Suites for cello solo (Bach)

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Prelude to Suite No. 1, the first page of Anna Magdalena Bach's copy

The six suites for solo violoncello ( BWV 1007–1012) by Johann Sebastian Bach are among the most frequently performed compositions for a solo string instrument today. The manuscript combines six suites , that is, sequences of individual movements that - often strongly stylized - allude to the fashionable court dances of the time of origin and the previous generation.

The six works place high demands on the player: “Bach's compositions for solo violin and cello stand for the highest virtuosity, and this, especially in view of their uniqueness, even more than his piano works, which make similar technical demands”, writes Christoph Wolff ; He particularly emphasizes that the string solo works, despite their instrument-related limitations in the compositional mastery of the material, are not inferior to piano works of the same time. Cellists tend to appreciate the six suites even higher; says Pau Casals : "You are the quintessence of Bach's work, and Bach himself is the quintessence of all music."

Lore

As with many of Bach's works, no autograph manuscript has survived; already the heir is not known. The oldest source is a copy that Johann Peter Kellner made around 1726. Since he did not play a string instrument himself, he probably made the copy for reasons of study; this would explain his negligence especially with the slurs and articulation in general.

Today's sheet music editions are mainly based on the copy that Anna Magdalena Bach made between 1727 and 1731. One can assume that many details such as page layout, headings, headings and beaming remain close to the original; Unfortunately, this does not necessarily apply to the articulation. A fair copy from Bach is accepted as a template. This copy initially formed a two-part bundle of the solo works for violin and those for violoncello. It was apparently made for Bach's student Georg Ludwig Schwanberger (1696–1774) (the father of Johann Gottfried Schwanberger ). At the time the manuscript was being written, he was studying with Bach in Leipzig and wrote the common title page himself. The two parts were separated early and went their own way.

In the last few decades, two more anonymous manuscripts from the time after Bach's death were discovered, which must have been created in Berlin in the vicinity of Carl Philipp Emanuel . In some places they show considerable deviations; in particular, they add a lot of embellishments.

After the first print in 1824 and an interpreter edition by Friedrich Dotzauer in the following year, the first source-critical edition was published in 1879 in the complete edition of the Leipzig Bach Society . The New Bach Edition by Hans Eppstein did not follow until 1988–91 . A revision of this edition was made by Andrew Taille in 2016 due to the new source situation.

structure

The six suites have a uniform structure: A prelude is followed by the four movements usual in German high baroque: Allemande - Courante - Sarabande - Gigue , with Bach inserting a couple of further dances before the final movement: two minuets in suites 1 and 2, two bourrées in suites 3 and 4, two gavottes in 5 and 6. In high baroque music practically all dances consist of two sections that are repeated separately, the second part is often longer than the first, and their lengths are usually in one simple numerical ratio. If two identical dances follow one another, the second usually represents a contrast in movement and key and refers to the repetition of the first dance with the instruction Da capo .

Collection or cycle?

The joint transmission of the six works in a collective manuscript suggests that Bach also considered them to belong together. In addition to the sequence of movements described, the sequence of keys, which later became an important classification criterion for extensive cycles, already shows a certain degree of planning - no key is repeated, and the work comprises two groups of two major keys each, which enclose a minor key. This is comparable, for example, to the sonatas for violin with obbligato harpsichord, where in two groups each two minor keys are followed by a major key. A further planning of the keys, for example according to their names or accidentals, is not discernible and was probably only introduced later by Bach, for example in the Inventions and symphonies and the Well-Tempered Clavier .

Despite the uniformity of the dance sequences, the individual movements, especially the preludes , should evidently give a colorful and diverse picture. However, none of these opening movements has a tempo mark (this was not necessary for the dances anyway); they have clearly virtuoso features.

Emergence

The composition is evidently a sister work to the sonatas and partitas for solo violin . The cover sheet of their autograph score reads Libro Primo (“first book”) - it has often been speculated that the cello suites accordingly formed the second book of a two-part collection.

Since the solo works for cello are by and large less polyphonic than those for violin, it has been suggested that they originated earlier; however, the composer's insight can simply be deduced from this that the lower register of the instrument is less appropriate for a polyphonic setting. So one can also assume that the solos for the two instruments were written in parallel over several years.

In contrast to the solo works for violin, there are no potential direct models from northern or central Germany; Bach certainly knew examples of the culture of solo viol music.

Dating

Since the composition autograph is missing, dating is only possible according to stylistic criteria. Even with current knowledge, this is not exactly easy.

As mentioned, all six compositions follow the strict suite form that Bach later abandoned in his suites for orchestra , but also in the E major partita for solo violin . This speaks strongly in favor of starting the composition of the cello suites before the violin partita composed by March 1719. This shows a much freer movement sequence, apparently under the impression of the Pièces de Clavecin by François Couperin , which Bach must have got to know at this point in time.

From a formal point of view, the cello suites are more similar to the English suites , whose creation in the Weimar period from 1713/14 is now considered certain. In addition to the rather strict sequence of dance movements and their preceding, extensive and as differentiated as possible preludes , it is particularly noticeable that in the first three suites the second of the dance movements inserted into the Froberger schema are always in the major or minor key of the same name, never in the parallel key (the Bach later mostly used in such cases). In the second group, suites 4 to 6, they are in the basic key of the respective suite.

The most developed movements of the English Suite 2 to 6, the Preludes, show a da-capo form in concert style; those of the cello suites are more likely to be triggered by a motif than to develop a real theme, and thus resemble the prelude of the first suite, which was certainly made earlier.

