Jordi Savall

I love this clip of Jordi Savall, the Spanish violist (and conductor, and composer) playing an arrangement from Folies d'Espagne. 

The first round is percussive, bowed with both the stick and hair together. Reminiscent of castanets.

And then he transitions to more traditional bowing, at a speed that is incredibly fast and smooth. 

The beautiful sound of an unaccompanied viol, the masterful handling of the instrument, the dramatic lighting, the various camera angles all combine to produce a mesmerizing short little film. 

Here is the clip:

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CB04mCTgEcF

Here is the full performance from which the clip is clopped. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylpOO-7cyt0

PS. Funny story. We have been fortunate to see Jordi Savall play several times (in the Morgan Library, at The Met Museum, in Princeton). At the beginning a performance at the McCarter Theater, the small wooden head attached to the peg box of Savall’s viol became detached. He casually put it in his jacket pocket and played the first set without it. After intermission, he came back to the stage with it reattached. It was done so astutely that I sometimes wonder whether anyone else in the audience saw what happened. And what it was like backstage during intermission.