I agree Yo Yo Ma probably won't gain anything from Theile's interpretation but until he does it how do we know? Do you say OK Pablo Casals did it best no one else should even attempt it? Baroque ornamentation is not some secret science. The violin pieces appear to translate verbatim to the mandolin with the exception of bowing which allows more legato. Julian Bream's transcription of the prelude to the first cello suite. Specifically adding notes/chords (and worse in some samples).i.e. Don't get me wrong I am a huge fan of Bach on guitar but the problem lies in libertys that artists take when making their transcriptions. Margora, I would respectfully disagree with the guitar as an instrument being more idiomatic than mandolin for Bach. for example, the introduction to Stanley Yate' edition of the cello suites for guitar) and certainly lute, but I have yet to hear a convincing case for mandolin. Basically, there is no point to recording these pieces on the mandolin unless the instrument can add something (just ask yourself, would a Millstein or a Ma learn something from such a recording?) A plausible case can be made in this regard for guitar (cf. I think this has much more to do with the inherent limitations of the mandolin than the artists.
The Marshall recording lacks tonal refinement (and legato). The Thile live recording for example has good energy but falls short (significantly) on ornamentation. I have heard many (if not all) of the extant recordings of various movements on mandolin and, with all due respect to the artists involved, the gap vis-a-vis the extant guitar recordings - not to mention Nigel North on the lute, or any of the relevant recordings on cello or violin - is, frankly, considerable. I have played both on mandolin (and mandola) and classical guitar, and the music is far more idiomatic to realize on guitar (although the suites do sound lovely on mandola). I'm not so sure a full-lown recording or the suites or the sonatas and partitas on mandolin (or mandolin family instruments) is an especially good idea (as opposed to treating them as study material, which is an excellent idea).
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