Nevertheless, it is doubtful whether the suites were conceived as a six-part collection from the start. Some stylistic peculiarities and certain irregularities in the composition of the fifth suite suggest that this was written earlier than the others - possibly initially as a single work, possibly also for another instrument, such as the lute or viol. Then Bach may have made the decision to put together a collection of solo works for violin and cello solo; the first three cello suites paint a strikingly homogeneous picture here and could have been created because of the stylistic similarity to the English suites . The fourth cello suite is musically much more ambitious and technically more demanding; some time may have passed by now. Bach then seems to have made higher demands on the cello playing and to have come into possession of a five-string instrument; Including the early fifth suite, he seems to have completed the collection with the sixth suite that was probably created last.

Such a five-string instrument only appears in a few Leipzig cantatas from autumn 1724; its score is called "violoncello piccolo". It is possible that the composition of the sixth suite and the completion of the six suites only took place in Leipzig at the same time. At least it is noticeable that Anna Magdalena's copy is much more uncertain and inaccurate here than in the violin solos; This was attributed to the fact that the original was written very narrowly and indistinctly, i.e. perhaps represented a composition manuscript, so that Bach had not yet produced a fair copy himself at this point in time.

Bach's authorship

Due to the lack of a compositional handwriting and alleged stylistic differences between the cello suites and certain works by Bach, doubts about his authorship arose; Anna Magdalena Bach was then proposed as composer. However, such speculations can now be considered refuted.

Bach as a cellist

It is often assumed that Bach wrote the cello suites for a musician at the Köthener Hof, much more often it is believed that he hadn't thought of anyone in particular: After writing six solo works for violin, it was only logical that he should be in a similar form the cellists too.

All in all, these are very modern ideas about a composer; For a baroque musician it was a matter of course to first write compositions for himself and then perform them himself. Bach came from an old family of musicians, he was employed as concertmaster in Weimar, and his son Carl Philipp Emanuel wrote in a letter to Johann Nikolaus Forkel in 1774 that Bach usually led the orchestra from the violin and preferred to play the viola. In a number of Leipzig cantatas, the score is called “ cello piccolo ”; but this instrument only ever occurs in single movements; until April 1725 at least his part is notated either with the first violin or on a separate sheet and inserted into it. So there can really be little doubt that the concertmaster insisted on playing these movements - and at least for a time it will have been none other than Bach himself.

Viola da spalla

It is well known that the violin and violoncello have very different fingering systems , so that today, as then, there are very few players who really master both instruments. However, a close examination of the instruments, which were called the “violoncello” during Bach's lifetime, shows that they differed greatly in size and playing style; Instruments played on the arm probably played a major role. Johann Gottfried Walther , Bach's predecessor in office in Weimar, only mentions the arm position in his lexicon; the same applies to Johann Mattheson in Das neu-opened Orchester (Hamburg 1713). Even for Leopold Mozart , who was born in 1719, the leg posture is evidently a modern development. It would not be astonishing if at the Weimar court the term “cellos” was primarily used to describe instruments held on the arm and played with violin fingering, which today would more likely be referred to as viola da spalla . The Third and Sixth Brandenburg Concerts could also be designed for this type of instrument. Incidentally, Kellner's copy of the six suites, which certainly goes back to the autograph independently of Anna Magdalena's, calls the instrument the “Viola de Basso”.

The fact that Bach initially wrote all six suites for his own use, namely for an instrument held on the arm, cannot yet be clearly proven, but from an instrument-scientific and biographical point of view there is much to be said for it. In view of the fact that Bach was obviously "familiar with the musical languages ​​typical of instruments in every detail and perfectly mastered the respective playing technique," not only with the violin but also in the cello solo works, this assumption is reasonable. But even if Bach actually wrote for a colleague - in Weimar this could have been the virtuoso violinist and cellist Gregor Christoph Eylenstein (1682–1749) - an instrument played on the arm is likely from today's scientific point of view.

music

Suite No. I in G major, BWV 1007

  • Prelude in G major
  • Allemande in G major
  • Courante 3/4 in G major
  • Sarabande 3/4 in G major
  • Minuet I in G major - II in G minor - I
  • Gigue 6/8 in G major

Prelude

The opening movement is perhaps one of the most famous pieces in the cycle. It is a harmonious study in a steady rhythm and begins with arpeggios in the movement pattern of the small prelude in C minor BWV 999 or the well-known prelude in C major BWV 846 from the first part of the Well-Tempered Clavier . In contrast to these, however, the basic pattern is repeatedly abandoned in favor of modifications and contrasting insertions; if it occurs again, it has a ritual- like effect, although it is never quoted verbatim .

The movement remains harmonious - despite the extensive use of seventh chords - always close to the starting key and the chords of the open strings; a real modulation , that is, reaching the target key in whatever dramatization, does not actually take place. In its last quarter, the movement increasingly focuses on technical finesse - a long bariolage- like section with a chromatic scale well over an octave forms the unique climax. The barely interrupted sixteenth-note movement ensures a strong uniformity that also holds heterogeneous material together.

Dance movements

Allemande: Allemande had not been danced for a long time in Bach's time and always represent a strongly stylized, two-part form for him. They are actually only recognizable by the short prelude (usually a sixteenth note) and then tend to be continuous, rarely interrupted sixteenth note movement at a rather calm pace . The allemande in the G major suite is a good example of this - under all the runs and all the ornamentation, small melodic figures develop over and over again, which are often taken up again one or two bars later, but then no longer occur and so do not close can coagulate a thematic, i.e. form-forming, element. Despite all the irregularities, Bach indicates the subliminal dance character by means of a strict form of two sixteen bars.

Courante: This dance was also no longer danced during Bach's time, but Bach emphasizes the dance character through a clearly elaborated periodic : a four- bar group with a clearly motif-based four-bar group is followed by a contrasting second, whose fast movements can be understood as ornamental; Apart from two inserted bars, the movement is clearly made up of defined eight bar groups and thus has the proportion of 10:24 bars, which is understandable when listening. A characteristic of Couranten, a hemiole in the penultimate measure, is only hinted at very subtly by Bach.

