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For his second Bach solo recording, out Nov. 7 on Nonesuch, mandolinist Chris Thile took a more personal approach to the master composer’s works; he allowed himself to take slight liberties with the scores.
Josh Goleman
Twelve years after his first volume, mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile has returned to the well for Bach: Sonatas and Partitas, Vol. 2, which Nonesuch Records will release on Nov. 7.
The two-disc album consists of Partita No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1004; Sonata No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1005, and Partita No. 3 in E Major, BWV 1006. Two movements became available online on Sept. 15: Menuets I and II from Partita No. 3 in E Major and the Giga from Partita No. 2 in D Minor, along with performance videos for the latter movement, directed by Matthew Edginton.
For his second Bach recording, Thile took a more personal approach to the revered master composer’s works; he allowed himself to take liberties with the scores, which he recorded in locations of personal significance: Reservoir Studios and Tompkins Square Park in New York City; Farrell Recital Hall at Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky, and Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tennessee.
Thile will perform works by Bach, along with other material, during a solo U.S. tour this fall through spring 2026, which includes a concert Oct. 24 in Chicago. More tour information is available at christhile.com.
In the liner notes, Thile writes: “Vol. 1, which contained the first three of the Six Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin, came out in 2013, and though I’m still proud of it, I can hear that I spent most of its development and execution worrying about whether Bach would like it ... not the kind of concern I usually harbor when making music, original or otherwise.
“My mentor, Edgar Meyer, has shown me ... [that] you practice Bach, like you practice yoga. Because it makes your life better. Because it makes the world around you seem like a better, happier place. Because communing with something that beautiful, made by a human being, continuing to be made and enjoyed by so many human beings, makes you proud to be human.
“And so you practice it. As often as you can, everywhere you go. Your living room. Hotel room. Onstage before the rest of the band shows up for soundcheck. In an empty corner of an airport after a canceled flight ... the reason this record exists is that I love practicing Bach, and I wanted to try and share how that ongoing process feels and sounds to me.
“Would he like it? Though I was tempted to capitalize ‘he’ just now, I’m trying not to care. Do I like it? Yes.”
Thile is the founding member of Punch Brothers, which has issued six discs on Nonesuch: “Punch,” “Antifogmatic,” “Who’s Feeling Young Now?,” “The Phosphorescent Blues,” the Grammy-winning “All Ashore,” and a tribute to the late Tony Rice, “Hell on Church Street.”
Thile’s other Nonesuch releases include a duo album with guitarist Michael Daves, two records with bassist Edgar Meyer (one of which won a Grammy), a Bach album with Yo-Yo Ma and Meyer, a duet album with jazz pianist Brad Mehldau, and the T Bone Burnett–produced soundtrack to the Coen brothers’ “Inside Llewyn Davis.” He was featured on Brad Mehldau’s Elliott Smith songbook album, “Ride Into the Sun,” released on Aug. 29.
As a soloist, Thile has a catalog of seven previous album — most recently “Laysongs” (2022), featuring six original songs and three covers, all of which contextualize and banter with his ideas about spirituality. He spent his formative years as a member of the Grammy Award-winning, multi-platinum-selling band Nickel Creek, which reunited in 2014 for its highest-charting album to date, “A Dotted Line,” on Nonesuch. Nickel Creek then released “Celebrants” in 2023.
For four years, Thile hosted public radio favorite “Live from Here with Chris Thile” (formerly known as “A Prairie Home Companion”). Thile also has been performing his autobiographical work ATTENTION! (a narrative song cycle for extroverted mandolinist and orchestra) since 2023. (Later this season, Thile will perform the work with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on June 8.) It tells the true story of a young Thile meeting Carrie Fisher at a rooftop bar in San Diego, transforming that moment into a larger meditation on ambition, identity and the art of performance.
Additionally, he has been focused on a new musical variety show, “The Energy Curfew Music Hour,” created with Claire Coffee and featuring Punch Brothers. Season 1 is available on Audible and all podcasting platforms. Season 2 will be released this fall.
