J.S. Bach - Prelude, Loure, and Gavotte en Rondeau from Suite in E major BWV 1006

Prelude 0:00, 4:08 Loure, 7:57 Gavotte en Rondeau
Here are the first three movement of Bach's incredible Partita for Solo Violin, BWV 1006, also known as the 4th Lute Suite BWV 1006a. This is one of three Suites I'm preparing right now for my 7-string Bach album.
The Prelude is a piece I've visited for the past 25 years at least, since hearing Gordon O'Brien (Canadian guitar legend) play it in concert as an encore. Originally, I struggled to play it in standard tuning, so I decided to tune the 3rd string down to f#. In my opinion, the alternate tuning really helps to get through the piece without totally burning out your left hand. Now, it is one of my favourite pieces to play, and I play it slowly every day, enjoying it's compositional brilliance. I always say that the preludes are best part of any suite, and this has to be one of my top 3 favourite preludes for any instrument by Bach.
The Loure is a very beautiful and touching piece, providing a relaxed mood after the exciting Prelude. You can hear a lot of performers play this piece very tenderly, and somewhat sentimentally, which it kind of lends itself to, but I really wanted to play it in a way where the pulse was clear (as it is a dance). Striking the balance between these two qualities is one of the difficulties in interpreting this piece. The different versions of the Loure provide a lot of insight to Bach's ornamentations, as the original violin version is pretty straight, with the ornaments left to the performer on the repeats, whereas the "Lute version" has a lot of ornaments written in. I decided to play the violin version for the first time the material is presented, and the lute version for the second.
The Gavotte en Rondeau has been a popular piece to play on guitar for decades as Segovia often performed and recorded this work. It's repeated theme is iconic, and having a significant amount of repeated material is very welcome when learning Bach, which can take a very long time! I "borrowed" a couple of ornaments from the great Gil Shaham, thanks Gil!
The 7-string "Romantic inspired guitar" is by Mark Usherovich.
Filmed in the beautiful church of St. Hugues in Sarsfield, which is just outside of Ottawa. They are very welcoming to myself and the other guitarists who record there. We are very grateful to have their support!

[@paulmoss4378]

This guy should definitely have a fan club. Is that what we are?

[@naomioba]

Count me in!

[@Fuckyoutube-gz6gu]

I am in!

[@naomioba]

@@Fuckyoutube-gz6gu sooo how does one create a fan club? 😂

[@happysailormusica]

Absolutely! Count with me either!

[@SurajLamichhane]

i just joined, hey fellow fans

[@yoshiron6097]

Even though I was just overwhelmed by BWV1001's performance, another historic performance was added. These are blissful days for someone like me who loves Bach's music. The characteristics of the maestro's performance include the clear separation of each note, the outstanding beauty of ornaments such as cross-string trills and mordents, and the skill with which he handles contrapuntal voices. However, I think the most appealing thing about him is that he expresses the joy of music in an extremely restrained and rational way, while refraining from making exaggerated gestures. I would like to express my gratitude for the good fortune of being born at the same time as the maestro.

[@mzaret]

Brilliant summary, agree with every word ❤

[@thomasladd3731]

Masterful, musical, clean, thoughtful, virtuosic. Drew does; it seems effortless; what we all aspire to-intelligent, deliberate, intentional, and, most importantly, an emotional connection to what Bach wants us to feel from his music.

[@Stephen_Lafferty]

I have just witnessed Drew Henderson and Stephanie Jones play the same Bach Lute Suite, and both gave entirely unique performances! Each was superlative and transformational, and I consider this Midsummer June 2024 weekend to be a personal watershed in Classical Guitar.

[@gloriaeller1604]

I agree. The differences in interpretation always amazes me. My heart is full.❤

[@gloriaeller1604]

Also see if you feel the same gratification watching Granada by Tariq Harb and Ana Vidovic!

[@user-vxymoqm]

７弦ギターは初めて聴きます。 ヴァイオリンでは表現できないものを感じます。 あなたはマエストロ です。ありがとう！🙏👍👍👍👌🥇🇯🇵

[@AhbibHaald]

3:48 this is without a doubt one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard.

