Cello

The six Cello Suites, BWV 1007–1012, are suites for unaccompanied cello by Johann Sebastian Bach. They are some of the most frequently performed solo compositions ever written for cello. Bach most likely composed them during the period 1717–1723, when he served as Kapellmeister in Köthen. The title given on the cover of the Anna Magdalena Bach manuscript was Suites à Violoncello Solo senza Basso (Suites for cello solo without bass).

The six Cello Suites, BWV 1007–1012, are suites for unaccompanied cello by Johann Sebastian Bach. They are some of the most frequently performed solo compositions ever written for cello. Bach most likely composed them during the period 1717–1723, when he served as Kapellmeister in Köthen. The title given on the cover of the Anna Magdalena Bach manuscript was Suites à Violoncello Solo senza Basso (Suites for cello solo without bass).

Celebrated for her brilliant qualities as a first class cellist, Xenia Jankovic carries out a worldwide career as soloist, chamber musician and pedagogue.

One of the great cellists as well as one of the leading conductors of the 20th century, Mstislav Rostropovich's passionate and virtuosic performance style sometimes seemed to reflect the turbulent events in his life, including his exile from his native Soviet Union. In addition to his ability to project with notable fullness in all registers of his instrument, he had complete command of the styles of all the musical eras and national schools in the standard cello repertoire of the time.

What an exquisite release this is. By turns meditative, inquiring, playful and restless. But always provocative. And with an element of sensuous fantasy. For her debut recording, Helsinki-based Spanish cellist Guadalupe López Iñiguez takes a holistic approach to the complete works for cello of baroque composers Domenico Gabrielli and Alessandro Scarlatti – one embracing psychology, musicology and sociology. She is accompanied by like-minded musicians: a continuo ensemble comprising Markku Luolajan-Mikkola (baroque cello), Olli Hyyrynen (baroque guitar and archlute) and Lauri Honkavirta (harpsichord).

What an exquisite release this is. By turns meditative, inquiring, playful and restless. But always provocative. And with an element of sensuous fantasy. For her debut recording, Helsinki-based Spanish cellist Guadalupe López Iñiguez takes a holistic approach to the complete works for cello of baroque composers Domenico Gabrielli and Alessandro Scarlatti – one embracing psychology, musicology and sociology. She is accompanied by like-minded musicians: a continuo ensemble comprising Markku Luolajan-Mikkola (baroque cello), Olli Hyyrynen (baroque guitar and archlute) and Lauri Honkavirta (harpsichord).

Cellist Marko Ylönen has recorded a beautiful double album containing Bach’s six suites for solo cello. On the album, Ylönen wants to emphasize the way in which the different series work together in a dialogue. That is why he does not play them in their numerical order, but creates an experience that takes the listener from the world of passion in the fifth series to the joyful tones of the last sixth series. The clear musical structure and the affect of the musical characters and gestures combine in Ylönen’s performance.

Newly remastered from the original L'Oiseau Lyre tapes, a little-known Bach recording in the true French style. The modern phenomenon of the Cello Suites as a staple of any record collection may be laid at the feet of the Catalan cellist Pablo Casals, whose HMV recording, released in 1939, belatedly placed the set alongside The Well-Tempered Clavier and the solo violin works as a cornerstone of Bach's instrumental output in the consciousness of listeners who could not play a note of his music. Another two decades elapsed before a new generation of cellists took up the mantle of Casals in the LP era. Among their select number was Jean-Max Clément, whose 1958 studio recording for L'Oiseau Lyre was released two years later. By then he had made a notable concerto appearance in London with Sir Thomas Beecham: 'His tone was very small indeed,' reported The Times, 'but it was of such rare beauty and refinement that we could have listened to him all night.'

To record Bach’s Six Suites was Emmanuelle Bertrand’s most cherished dream; it has now become reality thanks to her encounter with an exceptional instrument. Built by Carlo Tononi in Venice in 1730, this cello with its deep and generous sound, set up in ‘Baroque’ style (with gut strings and bow to match), has proved to be the most faithful of partners for tackling one of the most impressive monuments in all western music.