hand on hip, daring look in her eyes and violin at the ready). While such an attitude may not be to the taste of all, it would seem ideally suited for bringing out the drama and passion of Gypsy-inspired music - a genre of music definately not for the timid or academic-at-heart.

Indeed such music is far from the formal restraints of Bach which this Canadian violinist first made her mark. But judging from the tantilizing result here, Miss St. John's personna and talents are a great match for this music. Also a factor must have been her frequent trips in her youth to the epicenters of this tradition - Russia, Yugoslavia and Hungary - which perhaps awakened the Gypsy-within. Regardless, she is stellar in this Gypsy repertoire on this CD - as is her musical partner, Israeli pianist Ilan Rechtman.

While more-aquainted with music from Bach to Brahms, I was not too familar with the music of this genre before hearing this CD - so I had no idea what to expect. And I also cannot say how her readings here compare to X, Y or Z. But, I have to say most every piece on the CD caught my interest and admiration and jazzed me. While Miss St. John is the cover star of this recording, pianist Rechtman is equally engaging from the piano. I was impressed with his clear sense of direction and non-intrusive flair in the music - and especially his three original arrangements (the Gypsy Nocturne being particularly poetic and moving).

St. John and Rechtman show wonderful synergy here with crisp ensemble, elegance when needed (Chornye) and with the right intensity and bravura to ignite the spirit behind the compositions. Showmanship is a big part of Gypsy, and both these musicians step up confidently - but not in an annoying way - producing a most electrifying and satisfying result. St. John brings great nuance of color, inflection and flair to her lines that are sung with a similtaneous gorgeous and evocative quality (in Ravel and Bartok especially). Equally fascinating is her harmonics, pizacatto and bowing subtleties in Sarasate's "Zigeunerweisen" that are downright mezmerizing. Whether all indididual touches are part of the score, I am not entirely sure; but it seems vituoso diversions are inherent in such music.

I found each work musically fascinating, tonally gorgeous and with the ability to hold you in suspense throughout the piece. The range of selections is excellent: from the serene and rhapsodic "Gypsy Nocturne" ... to the graceful lyricism of Kriesler ... to the virtuostic and passionate Sarasate piece ... to the curiously-emotive modern works from Bartok and Ravel. The quirky Bartok number may be her most intelligently conceived effort of the program which she plays with great furvour. I thought her Sarasate was pretty hot and matched the spirit embodied in the music. The Carmen piece is, well, perhaps the least interesting composition here with its wearisome sliding violin riffs that are a really a poor substitute for true virtuso writing (no fauly of St. John). But, in all of these, St. John coaxes fascinating nuances of timbre along with a huge, powerful tone from her instrument, well-earning her merits as a "soloist par-excellence."

Other highlights include a very compelling history of the origins of Gypsy music (orginating from low-caste tribes from India) and a rather lengthy description of the HDCD and 56-bit digital signal processing technology used for this recording (Sonic Solutions). The technical talk here is not hype as the recording quality is indeed absolutely brilliant: super clear, super vivid and with a nice balance between instruments. It really allows the music to come alive and out of the speakers. In fact, I would say it is one of the best-sounding CD's I have out of a few hundred.

In summary, this fine duo find a marvelous spirit and rhythm within this music and give a most invigorating performance that commands as much attention as the violinist's cover photos. (In case you are wondering, Miss St. John is 34 this year of 2006). But, more should be said about the fine pianist, Ilan Richtman, whose spirited pianism creates a energetized backdrop for St. John's pyrotechnics (but who is unfortunately missing from the cover photo). Fascinating music, dazzling performances, super-realistic sound and a surprize favorite. 5 stars.

This is an excellent album if you subscribe to the school of thought where "virtuosity" in the violin essentially equates to "dragging notes and comprehencively ignoring what is written on the page in the name of expressionism". I have heard better playing at amateur recitals from violinists half her age. I find it rather sad that her label knows this and peddles it anyway, plastering her pretty face everywhere in a blatant publicity attempt.

