At Metacritic, that assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 82, based on six reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim".
Douglas Heselgrave of Paste Magazine wrote "Bach: Sonatas and Partitas Volume 1 is clearly a labor of love rather than a plea for respect. By sticking very close to Bach’s original transcriptions of these compositions, Thile has recorded an album that should stand up to scrutiny in the classical music community without sacrificing his original style or approach to his instrument. He’s proven that he’s up to the task of rendering this incredibly complex music as well as showing—especially in the faster sections—that the distance between baroque and bluegrass is shorter than we may previously have thought."[6]
Andy Gill of The Independent stated "Once again, the protean malleability of J.S. Bach's genius is demonstrated by the unusual transcription of his work - in this case, the Violin Sonatas and Partitas - to another instrument, the mandolin".[7]
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