Sarabande: The sarabande also shows a clearly emphasized periodical system consisting of four bar groups; Bach often achieves the emphasis on the second beat characteristic of the dance very clearly with full chords. From a distance, the theme is reminiscent of the middle movement of the Second Brandenburg Concerto .

Minuets: The clear structure of eight bar groups can be considered characteristic of minuets; both movements of the first suite consist of eight plus sixteen bars. The first is clearly made up of four-bar groups, the second appears to be smaller by emphasizing two-bar groups; Bach counteracts this effect at the beginning of the second half with a long sequence of fifths. Both minuets reach their respective parallel keys in the middle of the second half.

Gigue: The quick final movement follows the Italian "Giga" type of simple eighth note triplets. Changes in harmony take place twice per measure, which indicates that the tempo is not too high. The three four-bar groups of the first part are clearly recognizable; In the last third of the second part, Bach then begins to slide these into one another and temporarily insert the minor variants of the tonic and subdominant , in order to make the proportions and basic key unclear in an exciting way shortly before the end of the work.

Suite No. II in D minor, BWV 1008

  • Prelude 3/4 in D minor
  • Allemande in C D minor
  • Courante 3/4 in D minor
  • Sarabande 3/4 in D minor
  • Minuet I in D minor - II in D major - I
  • Gigue 3/8 in D minor

Prelude

The movement bears clear features of a strongly stylized sarabande, with an emphasis on the first beat and an exciting pause on the second beat. The rhythmically characteristic motif of the first bar is omnipresent over long stretches, but its notes are more and more filled by sixteenths, so that it structures a more subliminal even movement. The motif is increasingly abandoned and can thus mark the reaching of a new harmonious platform at intervals in a form-building manner. It marks the achievement of the parallel major key after twelve bars and the dominant after two thirds of the movement.

The three-part chords that conclude the movement would probably have been resolved by Bach in his own playing according to the pattern of the preceding bars in sixteenth-note movements or by reference to the opening motif; possibly he just didn't write them down for reasons of space.

Dance movements

Allemande: The dance is markedly more motivic than the more brittle counterpart of the first suite; with two twelve bars it has a similar basic structure, but only three quarters of its length. This seemingly rigid basic form is filled with motifs of very different lengths - the German composers of the high baroque era apparently no longer associated a specific sequence of steps with an “allemande”. The second part corresponds rhythmically to that of the first over a longer period of time and only gradually moves away from it.

Courante: The motif of the two halves is strongly related to one another and is characterized by a rarely interrupted sixteenth-note movement, which makes it difficult at the beginning of the sections to delimit the motifs from one another; Regular changes in harmony on the first beat of each measure make orientation easier (if the player makes it clearer). A period of two- and four-bar units quickly establishes itself - perhaps most noticeably in the last four bars of each part, which derive their tension from latent two-part music, in which the lower part changes harmony and the upper part remains motifically in rapid Ostinatian movement.

Sarabande: It is noticeable here that Bach only emphasizes the second beat in the first of two bars, so to a certain extent stylizes the dance more than the counterpart from the first suite. Three four-bar groups thus created form the first, four the second, the end of which is indicated by clear chromaticism in the lower part.

Minuets: The two minuets again have the same length and structure with a second part of double length, the middle of which touches the parallel key, but does not consolidate it with a clear cadence . In its second part, the second minuet shows the increasingly clear tendency to dissolve all motifs into a continuous soft eighth note movement, so that the dance character is only re-established with the return of the first minuet. The movement has also been seen as a kind of stylized continuo part to an imaginary melody part.

Gigue: A characteristic opening four-bar motif, which is then modified with strong ornamentation and then immediately touches the tonic parallel, which then constantly plays an important harmonic role: the second part also begins consistently with this and not the dominant with which the first part had completed - the only such movement in the cello suites. The eight-bar phrases are clearly emphasized at the beginning and only blurred in the second case by insertions, which leads to the proportion 8:11.

Suite No. III in C major, BWV 1009

  • Prelude 3/4 in C major
  • Allemande c in C major
  • Courante 3/4 in C major
  • Sarabande 3/4 in C major
  • Bourrée I in C major - II in C minor - I
  • Gigue 3/8 in C major

Prelude

The movement begins with a scale motif that is used a few times for structuring, but actually hardly has a formative effect. Rather, what characterizes the movement are the diverse, repeatedly modified and exchanged arpeggio patterns with which the far-reaching harmonic development is expressed. After several lines of the purest C major, the parallel key A minor is reached via the dominant and gradually consolidated. Bach now heads for the area of ​​the subdominant and its parallel; however, longer passages over the organ point of the open G-string obscure this and leave the actual modulation target in the dark for long stretches. This section is clearly inspired by the ending of the first movement in Arcangelo Corelli's Violin Sonata Opus 5 No. 3. Gradually, however, the dominant G major asserts itself, despite the persistent appearance of a subdominant function. After all the chord breaks, Bach audibly falls back on scale material that he had developed in the first lines and thus clearly introduces the end of the sentence.

Despite all the harmonic complexity, the harmony changes take place exclusively on the first beat of each measure, which suggests a high tempo. The latter is also suggested by the playing instruction "presto", which can only be found in Kellner's copy.

Dance movements

Allemande : The sentence is clearly motivated by the game with thirty-second values ​​inserted into the sixteenth-note movement; the movement has a beginning of three sixteenths, which is not common with Bach. Bach is constantly inventing new motifs, all of which are also taken up again in the second part - in parts the corresponding sections of the two parts are rhythmically similar or even identical down to the last detail, which again leads to a strict form made up of two equally long parts. This highly developed motivic work is contrasted with a conspicuously sparing harmony, which in the first part just introduces and consolidates the dominant and in the second part, after briefly touching the minor parallel and subdominant areas, leads back to the tonic.

Courante : The score is very inconspicuous - apparently only eighth notes that rarely stop and then start again with a quick start. Bach develops melodic arcs of four and often eight bars, which in both parts - again almost equally long - increasingly lead to polyphony through the suggestion of a second and third voice.

