Bach's Cello Suites

Moreover, up until the mid-twentieth century, Bach's cello suites were long thought of as nothing more than technical exercises as opposed to standalone pieces for solo performance. It was not until Pablo Casals performed and recorded four of the Suites at the bicentennial celebration of Bach's passing in 1950 that the Six Suites were taken to be works necessary for the serious cellist to have in their repertory. Casals further discussed the importance and prevalence that the work of Bach had on his life saying, "·I have started each day in the same manner.

It is not a mechanical routine but something essential to my life: I go to the piano and play two Preludes and Fugues by Bach· The music is never the same to me never. Each day it is something new, fantastic and unbelievable. That is Bach, like nature· a miracle." Here one can see that even Casals understood, far ahead of his time, that the compositions of Johann Sebastian Bach's work would transcend from being a musically artificial etude, to a legitimate composition that would herald the musicians who played Bach's works into a world of deeper musical understanding and reverence for the composer responsible for this work.

Get quality help now

Doctor Jennifer

Verified writer

Proficient in: Classical Music

5 (893)

“ Thank you so much for accepting my assignment the night before it was due. I look forward to working with you moving forward ”

+84 relevant experts are online

Hire writer

Historical and biographical information aside, the issues discussed thus far are made apparent from the very beginning in the Prelude of the Sixth Suite. In the Anna Magdalena manuscript of J.S. Bach's works the Prelude is set with a 12/8-time signature; with the opening title suggesting that the Prelude be played "a cinq cordes," (Appendix A: Figure 1.

1). From here one can again see how the following movement suggests the use of an instrument that may not necessarily be the modern cello as we know it. The five notes referenced in the opening are, from bottom to top: C-G-D-A-E which would consistent with the tunings of a violoncello piccolo or similar instrument. Next, the bowing expressed in the original copied manuscript features the use of a repeated two-note and three-note melodic motif signified using slurs in the introduction, development, and closing sections of the Prelude, (Appendix A: Figures 1.2, 1.3, 1.4). Similarly, in modern adaptations of Anna Magdalena's transcriptions elements of both of these motives can be found. In Jeffrey Lastrapes' edition, one can find that the three-not motive has been given a more prominent role in its arrangement, but maintains elements of the two-note motive in similar sections of the piece that were previously mentioned, (Appendix B: Figures 1.5, 1.6, 1.7). This expansion of the three-note motive can also be abundantly found in previous movements that will not be discussed in this paper in the Lastrapes edition, while the previous suites in the Anna Magdalena manuscript feature inconsistent bow markings as previously discussed.

Following the Prelude, one would find the Sarabande preceding the next movement in this analysis: The Courante. The Courante movement, a lively and typically upbeat movement in the series of Bach's suite-style composition, made use of the widely popular Italian species of this movement as opposed to the similarly popular French counterpart. While this movement may not have a long, slow and sonorous melody, it provides a sharp stylistic contrast from the previous two movements. That is, the Courante features recurring lines of technical virtuosity in the left hand while the bowing is still disputed. Just like in the Prelude, one of the prevailing rhythmic motives that can be found in Anna Magdalena's manuscript of the Courante is the three-note motive (Appendix C, Figures 2.1, 2.2). While the use of this motive would allow for Anna Magdalena to maintain an element of consistency with the use of her bowings/slurs in the sixth suite, the use of this motive seems ill-advised in that the groupings of three would cause technical problems for the player considering the fast-paced tempo of the movement, and the scalar nature of the melodic line. To solve this problem, modern editors and adaptations have, temporarily, done away with this otherwise prevalent motive to facilitate the playing of this movement (Appendix D, Figures 2.3, 2.4).

Immediately following the Courante, the Sarabande is third-to-last movement in the Sixth Suite and the last movement being used in this analysis. The Sarabande is described to be a slow-moving, typically solemn, dance movement usually set in ? or 3/2 time. This movement uses the first two beats of each measure to lead into and place stress on the third beat of every bar. This movement, more than any of the previous three movements of this suite, places a heavy emphasis on the use of contrapuntal schemes. Bach achieved this in the Sarabande by repeatedly using double, triple, and quadruple stops throughout the entire movement (Appendix F: Figures 3.1, 3.2). One of the major distinctions that can found between the manuscript of Anna Magdalena and that of modern editors lies in the notation of how the cellist should approach playing multi-note stops. In the Anna Magdalena manuscript for example, the opening three measures only have the uppermost note notated as a quarter note (Appendix E: Figure 3.3). In contrast, the version edited by Jeffrey Lastrapes, the second measure notates the two uppermost voices as quarter notes (Appendix F: Figure 3.1). This distinction in notation is not meant to be taken as a mistake on behalf the modern editor. This notation is used to clarify the rhythmic value and approach that musicians in J.S. Bach's day would have taken when playing these chords. In this respect, having to identify the correct rhythmic interpretation of movements like the Sarabande adds a new level of complexity for the modern player, and expands the range of possible interpretation for the whole suite.