The CD came in great condition. I've bought things from this company before and been pleased. It seemed to take forever to get here, when I'd ordered other CDs from other vendors on the same day, and they had arrived two weeks prior. It's true, they came right within the dates they said they would, but nonetheless it took three weeks.

I don't know about the BEST ever, but it IS a very good choral sampler. The range of period music, styles, and choruses is a great sampling of choral music, ranging from Gregorian to McCartney; the bombastic to the serene; the familiar to the lesser known. The quality of the recordings (from different times and places) is very good. It would make a good intro to choral music CD, or just a very enjoyable collection of choral works by a wide range of composers. It does, indeed, demonstrate what the human voice in harmony with others is capable of.

This album is filled with collection excellent choral music. Many are old favorites of mine and many were new to me. The performances were outstanding. In some cases I have selections in my collection that I consider better than those on this album; however, I suggest that you buy it. It is beautiful!!

On a negative note, the first copy I received was new media and had a scratch which rendered the last two tracks unreadable.

Amazon was quick to credit my account, pay return shipping and the second copy was free from defects. Bravo!!

This is the first collection of choral music that I've purchased and I love it. I own copies of operas and requiems and masses, but if you attend choral concerts, as I have been recently, you learn there is a huge colletion of choral music appart from the forms I've been listening to. I appreciate the producers selecting "Song for Athene" by Tavener and "Celebration (Standing Stone)" by McCartney. They are new to me and I love them. Disk 1 ends with "Jerusalem" and Disk 2 ends with "Land of Hope and Glory." As an American I rarely hear these and I am so glad they were included. I believe this album was intended to help popularize choral music and I believe the selections do fine job towards that end.

I know snobs rage against popularizing classical music, but everyone deserves exposure to the beauty of song. I will also mention here "The East Village Opera Company" because they work to popularize opera by setting it to a rock beat. They do a fine job but also get criticized for attempting to popularize classical music.

"The Best Choral Album in the World...Ever" was so popular with my teen-age daughter that it was hard to get it back from her. I give the album as a gift to nephews and nieces.

The music selections are extraordinary. The only problem has to do with the balance of sound. There are some parts that are very loud, and some that are so very soft. You have to continually adjust the volume.

More people need to hear this exquisite music. Such mastery of the violin. Lara St. John, I believe, has only just now truly begun to break out of her previous "I want to play Bach and only Bach" mode. It is a welcome change in this case!

I own and love all of Lara's Cd's but this is my new favorite. The Hindson for me conjures a wonderful internal visual - it feels like a soundtrack to a magical fantasy movie that you are just waiting for somebody to make. There is an ecstatic, forward-moving quality that makes me feel like I'm flying over a countryside, occasionally slowing in little circles here and there to pay attention to some detail in the landscape, then taking off again in a burst of curious enthusiasm.

The Suite from The Red Violin is moody, full of motion, drawing you in with it's repeating theme. It's lush and juicy and very emotionally rewarding.

The Totentanz selection highlights Lara's amazing technical skills. As she races up and down scales and arpeggios you know that she will carry you from the racing highs to the restrained lows in her characteristic fearless fashion.

In my opinion, this particular selection of pieces from both a modern and classical composers play very well together. I would say that it is the energy, the momentum, the joy of an instrument so well loved and played that makes this CD a must have.

I most highly recommend this!

I have at least a hundred classical CD's, mostly featuring violin soloists. This is the album I play most often. Rather than playing the music, Lara St. John is the conduit through which Bach's spirit has chosen to express his art.

Lara St. John's first Bach album was released in 1996, and featured adequate (if uninspired) renditions of the 2nd Partita & 3rd Sonata. One would have hoped that in the intervening six years, she would have acquired a little more depth to her playing, but the reverse seems to have happened. Her interpretation of the G-minor Sonata is impatient and shallow, and was a big big disappointment to me. There are any number of conservatory students who could render an interpretation with more depth.