Sarabande: The sentence reintroduces pronounced stresses on the first and second beat. The second, twice as long, part quickly turns to the dominant of the second degree and reaches this via a mysterious figure that draws its charm from the harmonic minor scale , but above all from a tension-laden syncope that omits the expected second beat. The last bars lead back to the tonic, but on this way use intermediate dominants several times, so that a Bach motif also forms in the lower part.

Bourréen: The rhythm of the short, clearly dance-shaped first part of the first Bourree is first repeated in the second section, modulating to a tonic parallel. On the third pass everything dissolves into eighth notes, which are so far removed from the original that Bach can inconspicuously insert further material before a clear reference to the second four bar group at the beginning brings the movement back to the basic key.

The second Bourrée resolves the clear rhythm of the first into a soft eighth note movement from the start, which Bach provides with many legato slurs and which it is not without reason that the complete edition is called piano . The aim here is clearly not to obscure the periodic, but only to create a contrast in character - unlike in many other Bourréen composed by Bach (e.g. in the E major partita for solo violin), these movements are in cello suites III and IV clearly structured.

Gigue: A very effective final movement with an unexpected abundance of melodic material - latent and real two-part voices, shifted accents and - in the second halves of both forms - pronounced bagpipe effects. The movement begins with an inconspicuous variant of the "giga" type, as it is most clearly and purely executed in the first and especially the fourth suite. More and more then, however, sixteenths determine the score; Finally, the first section introduces a small Anapaest-like motif, which will only play an important role in the second part that follows. But unlike in all other dance movements in the collection, this second part does not go back to the beginning of the movement, but instead introduces completely new material. Only then does he take up the various other elements one after the other and bring the suite to a convincing end.

Suite No. IV in E flat major, BWV 1010

  • Prelude in E flat major
  • Allemande in E flat major
  • Courante 3/4 in E flat major
  • Sarabande 3/4 in E flat major
  • Bourrée I in E flat major - II E flat major - I
  • Gigue 12/8 in E flat major

Prelude

This movement forms a harmoniously far-reaching chord study and is clearly reminiscent of similar movements for lute and remotely of the prelude of the first suite. Right from the start, two bars form a harmonious unit, which suggests a high tempo. Subtle changes to the pattern support this two-bar structure and ultimately even introduce ascending arpeggios, so that by resorting to the initial pattern, the reaching of the minor parallel can be made clear. Unpredictably the movement breaks off on the seventh level of the dominant of this second level; only a long sixteenth-note chain sets it in motion again.

From here onwards, fast runs or changes of notes repeatedly interrupt the basic pattern and gain so much significance that the movement does not end with the repetition of the opening bars, but also only with a sixteenth run to the tonic chord. Because of the key, the movement, given its polyphonic chords, is anything but easy to play for today's cello technique; therefore it has already been assumed that Bach tuned the a-string down in this suite as in the fifth - after g or a flat.

Dance movements

Allemande: Apart from the sixth cello suite, which was probably created later, this is the only allemande from the cello suites and English suites in which the second part is longer than the first. The first part establishes two six-bar groups that respond to two bars of scale courses with a motivic four-bar group; a four-stroke group completes this molding. The second part begins again with a six-stroke unit and then overlays four- and six-stroke units; the beginning of a reprise or even just reaching the tonic again is not clearly worked out.

Courante: The movement is basically based on an eighth note movement, with long strikes made up of sixteenth notes. Bach repeatedly contrasts this with a triplet movement, so that the rhythm is unusually rich; thus the sentence fluctuates between the type of the French Courante and the Italian "Corrente". It is possible that there are already influences of the gallant style here , which could be used for more precise dating in the future.

Sarabande: Bach almost completely dispenses with chords or even clear dissonances on the second beat, so that the dance appears very strongly stylized. The melody part is characterized by frequent dots and by syncopated connections to the first beat, which are only marked by the bass, which is obligatory over long stretches.

Bourréen: As the greatest possible contrast to the previous movement, the first Bourrée shows the underlying dance character very clearly; Thus the periodicals clearly consist of two-bar groups - nowhere in question - which combine to form four-bar groups in the first part and large parts of the second. The second part consists of three sections of roughly the same length; In the middle (in the minor parallel) and the final tonic section, Bach disguises the thematic entries. Characteristic of the movement - and rather seldom in a Bourrée - is the fast opening of four sixteenths, which Bach immediately uses for motivic play.

This clearly virtuoso first bourrée is followed by the greatest possible contrast: A laconically short Bourrée 2 , made up almost entirely of quarters, in clear two-part voices.

Gigue: The Italian giga type is particularly pronounced here; the lack of any faster movement and the deliberately slow change in harmony suggest a particularly high tempo. Here, too, two-bar phrases combine over long stretches to form four- and eight-bar groups, but the period is always subtly disrupted by two-bar insertions, so that the first part already consists of ten bars. The second part consists of two sections and modulates in the middle from the dominant via its parallel to the tonic parallel; the final section begins like a true-to-note recapitulation, but extends it to sixteen bars.

Suite No. V in C minor, BWV 1011

The first page (prelude) of the lute version (BWV 995) of the 5th suite
  • Prelude in C 3/8 in C minor
  • Allemande in C in C minor
  • Courante 3/4 in C minor
  • Sarabande 3/4 in C minor
  • Gavotte I in C minor - II in C minor - I.
  • Gigue 3/8 in C minor

This suite has also survived in G minor in an autograph version for lute (BWV 995). As far as we know today, it was edited from the cello version. Bach wrote it for the music dealer Jacob Schuster, and apparently expected that he would make further copies of the manuscript, so he apparently did not consider the manuscript to be representative.

