Bach Cello Suites

[king ubu]

Fascinating, thanks so much for sharing!

About bar 27 of the Courante (first example): what's the last note of the second group, D or E? As I'd read it (not being familiar with any of these hands but from these short excerpts) I'd say with Anna it's clearly a D, while with Keller, it's an E again (same as the second note of the group)?

[Mandryka]

IIRC he went down this path after his second recording.

That's my impression too but I don't have the booklet to confirm. I'd also be interested if anyone has Wispelwey's III's booklet to see if he is influenced by the Anna Magdalena phrasing there, as I suspect.

[jlaurson]

How've you got on with this? I listened to 2 last night - it's too lyrical and lightweight for me, like Bach cello suites for the cocktail bar.

Fell off the wagon for a bit, but will revive.

[El Chupacabra]

The Menuet differences are substantial enough to suggest Keller represents a revision. I am not knowledgeable about the manuscript history, but is it possible Bach revised the suites at some point after Anna made her copy?

As far as my knowledge goes, there is no revision by Bach. The "Cothen Years" are known as "crazy in work tempo" that he left so many pieces incomplete because of lack of time.

what's the last note of the second group, D or E? As I'd read it (not being familiar with any of these hands but from these short excerpts) I'd say with Anna it's clearly a D, while with Keller, it's an E again (same as the second note of the group)?

You are right but there is no way to know.

That's my impression too but I don't have the booklet to confirm. I'd also be interested if anyone has Wispelwey's III's booklet to see if he is influenced by the Anna Magdalena phrasing there, as I suspect.

In general, it says for the III, because of the mystery, he sat down with John Butt of Glasgow University and Laurence Dreyfus of Oxford University and 'found plausible and playable solutions to a number of fascinating performance issues' of Anna's

I'm with Jeffrey: the minuet differences look more like a revision than a transcription error.

It might not be that simple as there are other details. For instance, including Kellner and Anna, the total of manuscripts from that century is four and lately they dated Kellner to 1726 and Anna to 1727. The pitch difference on the last picture is only on Anna's which chronologically makes the last note: E (kellner-bach alive)- natural B (anna- bach alive), E (Westphal-bach dead), E(Traeg item by an anonymous copier 1799-bach dead).

Anyway, when there is no composer-autographed score from 300 years ago you can speculate on everything. We even love to speculate on originals...so...I just wanted to give the gist of difficulties of authenticity.

[Mandryka]

Yes all this is quite fun to read about for me, who never will actually have to play the things.

Anyway the bad news is that I started to listen to the new Haimovitz CD with no pleasure or interest whatsoever. I don't know whether it was my mood or whether he's really as uncharismatic as I felt.

[Sammy]

Yes all this is quite fun to read about for me, who never will actually have to play the things.

Anyway the bad news is that I started to listen to the new Haimovitz CD with no pleasure or interest whatsoever. I don't know whether it was my mood or whether he's really as uncharismatic as I felt.

I'm of the same mind concerning Haimovitz.  That Prelude from the 1st Suite is about the worst I've ever heard - fast, gruff and choppy; even worse, I got zero feeling of any climax toward the conclusion of the Prelude.  Right after Haimovitz, I listened to the Beschi on Winter & Winter where the Prelude's ending has a great release of energy.

I did go on to listen to the remainder of the 1st Suite and also Suites 2 and 3.  Just seems like more of the same.

[El Chupacabra]

Yes all this is quite fun to read about for me, who never will actually have to play the things.

Anyway the bad news is that I started to listen to the new Haimovitz CD with no pleasure or interest whatsoever. I don't know whether it was my mood or whether he's really as uncharismatic as I felt.

Sometimes following a score intimately and following a score makes a huge difference. I guess this youngster is confused by being involved with this music so closely for a large percentage of his life. I call these players 'churn-icians'.

[bob_cart]

Hello fellow music worshipers,
I don't know if there is a similar topic already since I've sadly not enough time to enjoy the great vastness of this forum in its entirety, but I'd like to ask all of you; are you familiar with the Bach cello suites? And which is/are your favourite recording/s of the same? I'm a great fan of the suites and have listened to countless recordings  from famous cellist to less famous cellist, even guitarists and violists. My all time favourite is Anner Bylsma and I recommend it to everyone. I think all of the suites played by Bylsma are available on youtube. Also, what is everyone's favourite piece from the suites? I adore the gavotte from the sixth suite, the bourree II from the fourth. I'm also currently playing the third suite on my guitar, which is a rather fun experience. Anyone?

