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The possible Leipzig cellist was Georg Gottfried Wagner ( ). French cellist Christophe Coin ( ) has recorded many of these and others ) while Thomas Braatz has written an extensive article, "Violoncello Piccolo in Bach's Vocal Works," ). Bach used this instrument in a third applicational as an obbligato part ( ) about 1725 in Leipzig in sacred cantata arias for trio or quartet (BWV 6, 41, 49, 68, 85, 115, 175, 180, 183). 2Īnother characteristic of the cello suites is their increasing difficulty, with the sixth, BWV 1012 in D Major, composed for a five-string cello, possibly the violoncello piccolo ( ). The court orchestra had two fine cellists in Christian Ferdinand Abel (1682-1761, ) and Carl Bernhard Lienicke, the latter for whom Bach may have composed the cello suites, says Robert L. Bach's purpose was to show the idiomatic qualities of the cello and well as the violin while he was the Capellmeister at Cöthen about 1720.
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Bach took the large but musically-diminutive cello ( ) and placed it in the spotlight as a solo instrument in its second use before other composers such as Luigi Boccherini composed extensively for it in concertos and quintets with orchestra (1743-1805, ). 1 The established dance forms - allemande, courante, sarabande, galanterie (minuet-bourrée-gavotte, and gigue ) with an introductory prelude - were composed for the little-regarded violoncello which otherwise played the basso continuo ( ) as accompaniment in both small ensembles (trio, quartet, quintet) and in orchestras.
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More than any of the other collections of chamber music, Bach's Six Unaccompanied Cello Suites, BWV 1007-1012, have stirred the interest and imagination of musicians, musicologists, and the public. It makes the Bach cello suites really challenging for a cello player.Recordings, Reviews & Discussions - Main PageĬhamber Music: Six Solo Cello Suites: Varied Perspectives The reason why Bach’s Cello Suites are so remarkable is that even though they are written for solo cello, they create in a single line the effect of implied three- or even four-voice contrapuntal and polyphonic music.
YO YO MA BACH CELLO SUITE 1 G MAJOR VIOLIN SHEET SERIES
Galanteries (Minuets in Suites 1 and 2 Bourrées in Suites 3 and 4 Gavottes in Suites 5 and 6)īecause of their similar structure and the nature of the pieces, scholars believe that Bach intended suites to be not an arbitrary series of pieces, but a systematically conceived cycle.Here is the structure and order of the movements: Yo-Yo Ma even won the 1985 Best Instrumental Soloist Performance Grammy Award for his album Six Unaccompanied Cello Suites.Įach of the six suites has six movements. By now the suites have been performed and recorded by many renowned cellists. In 1936 he recorded the suites at Abbey Road Studios in London. He began studying them and often publicly performed. The revival of cello suites began when Catalan cellist Pablo Casals discovered their Grützmacher’s edition in a thrift shop in Barcelona, Spain. For a long time the pieces were thought to be just studies. The surviving copies were also non-annotated which made their interpretation very difficult and performance challenging. The cello suites were hardly known or publicly performed before the 20th century because of the suites’ technical demands and their étude-like nature. They generally believe that the great composer created the suites first, so they date this works earlier than 1720, which is the year mark on the title page of the composer’s autograph of the violin sonatas. Trying to establish the exact chronology of these pieces, scholars base their analysis on the styles of particular sets of Bach’s works. Nobody knows either if they were composed before the solo violin sonatas or the order in which they were created.
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The history of Bach’s cello suites is somewhat of a mystery, actually.
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