[@esterhudson5104]

Oh I hear ya, bud.🥰

[@whitecloudswayfarer]

Thank you, Drew - I love Bach so much - I remember reading that Casals used to play some Bach each day as a benediction on the home - for me that would also be a benediction on the planet. It must be like that for you to play the Prelude slowly each day. I really appreciate that you sensitively honour the music with your heart, and that your wonderful technique is always used to support the music. Thank you for your musicianship and care, Best wishes.

[@DrewHendersonGuitar]

Thank you so much. It's like a bit of a meditation for me to play Bach slowly, every moment is so great it's nice to take the time to savour it.

[@alysgwynn-jones4830]

Just so beautiful thankyou !

[@GH_WH_SIN]

Your performance simply outperforms all CDs and lives that I’ve ever heard, in every aspect.

[@alexbougiemusic]

An absolute stunner. It was a privilege to be a part of this, thank you Drew.

[@andrespena9253]

La gran virtud de los maestros es que hacen parecer fácil lo que es terriblemente difícil, ya sea por su complejidad técnica como interpretativa, gracias maestro por hacernos disfrutar. Simplemente espléndido

[@nikbeznik4892]

Спасибо за доставленное душевное удовольствие в День Святой Троицы! Привет из России в день замечательного праздника, Нижний Новгород.

[@FrancineAbdow]

Splendidly Beautiful... Thank you, Bless you... oh, and Bach too!!!

[@tiagocastro8049]

Just beautifull , the guitar ,the guistarrist, the sound recording, the interpretation and Bach the greatest !!

[@dt6653]

You are certainly a Canadian guitar legend too. Thanks for sharing.

[@hannawagenknecht6378]

I'm so glad to hear this guitar music, thank's so much 🤗

[@gongdori870]

굉장한 연주네요. Bravo!

[@xXLowenDXx]

Drew, outdone yourself even! Bach should return even just for the Prelude. Timing, Tone, Arrangement perfection all.

[@tomislavmilosevic7160]

Great musician and great interpretation !!!👏👏👏

[@esterhudson5104]

My word. The prelude is favorite piece for the guitar. Kicked it outta the park!! Bravo!! Pretty strings as well.

[@ANNERONCEREL1]

Écriture et sonorité divines ❤

[@_wolf_eye]

Thank you Mr Henderson. Bach's music is a balm to the soul, especially guitar renditions. I listen to whichever one I manage to find, and I'm always thrilled whenever a new one of yours comes up. Your playing has a compelling characteristic to my ears that makes it unique, I can't quite make out what it consists of. It is perfectly intonated and timed, it is harmonious and lively in the way it expresses tonal and volume dynamics, it is mesmerizing to look at, it has the same perfect charm as a natural element, the same fluidity of a river gently flowing, it honestly doesn't look human to me but rather transcendental. Thank you for sharing these cunningly fascinating videos for free. For a beginner guitar learner like me they surely are a treasure of beauty and inspiration.

[@DrewHendersonGuitar]

Thank you for the very thoughtful comment, I appreciate it! Good luck on your guitar journey.

[@franzmerkhan1237]

Thank You very Much Mister Henderson. Because You play with your Soul You avoid looking on the Guitar, don‘t You. For me seems the best playing i ‚ve heard; perhaps thats why. The spirit through human bach and You sattidfight so much.

[@lasteink]

I am presently listening (halfway through) and was pleasantly caught off guard by the beauty and sensitivity of the Loure. Truly a lovely, captivating recording. Thank you for creating this.

[@pabloaraya2148]

The performance of the prelude is really amazing.. almost perfect.

[@thierrykokel5012]

Excellente interprétation, grande maîtrise alliée à la sensibilité qui convient à Bach

[@ArmandoObladenFilho]

What a performance! Timing, dynamics, ornamentations: another level of interpretation and technique. Mr Henderson, you reached the ecxelence on the classical guitar: congratulations!

[@emilianopelagalli1646]

Perfect!

[@ramlotho6712]

An absolute! It's like waterfalls that refreshes once spirit. This is a work of art Drew!!!! Once again, congratulations.

[@breakingbrad2129]

First time I've been on when you've uploaded and I'm so glad I was, this was badly needed today, thank you! Gorgeous piece performed to perfection!

[@DrewHendersonGuitar]

You're so welcome! The next video is almost ready to post also, so stay tuned!

[@markcampbell6089]

Just stunningly beautiful Drew. And so fitting for Bach to be played and recorded in church.