But the Sonata just tops off an album that features absolutely robotic performances of the concerti. Really, one wonders why they even bothered with live musicians...just program the score into a synthesizer and let 'er rip. The result would have been pretty much the same...technically quite proficient, but bloodless & pedantic. Anyone who thinks this is "passionate" clearly hasn't been listening to the right performers.

As far as the cover art...who really cares. It was the only remotely interesting thing about the whole tiresome album.

There is a common say that, soon or later, one reaches his/hers level of incompetence. I have been following Lara's career, starting with her first and amazing CD some years ago. This is her third record and I have heard it several times in search for her well known art and virtuoso.

What I found, specially in the sonata, was crystal technique but an absense of art. And this is what music is all about.

The concertos are a far resemblance of the vigor and beauty shown in her first CD. There is no doubt that Lara is an amazing performer, but something must be wrong with the way her art is maturing.

Her website stopped displaying her schedule two years ago. What's next?

Often criticised for the artwork on her CDs this disc by the 'junoesque' Ms St John deserves far more than a cursory look at the cover. I urge you to really listen to this disc. In this day of bland, formulaic Big Record Company marketing this disc stands out for what is actually on it - don't judge it by its cover.

You may know these works like old friends but Lara's playing makes you sit up and listen and awakens your brain and ears to approaching these works afresh. How often can you say that about any CD in this day and age?

I've read a lot about this latest release in the press, but while most praise Lara for her energetic playing, many seem to be shocked about the cover art. I couldn't disagree more! Here we have a hip young violinist whose main goal seems to be to bring great music to the masses, and she is not allowed to market it accordingly? Test yourself when you stroll along the aisles of Tower Records and see which releases you pick up and which ones you pass by. Lara's latest has what it takes to get noticed.

Of course, this kind of marketing would be misguided if she couldn't back it up with thrilling and intense interpretations. She employs a good mix of period performance practice and modern violin technique. Finally a violinist who doesn't milk each melodic line just because she can. This is not playing you hear in conservatories. There is refreshingly spare use of romantic vibrato and her lean sound meshes well with the crisp orchestra sound. Most importantly, her fleet tempos match the character of the music.

A must-buy! If you liked her previous two recordings you will not be disappointed. And I recently stumbled on her website - what a kick---site! I hope Ms. St. John will continue her unconventional path in music.

I love this album I feel that it creates an excellent mood that most classical music would bring down. It is just upbeat enough to keep your thoughts engaged yet soft enough to where you can still concentrate. I love listening to this album when I am cooking or doing homework. Great Job Ms. St John.

Of course, people vary in their values, views, psychologies, etc. Thus, we have the Normal Distribution (bell-shaped curve). At one end of the classical listening public are the purists. These folks will not like this album. It takes great liberties with Bach. Worse, the title seems to allude to its being "real" classical music. I too have deep misgivings about the title. On the other side of the spectrum are the "early adopter" types who like innovation, creativity, etc. I do. However, when you brainstorm, you generate lots of ideas--but afterwards you eliminate the losers and evaluate the survivors. Apparently, that step was overlooked for this album. I respect their attempt at innovation. But, it just didn't work for me. Indeed, this is one of the CDs I enjoyed the least of all I've heard. The mixture of Bach & other themes was discordant--not integrated. Some of the playing was okay to good, some was not. It sounded synthetic in more than one way. If it had been a "live" recording of an improvisation session, one might justify it, but it wasn't. I refuse, however, to attribute motivations to others--so I don't know why they released this CD--I doubt other reviewers do either. Nevertheless, some will love this recording. After all, harmony is in the ear of the listener.