For cello the work is notated in scordature ; that is, the a-string is tuned down a whole tone after g, which contributes significantly to a more muted overall sound. Such a cello tuning was common in Bologna, but it cannot be proven that Bach referred to this tradition or even knew it; this is rather unlikely, because no other work by Bach in such a mood is known.

The assumption of an original version for gamba is conceivable, the polyphony of which Bach was able to transfer better from the original fourth tuning to the cello. August Kühnel worked at the Weimar court from 1693 to 1695 ; a copy of his printed 14 Sonata ô Partite for one or two viols with continuo could very well have been in the library there when Bach arrived - some passages from it resemble corresponding phrases in Bach's fifth cello suite. These parallels make the assumption of a first version for gamba at least conceivable.

Acoustically less satisfactory double stops in the lower register could indicate a later transposition of the work downwards, and some sustained notes in the prelude and gigue, during which a different active voice is apparently to be introduced, also suggest that the work was not originally written for cello .

Harmonious peculiarities, irregular periods and the use of older dance forms indicate an early development before the other cello suites . It is even assumed that Bach arranged a harpsichord suite from the time of the English suites here; he only replaced the sarabande with a new composition on this occasion.

Prelude

The first movement is a two-part French overture from an introduction with the typical dotted rhythms and a subsequent fugato . The first part alone remains on the tonic or its organ point for nine bars before it finally opens to the dominant. This also stops for a full five bars, only then does the harmony move, which reaches the dominant after six bars and also consolidates it in six bars. In contrast to all of Bach's other such instrumental movements, the introductory section is not repeated, but leads directly into the fugato.

This uses the theme almost exclusively on tonic and minor (!) Dominants; only the last use takes place on the Tonikaparallele. This also suggests an early emergence. The sentence repeatedly shows the clear demarcation of molded parts that clearly appear as interludes; the re-entry of the topic is then mostly disguised by playfully hiding the topic under figuration.

Over four fifths of the fugue clearly combine two three-eighth bars, only in the last part do more and more hemiolas appear, which obscure and destroy these two-bar groups. At the end - unlike always in Bach's instrumental work - the dotted section is no longer taken up.

Dance movements

Allemande: The sentence is clearly reminiscent of the dotted rhythms of the French overture; this could be one reason why Bach ended the overture without recourse to it. Again we have two molded parts of equal length in front of us. Changes in harmony usually only take place in full bars, often marked by four-part chords. The harmony always stays close to the basic key. The beginning of the movement clearly resembles that of the suite in F sharp minor from the Pièces de Clavessin by Gaspard Le Roux , which was published in Amsterdam in 1705. Since Johann Gottfried Walther copied about half of this collection, one can assume that Bach was also familiar with the work.

Courante: The only one within the cello suites that corresponds to the French Courante type , not the Italian Corrente . A bar-wise ascending scale of the lower voice in the first bars, which falls back into the tonic, dramatizes the achievement of the dominant in the sixth bar, with which Bach initially established a five-bar structure. This is followed by a long chain of hemioli, i.e. straight-cycle motifs, which completely overlay the basic dimension of 3/2 and take away the listener's orientation. The second part of the sentence seems to move further away from the basic time signature, before the penultimate measure leads back to the tonic chord with its cadence in 3/2 time.

Sarabande: This sentence is particularly interesting because the dance rhythm, which is important for the character of this dance, with the (mostly dissonant) emphasis on the second beat is indicated here by a unison eighth note chain. Expression and treatment of dissonance have been compared with the aria Sighing, Tears, Kummer, Noth from Cantata 21 . - In the cello tradition of the 20th century, largely influenced by Casals, the movement is presented as an extremely slow lament, without any reference to the character of the underlying dance.

Gavotten: The dance character is emphasized surprisingly clearly by full-grip chords. The second part is twice the length of the first, in the middle it modulates to the major parallel and at the end back to the tonic. What is striking within this clear dance period is the attempt to present a highly developed polyphony. The second gavotte dissolves the almost coarse dance character of the first into a soft triplet movement; it is in the same key and is also in three parts at the beginning - after the repeated first section, a second section of the same length leads to the dominant, the third then back to the tonic, where it then continues unexpectedly, so that this second gavotte is disproportionately long developed the second part - Bach may have expanded this sentence when it was included in the cycle here.

Gigue : After the many sentences in this suite, which are strongly characterized by double stops, the simplicity of the Gigue is striking, which - as in the fourth suite - remains purely unanimous. As a result, the sentence tends to be slightly harmonious in places; Even with the first two bars the question remains whether they really mark the tonic or perhaps its parallel. This beginning also has echoes of the same suite by Le Roux as the Allemande

The movement consists of clear eight bar groups, without any disturbance or obscurity of the periodic - the first part has three thematically separated eight bar groups, the second six. In contrast to all the other jigs in the cycle, the movement is based on dotted rhythms and also emphasizes them clearly, thus following the model of the French jig.

Suite No. VI in D major, BWV 1012

  • Prelude 12/8 in D major
  • Allemande in D major
  • Courante 3/4 in D major
  • Sarabande 3/2 in D major
  • Gavotte I in D major - II in D major - I
  • Gigue 6/8 in D major

This suite is composed for a five-string instrument with an additional high e-string. The tonal range is larger than that of the other suites - by much more than the fifth that the additional string offers by itself. The double fingering technique is much more demanding, and the greater length of all sentences suggests that they were created later. Otherwise, the average technical requirements are significantly higher than with the five other suites; therefore “the sixth suite cannot have represented Bach's first attempt at a composition for an unfamiliar instrument”.

When using a four-string cello today, the technical difficulties of the sixth suite are enormous; in particular, the cellist is often to play in very high positions forced and even lightning-fast changes of positions within arpeggios. The same passages can be played much more relaxed on a historical five-string cello. It is not clear whether Bach composed the six suites for a five-string violoncello da spalla , which is held in front of the chest while playing, but in recent times this has been increasingly considered plausible, especially with regard to the sixth suite. For example, to let historical performance gave Nederlandse Bachvereniging their project under All of Bach (video recording of all works by Bach), the sixth suite of Sergei Malow da spalla import with a cello.