[@organboi]

Churches and religion have completely failed humanity. Why are none of them speaking out against Israel committing genocide in Gaza? And now Lebanon. Churches have lost all credibility. All the pastors and priests are cowards, watching children being butchered yet saying not a word. They don't live the teachings of Christ.

[@carlosg.n.5012]

Es la versión de la suite que más me gusta. Precioso.

[@oliverbradley4788]

Wow! I couldn’t imagine a better performance of this piece.

[@MichaelTaylor-dr6gx]

Magnificent! I'm always so taken with your tonal balance and control of dynamics.

[@samir-hossain687]

I loved the prelude so much. Especially the staccato in some of the melodic lines are so good! Thank you so much for sharing your music.

[@DrewHendersonGuitar]

Glad you liked it! Left hand staccato is basically my favourite thing to do on the guitar.

[@lorenzopardi714]

Drew! Come sempre meraviglioso, hai una musicalità pazzesca, sei il mio idolo e mi hai fatto appassionare ancora di più a questo strumento, spero di poter diventare proprio come te un giorno, un chitarrista che anima i sentimenti delle persone con la sua interpretazione musicale 😀👏

[@vayasaberlo8]

Breathtaking performance 🎉🎉 in every way.

[@carlosmanueldiaz531]

I liked it the relaxed concepcion of these pieces that normally (specially prelude) are played more fast and aggressively, is very best to appreciate the beauty of Bach's music. Good job Mr Drew!

[@beatrizgonzalez8473]

El alma se llena de dicha al escucharlo....gracias!!!

[@jwwebnaut7045]

Vo combining the guitar and the lute, really gives us the best of both worlds.

[@TheSoteriologist]

Excellent ! Prelude improved over your 2011 upload, and not just the recording quality. Close to David Russell level.

[@romaric9874]

That’s excellent

[@aerochicc]

I'm just blown away every time I watch one of your videos. Exquisite!

[@die_schlechtere_Milch]

What a way to understand and feel the third Partiata! There is already so much depth in Bach's music and in a lesser but still significant degree in your playing of it, that now, after listening to you, I can no longer see a transcription like this as something containing any "additions" to Bach's original music, but rather as an laying out of a possibility already conceived By Bach and already contained within the original score. Your musical understanding and artistic vision is quite obvious, and I am amazed by the talent that you have been given from above. You did not only find a working and convincing interpretation of the voices in Bach's original violin music, but also of the additional bass lines and middle voices, which you have played with a right amount of clarity. They give the main melody a much more definite meaning, so they are bold in nature, but of course one does not want to overstate them, as the stage belongs more to the higher voices. The musical phrases in your performance are as natural as verbal phrases in a conversation. A great performance of a thoughtful interpretation, thank you for sharing it with us! Also, a great instrument for Bach, my favourite measures were probably 10:18. The registers are similar enough for phrasing arpeggios and horizontally wide ranging phrases, but also different enough for shading and contrasting the different voices. I wish you all the best for your personal life and your musical career!

[@tonysandate7486]

Excellent! The seventh string and f# tuning (and your technique) really made your interpretation very smooth. You are spot on with the Loure! Looking forward to your recording.

[@LeonardoGarciaguitar]

Such a beautiful performance of these magnificent pieces! Bravo, Drew!!!

[@onurkurtar812]

you are so beauty...it came so nice in the morning.....Thanks a lot. God bless you.

[@LimEnZe]

Wonderful

[@Legato97]

Clever and great interpretation! Thank you very much!

[@somedutchguy9184]

I once suggested this, and eehm, I think you told me its hard, and I agree But you are closer to it than I expected. Great Job!

[@stevecarp1904]

Wow. Just wow!

[@dubrolga]

Шикарное исполнение! Belissimo!

[@jackchung3809]

Simply the best !!!!

[@mariestein4026]

So skillfull and Beautiful!

[@esojbar]

Simply wonderful.

[@miyukc8402]

Beautiful ! Bravo !👍👍👍👏👏👏

[@hrburrell7587]

Bach would be proud

[@hugorios6291]

Muchas gracias Drew, es la mejor música que escuche en mi vida.

[@Hadi4029]

Amazing! Literary plays it with his eyes closed!

[@phxartistaz]

The guitar you play is remarkable and suitable for the music. The Gavotte was a favorite of mine to play so long ago when many of the great players of the 20th century were around and seemed to make Bach a natural on the guitar.

