Cello Suites (Bach)

The Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello by Johann Sebastian Bach are acclaimed as some of the greatest works ever written for solo cello. They were most likely composed during the period 1717-1723, when Bach served as a Kapellmeister in Cöthen.

The suites contain a great variety of technical devices, a wide range of emotional content, and some of Bach's most compelling voice interactions and conversations. It is their intimacy, however, that has made the suites amongst Bach's most popular works today, resulting in their different recorded interpretations being fiercely defended by their respective advocates.

The suites have been transcribed for numerous instruments, including the violin, viola, double bass, bass clarinet, horn and guitar.

History

An exact chronology of the suites (regarding both the order in which the suites were composed and whether they were composed before or after the solo violin sonatas) cannot be completely established. However, scholars generally believe that—based on a comparative analysis of the styles of the sets of works—the cello suites arose first, effectively dating the suites pre-1720, the year on the title page of Bach's autograph of the violin sonatas.

The suites were not widely known before the 1900s, and for a long time it was generally thought that the pieces were intended to be études. There were even attempts to compose piano accompaniments to them, most notably by the composer Robert Schumann. Pablo Casals, however, is credited for increasing their popularity. After discovering Grützmacher's edition in a thrift shop, Casals began studying and performing the works, although it was 35 years before he agreed to record the pieces. Their popularity soared soon after, and Casals' original recording is still widely available today.

Unlike Bach's violin sonatas, no autograph manuscript survives, thus ruling out the use of an urtext performing edition. However, analysis of secondary sources—including a hand-written copy by Bach's second wife, Anna Magdalena—have produced passably authentic editions, although critically deficient in the placement of slurs and other articulation. As a result, many interpretations of the suites exist, with no singularly accepted version.

Recent speculation holds that Anna Magdalena may have been the composer of several musical pieces attributed to her husband . Professor Martin Jarvis of Charles Darwin University School of Music, in Darwin, Australia, proposes that Magdalena wrote the six Cello Suites, and was involved with the composition of the aria from the Goldberg Variations (BWV 988). Musicologists and performers, however, point to thin evidence of this proposition, remaining skeptical of the claim.

The Suites

The suites are in six movements each, and have the following structure and order of movements.

Prelude
Allemande
Courante
Sarabande
Galanteries - (Minuets for Suites 1 and 2, Bourrées for 3 and 4, Gavottes for 5 and 6)
Gigue

Scholars believe that Bach intended the works to be considered as a systematically conceived cycle, rather than an arbitrary series of pieces: Compared to Bach's other suite collections, the cello suites are the most consistent in order of their movements. In addition, to achieve a symmetrical design and go beyond the traditional layout, Bach inserted intermezzo or galanterie movements in the form of pairs between the Sarabande and the Gigue. Furthermore, the suites increase in technical complexity and emotional richness from the first to the last.

It should also be noticed that only two movements in the entire set of suites are completely non-chordal: that means they consist only of a single melodic line. These are the second Minuet of the 1st Suite and the Sarabande of the 5th Suite. (The 2nd Gavotte of the 5th Suite has but one prim-chord (the same actual note played on two strings at the same time), but only in the original scordatura version of the suite - in the standard tuning version it is completely free from chords.)

Suite No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007

The Prelude, mainly consisting of arpeggiated chords, is probably the best known movement from the entire set of suites and is regularly heard on television and in films. The second Minuet is one of only two movements in the six suites that doesn't contain any chords. Most students begin with this suite as it is assumed to be easier to play than the others, both in terms of the technique required and considerations of interpretation.

Suite No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1008

The Prelude consists of two parts, the first of which has a strong recurring theme that is immediately introduced in the beginning. The second part is a scale-based cadenza movement that leads to the final, powerful chords. The subsequent Allemande contain short cadenzas that stray away from this otherwise very strict dance form. The first Minuet contains demanding chord shiftings and string crossings.