If the sixth suite was not actually composed in Leipzig until around 1724, Bach's willingness to take up the compositionally outdated forms of the other suites is astonishing. The three partitas for violin solo show a much more inhomogeneous picture in this respect, and the sixth sonata for violin and clavier BWV 1019, which has been revised several times, does not fit into the series inconspicuously. This could indicate that Bach was already more interested in a well-formed cycle. At least it is also conceivable that it was his student GL Schwanberger, on whose initiative not only the creation of the transcript, but also the use of the instrument in the cantatas of this period and even the composition of the sixth suite declined.

Prelude

The prelude clearly alludes to a concert movement - it initially establishes a pronounced ritornell-like structure that will gradually appear on all four possible levels and thus clearly divide the movement into six - increasingly longer - sections. This "ritornello" always starts quite surprisingly and although it has a high recognition value due to its first bars with bariolage- like technique, it does not form a final cadenza , but rather continues seamlessly into the following episodes.

While this ritornello head is harmoniously static, in the rest of the movement the rhythm of the harmonic changes changes again and again and even becomes a means of design if the triplet eighth remain constant. The first eleven bars gradually modulate to the dominant, where they are repeated exactly and thus lead to the second stage, the minor character of which now requires changes and is used to longer modulation passages. After the subdominant G major was marked in the middle of the movement with a renewed appearance of the ritornel, Bach gradually began to use ever higher registers and finally to jam the incessant triplet movement, which had never been abandoned, several times, until it dissolves into cascading runs and chord breaks.

These are also replaced by a short ritornello quotation on dominant and tonic; then Bach clearly audibly introduces the modulation back into the original key. The movement ends with a few chords and a short coda.

Dance movements

On closer inspection, there are clear contrasts between the first two dance movements and the following three: While Allemande and Courante tend to blur their periodic structure, Sarabande, Gavotten and Gigue consist of four- and eight-bar groups without any attempt to disturb this period. These three movements also seem to make noticeably little use of the C string; this could possibly indicate that it was originally made for a four-stringed instrument. A harmonious detail is also noticeable in the Allemande and Courante: Towards the end of their molded parts, they reach the target key very early and then consolidate it on lying harmony, which otherwise does not occur in this form in the cello suites. These and other properties could be used for more precise dating in the future and make a revision of an early version appear conceivable.

Allemande: After the concert movement of the Prelude, the corresponding slow movement follows: virtuoso, seemingly endless cantilenas of a solo instrument, only lightly supported by a few chords and bass notes, between which a hinted middle part emerges in places.

Courante: Bach designed the whole movement with a single characteristic figure and a few variations. The figure is a long prelude to a broken chord. Little by little, Bach expands it in both parts of the sentence with longer and longer sixteenth notes, which also have an upbeat effect and keep the tension rising.

Sarabande: With its extended three- and four-part chords, the movement is probably the climax of true polyphony in all six cello suites. Basically based on a variant of the Folia rhythm, he introduces the division of the first beat in two right at the beginning (two quarter notes instead of half a note). Gradually the other tenses are also subdivided, so that long chains of double stops emerge, initially as chord breaks, then more and more as extensive, expressive leading chains.

The gavottes establish their characteristic rhythm very clearly; the first brings a clear recapitulation in the second half of the middle section; the second takes this principle even further by representing a real rondo - one thinks of the gavotte of the rondeau of the 3rd violin partita and the rondeau of the B minor suite BWV 1067 - with three refrains and a four- and eight-bar couplet , both of which are then repeated again.

Gigue: The movement evokes a clear pastoral character through horn fifths right at the beginning and the use of organ points, which allude to the motif of the opening movement. He does not have a virtuoso, but rather a sedate character, comparable to the final movement of the Sixth Brandenburg Concerto .

Reception history

publication

It was first published anonymously in Paris around 1824; the preface mentions the cellist and university professor Pierre Norblin (1781–1854) as the discoverer of the manuscript. However, the title does not designate the works as suites, but as “sonatas or etudes” - this may have contributed to the fact that the works were only viewed as objects of study and unsuitable for public performance for decades.

The work was published in the Bach Complete Edition (Volume 17.1) in 1879; The editor was Alfred Dörffel . An edition set up for players was then obtained by Julius Klengel and published in 1900. Until the turn of the 20th century, however, the suites were apparently hardly ever performed in public.

Performances, interpretation and today's meaning

The cellist Pau Casals reports that he found the first edition in an antiquarian bookshop and was the first to have performed individual suites in full in concert. In any case, his influence was enormous, especially due to his overall recording from the years 1927 to 1939. Although from today's point of view this seems “extremely time-bound, almost antiquated”, it has decisively determined the image of the works in Germany for decades. Recordings on original instruments by August Wenzinger (1960) and Nikolaus Harnoncourt (1965) were hardly accessible in Germany; the same was true for Ulrich Koch's recording of the sixth suite (in the 1970s) on an instrument played on the arm. A historically informed interpretation was only available in Germany in 1981 with the recording of Anner Bylsma . Many unhistorical interpretive habits could develop in the conventional university and concert culture and hold up to this day. Musicologists point out that with Bach's cello suites in particular, it is appropriate to “question traditional interpretative schemes and established playing conventions”.

Bach's cello suites are an essential part of cello literature today; they belong to the compulsory pieces in practically every audition or competition and dominate the study and solo performances ( recitals ) to a large extent, comparable to the sonatas and partitas for violin. At least individual movements are known to a wider audience; the prelude of the first suite and the sarabande of the fifth suite are used again and again as film music today.

There are also transfers for other instruments, such as guitar (e.g. by Kojiro Kobune: Prelude ) from Suite No. 1.)

