Yo-Yo Ma recorded these suites using a 'magic bow' gifted to him by his wife, Jill, and crafted by Benoît Rolland.
Compositional Technique
The counterpoint in Bach's Cello Suites is largely implied, requiring the performer to make connections clear and the listener to fill in the longer line.
Compositional Technique
Bach's Cello Suites achieve a profound intimacy without dramatic ecclesiastical narrative, being Bach at his most abstract.
Recording & Production
This is Yo-Yo Ma's third recording of the Bach Cello Suites, the first being in his late twenties and the second in his forties.
Instruments
Bach embraced the challenge of writing soloistic music for the cello, which had previously been used only as an accompanying instrument.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Bach, in creating these works, acted as a 'musician-scientist,' expressing precise observations about nature and human nature through his music.
Performer Biography
Yo-Yo Ma, the cellist on this recording, first learned the First Bach Cello Suite from his father at the age of four.
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