Each of Bach's six cello suites follows the same structure: Prelude, Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, a pair of galant dances (Menuets, Bourrées, or Gavottes), and a Gigue.
Composition History
Bach wrote his six Suites for unaccompanied cello around 1720 while he was at Cothen, where he served as Kapellmeister until 1723.
Composer Biography
Bach's time in Cothen, where he composed the Cello Suites, was marked by a focus on instrumental music due to the prevailing Calvinism, which favored instrumental over religious music.
Instruments
Csaba Onczay, the cellist on this recording, plays a cello by Matteo Gofriller, which was purchased for him by the Hungarian Government.
Composition History
The original autograph manuscript of Bach's Cello Suites is lost; the earliest copy was made by his second wife, Anna Magdalena Bach, likely in 1727 or 1728.
Performer Biography
The cellist on this recording, Csaba Onczay, is a Hungarian cellist who won the 1973 Pablo Casals Competition in Budapest and the 1976 Villa Lobos International Competition in Rio de Janeiro.
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