Jean Lauxerois begins his notes to Marc Coppey’s recording of J.S. Bach’s Cello Suites by enumerating the many reasons why yet another version of these familiar works “to swell the ever-growing ranks” is superfluous, then explains Coppey’s decision to ignore the arguments as “obedience to a deeper logic, a feeling of necessity”. Lauxerois offers many examples of this “deeper logic”–such as that the Suites somehow correspond to the six days of creation (and on the seventh day God rested…), or that the Suites somehow possess an internal universal code summarizing Leibnitz’s best-of-all-possible-worlds theorem. While it’s impossible to know exactly how obedient Coppey has been to this “deeper logic”, thankfully he delivers an expertly performed set that on purely musical terms renders such rhetorical tripe irrelevant.
Among traditional modern-instrument versions of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, Wolfgang Gönnenwein’s 1968 recording has a lot to offer. Not least is the excellent choral singing from top to bottom. The texts are always clear, and the pacing for the chorales is governed by the story’s dramatic unfolding. You can’t help but be hooked by Evangelist Theo Altmeyer’s warm tone and vivid portrayal, complemented by Franz Crass’ sonorous, touching Jesus. What a joy it is to hear Teresa Zylis-Gara, Julia Hamari, and Hermann Prey at the peak of their respective powers. Tenor Nicolai Gedda is heard to better advantage with Gönnenwein than in Otto Klemperer’s recording, where he struggled with that conductor’s craggy tempos. The orchestra plays beautifully, and the engineering does full justice to Bach’s antiphonal interplay.
Cellist Sara Sant'Ambrogio says ''Before I knew language, I knew Bach'' referring to her earliest memories of growing up in a house full of classical music. A founding member of the Eroica Trio, with recordings on Angel/EMI Classics, Sant'Ambrogio has been profiled in Strings, Strad, Gramophone, and more. She performs on a Matteo Goffriller cello, Venice, ca. 1715. Sara earned rave reviews for her earlier Bach CD (Cello Suites, 1, 3, & 5), and these recordings are even better.
Baroque cellist Tanya Tomkins makes an indelible impression with her virtuosic recording of J S Bach’s Cello Suites. Tanya Tomkins, one of the foremost cellists of her generation, makes an indelible impression scaling the pinnacle of the cello repertoire, J S Bach’s Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello. Familiar to record collectors through her appearance on Avie’s release of Kummer’s Cello Duets, and as a member of the Benvenue Fortepiano Trio’s Mendelssohn and Schumann recordings, Tanya is equally at home in an intimate house concert setting or anchoring the cello section of the San Francisco’s Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra.
Most of Sara Sant'Ambrogio's recordings have been as cellist with the Eroica Trio, but she takes on the odd numbers of J.S. Bach's Six Suites for unaccompanied cello in this 2009 solo outing, and it's an ambitious undertaking. This album faces comparisons with several great recordings of the suites, and this young cellist likewise faces scrutiny for playing works associated with such names as Casals, Fournier, and Rostropovich, past masters of the instrument.
THREE CELLO SUITES from clarinetist Joshua Ranz and Navona Records is a truly groundbreaking take on Bach’s legendary works; In this album, for the first time ever, listeners may enjoy three unabridged cello suites by Bach arranged for the bass clarinet. Ranz selected Suites 1, 4, and 2 for this recording because, together, they form a cohesive and dynamic whole. Ranz holds the chair of principal clarinet for the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and has played on such blockbuster soundtracks as Toy Story 3 and 4, and Star Wars episodes VII and IX. He can be heard prominently featured in La La Land, Catch Me If You Can, and An American Pickle. Ranz lends a fresh voice to Bach’s profoundly-beautiful music in THREE CELLO SUITES.