[SonicMan46]

Hello fellow music worshipers,
I don't know if there is a similar topic already since I've sadly not enough time to enjoy the great vastness of this forum in its entirety, but I'd like to ask all of you; are you familiar with the Bach cello suites? And which is/are your favourite recording/s of the same? I'm a great fan of the suites and have listened to countless recordings  from famous cellist to less famous cellist, even guitarists and violists. My all time favourite is Anner Bylsma and I recommend it to everyone. I think all of the suites played by Bylsma are available on youtube. Also, what is everyone's favourite piece from the suites? I adore the gavotte from the sixth suite, the bourree II from the fourth. I'm also currently playing the third suite on my guitar, which is a rather fun experience. Anyone?

Hello - this thread is nearly 10 years old, so hopefully a lot of members here who appreciate and enjoy the Bach Cello Suites - for myself (an amateur & not a performer), I've purchased and culled these performances for years -currently, I own 7 different sets (shown below), two on the 'shoulder cello' - the last one that I listened to was w/ Anner Bylsma, so must be a favorite for me - enjoy the others - the 'shoulder cello' discs are special and worth a listen.  Dave

 

[George]

Hello fellow music worshipers,
I don't know if there is a similar topic already since I've sadly not enough time to enjoy the great vastness of this forum in its entirety, but I'd like to ask all of you; are you familiar with the Bach cello suites? And which is/are your favourite recording/s of the same?

Love this deep, dark reading of these great works.

[Que]

Hello fellow music worshipers,
I don't know if there is a similar topic already since I've sadly not enough time to enjoy the great vastness of this forum in its entirety, but I'd like to ask all of you; are you familiar with the Bach cello suites? And which is/are your favourite recording/s of the same? I'm a great fan of the suites and have listened to countless recordings  from famous cellist to less famous cellist, even guitarists and violists. My all time favourite is Anner Bylsma and I recommend it to everyone. I think all of the suites played by Bylsma are available on youtube. Also, what is everyone's favourite piece from the suites? I adore the gavotte from the sixth suite, the bourree II from the fourth. I'm also currently playing the third suite on my guitar, which is a rather fun experience. Anyone?

Count me in as another fan of Anner Bijlsma (2nd recording on Sony). 

Another I really like is Paolo Beshi  (Winter & Winter):

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For those who are very familiar with these pieces the use of different instruments provides another angle:

Bruno Cocset uses various cellos (apperently a recent reissue):

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I also have a soft spot for this version on viola da gamba:

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@Dave, wich recording on violoncello da spalla do you prefer - Sigiswald Kuijken or Dimitri Badiarov?

Q

[aligreto]

Love this deep, dark reading of these great works.

Probably my favourite also 

[aligreto]

Hello fellow music worshipers,
I don't know if there is a similar topic already since I've sadly not enough time to enjoy the great vastness of this forum in its entirety, but I'd like to ask all of you; are you familiar with the Bach cello suites? And which is/are your favourite recording/s of the same? I'm a great fan of the suites and have listened to countless recordings  from famous cellist to less famous cellist, even guitarists and violists. My all time favourite is Anner Bylsma and I recommend it to everyone. I think all of the suites played by Bylsma are available on youtube. Also, what is everyone's favourite piece from the suites? I adore the gavotte from the sixth suite, the bourree II from the fourth. I'm also currently playing the third suite on my guitar, which is a rather fun experience. Anyone?

As a guitarist, if you have not already done so, you may want to explore the following....


   


   


I can recommend both sets 

[aukhawk]

Regarding Bylsma, I prefer his earlier recording which sounds a bit more fleet-footed than his 2nd recording which is the one illustrated above.  The earlier one can be hard to find but look out for it on Sony 'Essential Classics'.


Regarding Wispelwey, I haven't listened to all his three recordings (so far) but I do very much like the one I know, which is his highly introspective 3rd recording.


I also very much agree with the mentions above for Beschi and Pandolfo - both excellent, and a rather contrasting complementary pair.

[Mandryka]

Hello fellow music worshipers,
I don't know if there is a similar topic already since I've sadly not enough time to enjoy the great vastness of this forum in its entirety, but I'd like to ask all of you; are you familiar with the Bach cello suites? And which is/are your favourite recording/s of the same? I'm a great fan of the suites and have listened to countless recordings  from famous cellist to less famous cellist, even guitarists and violists. My all time favourite is Anner Bylsma and I recommend it to everyone. I think all of the suites played by Bylsma are available on youtube. Also, what is everyone's favourite piece from the suites? I adore the gavotte from the sixth suite, the bourree II from the fourth. I'm also currently playing the third suite on my guitar, which is a rather fun experience. Anyone?