Suite No. 3 in C major, BWV 1009

The Prelude of this suite consist of an A-B-A-C form, with A being a scale-based movement that eventually dissolves into an energetic arpeggio part; and B, where the cellist is introduced to thumb position, which is needed to reach the demanding chords. It then returns to the scale theme, and ends with a powerful and surprising chord movement.

The Allemande is the only movement in the suites that has an up-beat consisting of three sixteenth-notes instead of just one, which the standard form.

The second Bourrée is often notated in G minor, although it is actually in C minor. The frequent use of the note A has led to compromising.

Suite No. 4 in E-flat major, BWV 1010

Suite No. 4 is one of the most technically demanding of the suites since E-flat is an uncomfortable key to intonate on the cello and requires a lot of stretched left hand positions. The Prelude primarily consists of a difficult flowing eight-note movement that leaves room for a cadenza before returning to its original theme. The very peaceful Sarabande is quite obscure about the stressed second beat, which is the basic characteristic of the 3/4 dance, since almost every first beat contain a chord, whereas the second beat most often doesn't.

Suite No. 5 in C minor, BWV 1011

Suite No. 5 was originally written in scordatura with the A-string tuned down to G, but nowadays a version for standard tuning is included in almost every edition of the suites along with the original version. Some chords must be simplified when playing with standard tuning, but some melodic lines become easier as well.

The Prelude is written in an A-B form, and begins with a slow, emotional movement that explores the deep range of the cello. After that comes a fast and very demanding single-line fugue that leads to the powerful end.

This suite is most famous for its intimate Sarabande, which is the second of the two movements throughout the suites that doesn't contain any chords. The fifth suite is also exceptional as its Gigue is in the French style, rather than the Italian form of the other five suites.

An autograph manuscript of Bach's lute version of this suite exists as BWV 995.

Suite No. 6 in D major, BWV 1012

It is widely believed that the sixth suite was composed specifically for a five-stringed violoncello piccolo, a smaller cello, roughly the size of a 3/4 normal cello that has a fifth upper string tuned to E, a perfect fifth above the otherwise top string. However, some say there is not substantial evidence to support this claim: Anna Magdalena's manuscript only informs the player that it is written for an instrument "a cinq cordes" and the other sources do not mention any intended instrument at all.

Possible intended instruments for the suite do include the aforementioned violoncello piccolo, but also include a special five string version of the violoncello piccolo popular in the late-17th and 18th centuries, which was played on the arm like a viola, as well as a five-stringed normal sized cello. As the range required in this piece is very large, the suite was probably intended for a larger instrument, although it is conceivable that Bach—who was fond of the viola—may have performed the work himself on an arm-held violoncello piccolo. However, it is equally likely that beyond hinting the number of strings, Bach did not intend any specific instrument at all as the classification, construction and instrumental technique of instruments in the early 18th century was highly variable with respect to time and geographical location, and demanding a specific variation would have limited the work's distribution.

Cellists wishing to play the piece on a modern four-string cello encounter great difficulties as they are forced to use very high positions to reach many of the notes. However, most recordings available today are made with a regular four-string cello, with exceptions including the recordings of Anner Bylsma and Alexander Rudin.

This suite is written in much more free form than the others, containing more cadenza-like movements and virtuosic passages. It is also the only one of the suites that is partly notated in tenor clef, which is not needed for the others since they never go above the note G4.

Inspired by Bach

Yo-Yo Ma, the contemporary cellist most closely associated with the suites, developed the Inspired by Bach mini-series in conjunction with a number of Canadian filmmakers. There are 6 short films, each approaching a suite from a different perspective. For example, Atom Egoyan's Suite #4: Sarabande tells the story of a failed relationship that culminates in the couple attending a Yo-Yo Ma performance of the piece at Roy Thomson Hall. Another, by Patricia Rozema, documents the process by which Mr. Ma's Music Garden in Toronto came into being.Inspired by Bach at the Internet Movie Database

References

External links

Compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach | Solo cello pieces | Suites

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