Back in the late 1970s I was fortunate enough to have violin lesson with the wonderful violinist Colin Sauer (Dartington String Quartet & Hallé Orchestra) – and I made weekly Saturday morning trips to his home in Paignton with my father who would accompany me on the piano. One of the first pieces I truly fell in love with when learning with Colin, was Massenet’s Méditation from the opera Thaïs. Listening to how Colin could make the violin really sing in this was piece was the inspiration that changed my violin playing forever. I wanted to play in the same way and the Massenet Méditation was the perfect work to practise with.
I have now recorded it for the Sounds Visual Music library and it’s available to members to download. Please see the video below.
The piano accompaniment was recorded using the excellent Signature Grand piano produced by Simple Sam Samples. https://simplesamsamples.com/virtual-instruments/pianos/signature-grand.html
This is one of the best piano sampled pianos I have ever played. It’s sampled from a gorgeous sounding Steinway Model D Grand with over 3000 samples and 10 dynamic levels per note. Incredible realism and playability and comes with over 60 presets designed by Emmy Award-winning composer, Garth Neustadter are included covering film, classical, jazz, and pop styles.
