Bach: Cello Suites 1-6, BWV 1007-1012

Featuring

Steven Isserlis
Johann Sebastian Bach
Anonymous (Christmas)

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Composition History

The exact circumstances of the creation of Bach's Cello Suites are unknown; it is not clear when, why, or for whom he wrote them.

Instruments

For this recording, Steven Isserlis used a Stradivarius cello for the first four suites and a Guadagnini cello for the fifth suite.

Critical Reception

Although never truly lost, the Cello Suites were not always highly esteemed and only entered the musical public's consciousness after the great Catalan cellist Pablo Casals began performing them.

Historical Context

Bach likely composed the Cello Suites between 1717 and 1723 while serving as Kapellmeister at the court of Prince Leopold at Cöthen, a period when he had a virtuoso chamber ensemble but no choir.

Compositional Technique

Bach pushed the technical boundaries of the cello in these suites, requiring scordatura (retuning) for the fifth suite and five strings for the sixth suite.

Performer Biography

Steven Isserlis, the cellist on this recording, plays the Feuermann Stradivarius of 1730, on loan from The Nippon Music Foundation of Japan.

Interpretation

Steven Isserlis, the performer, chose to play the sixth suite on a standard four-string cello rather than a five-string instrument, as he felt the five-string sound would be anticlimactic.