Edits and influence on other compositions

Robert Schumann wrote piano accompaniments for the six suites in March 1853; he described them as "the most beautiful and most important compositions that exist for violoncellos". Only the editing of the third suite has been preserved, the other five are missing. Leopold Godowsky arranged the second, third and fifth suites for piano solo.

Bach's suites have also inspired modern and contemporary composers. In 1915 Max Reger wrote three suites for solo cello (op. 131c) ; In the same year Zoltán Kodály composed his Solo Sonata in B minor, Op. 8, which was premiered in 1918 and published in 1921. Reger's solo works, in turn, inspired Paul Hindemith to write compositions for strings alone, which he wrote from 1917 (including a Sonata for Cello alone, Op. 25 No. 3 in 1923 ). To this day, solo works for melodic instruments are not uncommon in New Music, and solo compositions are particularly common for the cello.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Christoph Wolff: Johann Sebastian Bach. 2nd Edition. S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2007, ISBN 978-3-596-16739-5 , p. 253.
  2. ↑ Pablo Casals: Light and shadow on a long way. Frankfurt am Main 1971
  3. ↑ Bettina Schwemer, Douglas Woodfull-Harris: JS Bach - 6 Suites a Violoncello Solo senza Basso - text volume. Kassel 2000, p. 7.
  4. ^ Yo Tomita: Anna Magdalena as Bach's Copyist. In: Understanding Bach. 2, 2007, p. 75; bachnetwork.co.uk (PDF; 5.6 MB)
  5. ↑ Bettina Schwemer, Douglas Woodfull-Harris: JS Bach - 6 Suites a Violoncello senza Basso - text volume. Kassel 2000, p. 6.
  6. ↑ Bettina Schwemer, Douglas Woodfull-Harris: JS Bach - 6 Suites a Violoncello senza Basso - text volume. Kassel 2000, p. 4.
  7. ↑ Gerhard Darmstadt: On the trail of the true JS Bach - Do we need five new source-critical editions of the cello suites? In: Neue Musikzeitung , edition 12/2001, nmz.de - this article also gives an overview of the editions printed up to 2001.
  8. ^ Johann Sebastian Bach, New Edition of All Works, Revised Edition Volume 4, Kassel, 2016, ISMN 979-0-006-54544-5
  9. ^ Christoph Wolff: Johann Sebastian Bach. 2nd Edition. S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2007, ISBN 978-3-596-16739-5 , p. 536, note 108.
  10. ↑ Hans Eppstein: Chronology Problems in Johann Sebastian Bach's Suites for Solo Instrument , in: Bach-Jahrbuch 62. 1976, pp. 42, 47
  11. ↑ Dominik Sackmann: Triumph of spirit over matter. 2008, ISBN 978-3-89948-109-9 , p. 52.
  12. ^ Clemens Fanselau: Suites for Violoncello Solo BWV 1007-1012 . In: Siegbert Rampe, Dominik Sackmann (Ed.): Bach's orchestral and chamber music - the manual . 2013, ISBN 978-3-89007-798-7 , p. 267
  13. ↑ Dominik Sackmann: Triumph of spirit over matter. 2008, ISBN 978-3-89948-109-9 , p. 30.
  14. ^ Christoph Wolff: Johann Sebastian Bach , 2nd edition. S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2007, ISBN 978-3-596-16739-5 , p. 184.
  15. ^ Siegbert Rampe: Bach's Piano and Organ Works - the manual. Part I, 2007, ISBN 978-3-89007-458-0 , p. 272.
  16. ^ Clemens Fanselau: Suites for Violoncello Solo BWV 1007-1012 . In: Siegbert Rampe, Dominik Sackmann (Ed.): Bach's orchestral and chamber music - the manual . 2013, ISBN 978-3-89007-798-7 , p. 277
  17. ^ Alfred Dürr: On the form of the preludes in Bach's English suites. In: Bach Studies 6 - Contributions to the concert work of Johann Sebastian Bach's 6. Breitkopf and Härtel, Leipzig 1981, DNB 820602450 , pp. 101-108.
  18. ↑ first in the cantata Schmücke dich, oh dear soul, BWV 180
  19. ^ Andrew Taille in the introduction and report on the revised new edition , Revised Edition of the New Bach Edition, Volume 4, Kassel, 2016, p. XXI
  20. ↑ Martin Jarvis: Strange to my ears! The Anna Magdalena Bach Cello Suites? in: Stringendo 28 , 2008, p. 22.
  21. ↑ For an assessment of her musical abilities see: Yo Tomita: Anna Magdalena as Bach's Copyist , in: Understanding Bach 2 2007, pp. 59 ff; bachnetwork.co.uk (PDF; 5.6 MB)
  22. ↑ “In his youth up to the rather approaching age he played the violin purely and piercingly and thereby kept the orchestra in greater order than he could have done with the grand piano. He fully understood the possibilities of all violin instruments. This is evidenced by his solos for the violin and the cello without bass. ”Quoted here from Martin Geck: Bach - Leben und Werk. 2001, ISBN 3-499-61171-6 , p. 661.
  23. ↑ Dominik Sackmann: Triumph of spirit over matter. 2008, ISBN 978-3-89948-109-9 , p. 57.
  24. ^ Alfred Dürr: The cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach , Volume 1. 1971. ISBN 3-423-04080-7 , p. 70.
  25. ↑ Lambert Smit: Towards a More Consistent and More Historical View of Bach's Violoncello , Chelys, vol. 32 (2004), pp. 45-58; vdgs.org.uk (PDF)