Which Bylsma recording are you listening to?  (I like the second more than the first, unlike aukhawk, the one on the Stradivarius cello. I like it because he makes the music speak-sing, like a recitative. )

If you're playing the third suite on Guitar, I bet you'll enjoy Pascal Monteilhet's performance, not on guitar but on theorbo. It's a very bold transcription.

My own favourite at the moment is the second suite, especially in performances which make it sound really, really sad, like Badiarov's. I also have a great love for the way Casals plays the prelude for the 6th suite.

In truth, I've gone off these suites a bit, and I've started to favour the violin music, which seems more interesting contrapuntally, and more emotionally varied. I may be wrong about that. I also find myself preferring the higher violin tone.

[Spineur]

I am also an amateur cellist and have played all suites in the past.  In addition to some of the recordings previously mentioned (Queyras and Wispelway) I can add a few more

Pierre Fournier
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Paul Tortelier
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who are the heirs of Casals romantic vision of these suites (see video below), i.e. they use plenty of legato with their bow.

Among the recent versions, I like Marc Coppey reading of the suite, who keeps some of this heritage with a more modern bow technique
[asin]B0000DYN4G[/asin]

I attended one of his concerts last yearin Lyon, where he played all six suite in a single concert with just a 15 min break after the 3rd suite.  The whole concert was recorded and broadcasted by arte and is available on youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/v/P9Rv7V413I4

I find it quite instructive to compare some of the modern interpretation with Casals.  This youtube recording of the 1st suite dates from 1954 at the Prades festival.

https://www.youtube.com/v/KX1YtvFZOj0

I have more recordings (Maisky, Isserlis, Rostropovich) but I do not find them as interesting as some of the one mentioned in this and previous posts.

Which do I prefer ?  Actually it depends on the suite, in which the mood I am.  In any event, it is a highly personal thing.  So just listen to all these artists if you can.  All of them did put a great deal of themselves in their recording, and it isnt just Bach you are listening to.

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

Qan't go wrong with Queyras!

[aligreto]

I am also an amateur cellist and have played all suites in the past.  In addition to some of the recordings previously mentioned (Queyras and Wispelway) I can add a few more

Pierre Fournier
[asin]B000V3OKW0[/asin]

Paul Tortelier
[asin]B0002I8UGQ[/asin]

who are the heirs of Casals romantic vision of these suites (see video below), i.e. they use plenty of legato with their bow.

Among the recent versions, I like Marc Coppey reading of the suite, who keeps some of this heritage with a more modern bow technique
[asin]B0000DYN4G[/asin]

I attended one of his concerts last yearin Lyon, where he played all six suite in a single concert with just a 15 min break after the 3rd suite.  The whole concert was recorded and broadcasted by arte and is available on youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/v/P9Rv7V413I4

I find it quite instructive to compare some of the modern interpretation with Casals.  This youtube recording of the 1st suite dates from 1954 at the Prades festival.

https://www.youtube.com/v/KX1YtvFZOj0

I have more recordings (Maisky, Isserlis, Rostropovich) but I do not find them as interesting as some of the one mentioned in this and previous posts.

Which do I prefer ?  Actually it depends on the suite, in which the mood I am.  In any event, it is a highly personal thing.  So just listen to all these artists if you can.  All of them did put a great deal of themselves in their recording, and it isnt just Bach you are listening to.

You are so right that a successful performance of these suites especially depends on how much of themselves the soloist puts into the performance/interpretation.

+1 on the Fournier, a wonderful performance.

Thank you for posting the Coppey video. I really liked what I have heard so far. Is the CD recording a live one or a studio one?

[Spineur]

You are so right that a successful performance of these suites especially depends on how much of themselves the soloist puts into the performance/interpretation.

+1 on the Fournier, a wonderful performance.

Thank you for posting the Coppey video. I really liked what I have heard so far. Is the CD recording a live one or a studio one?

Its a studio performance which was made 7 to 8 years prior to the live one you are watching.

[Marc]

[...]
Regarding Wispelwey, I haven't listened to all his three recordings (so far) but I do very much like the one I know, which is his highly introspective 3rd recording.

[...]

And my favourite Wispelwey is... his first one, which is IMO his most spontaneous recording, with the most catchy dance rhythms.



https://www.amazon.com/Bach-J-S-Suites-Peter-Wispelwey/dp/B000003UXB/?tag=goodmusicguideco