[@andsw42]

This was fantastic, absolutely wonderful.

[@AlexandreLuiz-ph8ns]

One of the best rendition of Bwv 1006 ever! ❤😮Holy Jesus

[@Рамиль-ж2з2ш]

Большое спасибо вам маэстро❤

[@goldenbelly8268]

I feel so ridiculously honoured to be able to open KZbin with a tap and then have the possibility of being immediately transported into Bach’s divine creations interpreted so flawlessly!!!!! Have you ever played in Sydney? If not, why not?🙏

[@jungeeang9482]

ya. teleported me too.

[@InstrumentManiac]

Incredible performance 👏

[@juankaloobe]

Hay maestro usted toca muchísimo, muchísimo... muchísimo.. es tan increíble y tan impresionante tanto virtuosismo.. la verdad cada instante es Hipnotizante. A los que amamos la guitarra no hay palabras para describir tanta belleza.

[@hernandovillegasguerrero5939]

Bellisimo

[@billrodgers2830]

Astounding perfection! Just Wow!

[@egaquaman]

Stunning! Thank you so much for sharing. I love the left hand staccato in the Prelude. Great contrast.

[@wjloke]

I absolutely love this on guitar than on violin! Thanks YT for the rec and Drew for the stunner! Looking forward to the album already.

[@evetdelarue8003]

Jesus blew me away ❤

[@somedutchguy9184]

Bach may be not that challenging for a lot of musicians, but I love Bach above all

[@DorothyOzmaLover]

Ooooh, you truly make the notes dance and sing w/ varying emotions and tones creating a musical world of bliss which inspires! So many cheers!

[@RickLord1]

Wow, just exquisite and masterfully played Drew! So good to hear you are on to a new recording/album of Bach. Gorgeous church space to record in.

[@DrewHendersonGuitar]

Thanks Rick! The best part about this church is that it is in a small town with no outside noises. A welcome change from the downtown Toronto church.

[@ScottPenick]

Wonderful, as always :)

[@newfacesptbo]

Sounds wonderful, Drew. I've been verging on exploring this work and I think you've inspired me to dive in. Cheers and please keep up the fine work you do!

[@Reginaldoclassicalguitar]

Som muito bonito. Impressionante o acabamento dado a obra, seja tecnicamente e muisicalmente. Parabéns!

[@ИгорьГригорьев-з8п]

Браво, мастер!

[@billthomson7468]

Stunning. Such clarity of playing, amazing.

[@ilandiamond]

What a blast man ❤

[@timrushworth8276]

My favourite Prelude too, played brilliantly. I expect you’ve also played it on 8 strings with a low A and C#? Don’t you miss those low A’s?

[@pokipol1237]

Как же долго я этого ждал

[@Neowis3]

Beautiful music.

[@RicardodeLunaRamirez]

Extraordinary!

[@MiyabiMatsuoka]

Bravo❤Drew👏Bach must be happy to listen to your guiter ! So beautiful church resonance⛪️

[@ksenijavojisavljevic2034]

So amazing

[@Pawel5837]

Brawo!

[@thomaskellymdent987]

You did it! Love it!!!

[@dimitrisgakis9206]

Παιχταράς, εύγε.

[@danswansonguitar]

Another beautiful performance Drew! I’ll have to keep an eye out for the album.

[@AreEnTee]

Babe, wake up! Drew Henderson posted another Bach video! :)

[@DrewHendersonGuitar]

Classic AreEnTee lol.

[@AreEnTee]

@@DrewHendersonGuitar 😁

[@jesussanz101]

Can't stop listening. Tks.

[@JeremiahAlphonsus]

Superb.

[@JorgeFernandoPombo-zs6mj]

Al servicio del sonido arte

[@johngiles132]

Beautiful. Thank you, Drew.

[@zagortriplex100]

Great!

[@johanpeeters7769]

Pure perfection! Mindblasting!

[@toniissa3641]

Excellent. Great interpretation!

[@paul4088]

Breathtaking

[@przemeklitwiniuk]

Absolutely amazing, bravo 👏

[@alanrichtmyer2309]

DearDrew, Babolutely stunning ... I look worward tobeing even morestunned by you inthefuture. Sincerely, Alan

[@eulexy3496]

Here is another Canadian virtuoso -- what Glenn Gould was on the piano, Henderson is on the guitar. Outstanding !