Sony should not have made this album... But then, a big company can afford to make mistakes from time to time. This album, however, is just about Lara and her musical choices. It is not about music, certainly not Bach's. I also doubt Lara really wanted to promote "Muzak" or pop beats of any kind. She night have wanted to show herself as a a "forward thinking" young lady, who "moves with the times". A person who is willing to step on the most "holly" musical icons for no clear reason or logic. This album could never helped her sagging career, anyway. I bought it for $2.39 and now I see it's available for as little as 0.89. It is not often that one makes such an obvious mistake in choosing what to record. This artist was recognized by some to be fairly serious about her craft. Many others thought differently. But this pathetic album is the clearest proof that behind the pretty face was nothing of substance, ever.

Really, what can you say about this? After releasing albums of "serious music" that were uninspired but more or less competent, the dark forces behind Lara St. John's career must have decided that it was time to go where the real money was at --- the dreaded "crossover" genre. With this mishmash of an album (all resemblance to JS Bach is purely coincidental), Ms. St. John's credibility as an artist has taken a serious hit. Even the Amazon.com reviewers (not the most unforgiving lot normally) have opened up broadsides on this album, from what I've read.

Most of the selections have an "ambient" quality that reminds me more of Muzak, as it lulls the listener into a stupor. However, not all the selections are soporifics; "Bombay Minor" has to qualify as one of the most positively stupid things I have heard in an awful long time. For sheer comedy value, I would recommended listening to it, maybe just once. Big fun.

From what I understand, this album was not a raging commercial success. One wonders where Ms. St. John turns from here. She has pretty much run Bach into the ground. What next? Four Seasons anyone?

Miss St. John's repertoire is wide and impressive - spanning Baroque to Modern, concerto to chamber, solo to crossover. However, while creative and adventurous, this CD is not quite her finest musical expression - but it can be an enjoyable foray nevertheless if you like this type of thing.

The CD notes give an overview of the project: "Violinist Lara St. John is one of classical music's most adventurous performers, so it can come as no surprise that she has chosen to the music of J. S. Bach in a bold, new direction for this recording. Collaborating with the imaginative composer/producer Magnus Fiennes, she realizes a fresh, contemporary interpretation of Bach's music, through soundscapes that draw on the influences of world music, jazz and pop."

It will also be no suprise that all will not like or accept such "contemporary interpretations" as this with the "sacred cannon" of classical music. Yet, in all art and music, there is always a powerful element - and freedom - of individuality in interpretation and expression. Of course, there is also the freedom for the listener to praise or reject it. Regardless, for those who are not put-off to such ventures, there will be much to enjoy in both the creative "interpretations" as well as St. John's richly-textured playing that is highlighted by a most-vivid DDD sound quality. To note is her appealing phrasing in pieces like "The Sicilian," "Largo" or "Prelude" which exude an aria-like expression against the backdrop of the synthesized, rhythmic soundscape. As compared to some of her young peers, her style is lucid and not afraid to venture a bit to gain some new nuances of expression to "enliven" the music. In this recording she plays a 1779 "Salabue" Guadagnini (Turin) on loan to her whose tonal qualities are big, expressive and rich.

Yet, the superposition of the pure, earthy tones of Lara's violin against the somewhat-contrived, synthetic ambiance created by the electronic instruments (computers really) strike an uncomfortable dichotomy that is hard to fully integrate. And the ears seem to preferentially gravitate to St. John's natural tone and melodic leading. It's the same effect (conflict) found in the synthesized "classical" music of groups like Mannheim Steamroller where he synthetic aspects create a trite and "saccharine effect" that leaves one unfulfilled. But, in a couple pieces - like "Ten Fifty Two" (based on a Bach Concerto), there is more synergy between the acoustic and electronic worlds. More than anything, it is St. John's sheer talent and beautiful tone that creates any real appeal.

This music will have a narrow audience and appeal (although I actually enjoyed many of the tracks more than I expected to). It should not be judged as classical music but for what it is - a personal adventure and exploration. But, such "saccarined" music does not have much "staying power" over time, and its electronic textures do not wear well with repeated listening. To experience Lara St. John at her best, hear her "Gypsy" CD - a genre perhaps where this talented, free-spirited musician best finds her element.