  26. ^ Musicalisches Lexicon or Musicalische Bibliothec… Wolffgang Deer, Leipzig 1732. Reprint: Richard Schaal (Ed.): Musical Lexicon and Musical Library. Kassel 1953, 4th edition. Kassel / Basel 1986, p. 637, Wikimedia Commons
  27. ↑ "Nowadays, cello is also taken between the legs ..." In: Thorough Violin School. 1787, p. 3. Text archive - Internet Archive
  28. ↑ Dominik Sackmann: Triumph of spirit over matter. 2008, ISBN 978-3-89948-109-9 , concluding remark p. 58.
  29. ^ Kai Köpp: From Ensemble to Solo Instrument: The Violoncello . In: Siegbert Rampe, Dominik Sackmann (Ed.): Bach's orchestral and chamber music - the manual. 2013, ISBN 978-3-89007-798-7 , pp. 254-263.
  30. ↑ Bettina Schwemer, Douglas Woodfull-Harris: JS Bach - 6 Suites a Violoncello Solo senza Basso - text volume. Kassel 2000, p. 7 f.
  31. ^ Christoph Wolff: Johann Sebastian Bach. 2nd Edition. S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2007, ISBN 978-3-596-16739-5 , p. 253.
  32. ^ Clemens Fanselau: Suites for Violoncello Solo BWV 1007-1012. In: Siegbert Rampe, Dominik Sackmann (Ed.): Bach's orchestral and chamber music - the manual. 2013, ISBN 978-3-89007-798-7 , p. 269.
  33. ↑ Dominik Sackmann: Bach and the dance. 2005, ISBN 3-89948-070-8 , p. 16.
  34. ↑ Dominik Sackmann: Bach and the dance. 2005, ISBN 3-89948-070-8 , p. 36.
  35. ↑ Dominik Sackmann: Bach and the dance. 2005, ISBN 3-89948-070-8 , p. 41.
  36. ↑ Martin Geck: Bach - life and work. 2001, ISBN 3-499-61171-6 , p. 661.
  37. ↑ a b c Charles Medlam: Approaches to the Bach Cello Suites . 2nd edition. 2013, pp. 18/19
  38. ↑ Counterexamples: 3rd French Suite, Partita 2, Allemande BWV 835
  39. ↑ Dominik Sackmann: Bach and the dance. 2005, ISBN 3-89948-070-8 , p. 19.
  40. ↑ Bettina Schwemer, Douglas Woodfull-Harris: JS Bach - 6 Suites a Violoncello senza Basso - text volume. Kassel 2000, p. 13.
  41. ↑ a b Andrew Taille in the introduction and report on the revised new edition . Revised edition of the New Bach Edition. Volume 4. Kassel, 2016, p. XIV
  42. ↑ Hans-Joachim Schulze: 'Monsieur Schouster' - a forgotten contemporary of Johann Sebastian Bach . In: Wolfgang Rehm (Ed.): Bachiana at alia musicologica, Festschrift Alfred Dürr for his 65th birthday , Kassel 1983, pp. 248–250
  43. ^ Clemens Fanselau: Suites for Violoncello Solo BWV 1007-1012 . In: Siegbert Rampe, Dominik Sackmann (ed.): Bach's orchestral and chamber music - the manual , 2013, ISBN 978-3-89007-798-7 , p. 290
  44. ↑ Clemens Fanselau: Suites for Violoncello Solo BWV 1007-1012 in: Siegbert Rampe, Dominik Sackmann (Eds.): Bach's Orchestra and Chamber Music - the manual . 2013, ISBN 978-3-89007-798-7 , p. 268
  45. ^ Hans Epstein: Solo and ensemble sonatas, suites for solo melodic instruments . In: Konrad Küster (Ed.): Bach Handbuch , Kassel 1999, ISBN 3-7618-2000-3 , p. 878
  46. ↑ Meredith Little, Nathalie Jenne: Dance and the Music of JS Bach. 2001, ISBN 0-253-21464-5 , p. 126, p. 139 f.
  47. ↑ Uri Toeplitz: On the Sarabande from the solo for the flute (BWV 1013) in: Bach-Jahrbuch 2001. ISBN, p. 85.
  48. ↑ Dominik Sackmann: Bach and the dance. 2005, ISBN 3-89948-070-8 , p. 23.
  49. ↑ Dominik Sackmann: Bach and the Dance 2005, ISBN 3-89948-070-8 , p. 44
  50. ↑ Marc M. Smith: Joh. Seb. Bach's Violoncello piccolo - new aspects, open questions in: Bach Yearbook 1998 , ISBN 3-374-01695-2 , p. 74.
  51. ↑ The six cello suites at bachvereniging.nl - the sixth suite on a cello da spalla.
  52. ↑ Bettina Schwemer, Douglas Woodfull-Harris: JS Bach - 6 Suites a Violoncello Solo senza Basso - text volume. Kassel 2000, p. 5.
  53. ↑ Two examples among others that provide evidence of many Bach performances, including but not one movement from a cello suite: Mary J. Greer: The Public ... Would Probably Prefer Something that Appeals Less to the Brain and More to the Senses - The Reception of Bach's Music in New York City, 1855–1900 and Michael Broylers: Haupt's Boys - Lobbying for Bach in Nineteenth-Century Boston , both in Stephen A. Christ (Ed.): Bach Perspectives 5 . Urbana / Chicago 2003, ISBN 0-252-02788-4 .
  54. ↑ Martin Elste : Milestones of the Bach Interpretation 1750-2000 ISBN 3-476-01714-1 , p. 224
  55. ↑ Marc M. Smith: Joh. Seb. Bach's violoncello piccolo - new aspects, open questions , in: Bach Yearbook 1998 , ISBN 3-374-01695-2 , p. 74.
  56. ↑ Martin Elste: Milestones of the Bach Interpretation 1750-2000 ISBN 3-476-01714-1 , p. 225
  57. ↑ Dominik Sackmann: Triumph of spirit over matter. 2008, ISBN 978-3-89948-109-9 , concluding remark p. 62.
  58. ↑ Prelude. Arranged for guitar. ZEN-ON Music Publishers, 1968.
  59. ↑ Works by Leopold Godowsky : sheet music and audio files in the International Music Score Library Project ("Cello Suite" in the As Arranger tab )