Elegance is the quality in Pierre Fournier's playing that makes the first and, ultimately, the most lasting impression. He finds great depth in the suites, but he shows constant awareness that he is playing mostly dance mu... more »sic (usually, and importantly, French dance music), that joy is its most important underlying emotion and that graceful movement and rhythmic fluency are essential. --Joe McLellan« less
Elegance is the quality in Pierre Fournier's playing that makes the first and, ultimately, the most lasting impression. He finds great depth in the suites, but he shows constant awareness that he is playing mostly dance music (usually, and importantly, French dance music), that joy is its most important underlying emotion and that graceful movement and rhythmic fluency are essential. --Joe McLellan
shorst@wesleyan.edu | Middletown, CT, USA | 04/26/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I recently did a comparative listening of the Fournier Bach suites--one of the first pieces of cello music I owned after taking up cello in fourth grade!--with recent recordings by Ma and Rostropovich. I was delighted to find that my old emotional memories of the Fournier were accurate--it is completely musical from end to end, and the sound is gorgeous. The fifth and sixth suites, in particular, are in a class by themselves. The Sarabande to Suite 6 is among the most beautiful cuts of cello music ever recorded. More surprising was the fact that the sound and production quality were also the best of the lot when we listened on studio monitors. Very nice room sound, and good mastering work. We also had the distinct impression that mikes and mike placements were chosen for each movement (e.g., the ambient sound for the heavy prelude to Suite 5 is different from that of the high and fast-moving Gigue to Suite 6.) If you want one recording of the Bach suites, this is the one to get."
'comparaison non comparaison'!
J. Anderson | Monterey, CA USA | 10/08/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Mr. McLellan's brief review for Amazon is dead on! Pierre Fournier's by now classic recording of the Bach Suites remains unchallenged, and the joy of the Kapellmeister is its everlasting motive! There simply is no rival to this rendition of these spiritual classics. The only other claimant on the horizon would be the version by Janos Starker; yet for all of Starker's understanding of Bach's invigorated masterpieces, I don't believe his conception is as cultured or his over-arching execution as fine as that of Fournier. The great assuredness of the Prelude of the first Suite is sweetened by Fournier's rich thought, and his handling of the Prelude of the sixth Suite, with its climbing 1-3-1-5-1-8 pattern, is so humanly drawn- like an illuminated letter in a Book of Hours! -well, as the French say, comparison is no comparison! The fifth Suite with its famous Sarabande hangs like a late afternoon in Sainte-Chapelle! This is art ineffacable and indispensable. Forget Ma's interpretation- he plays it like a schoolboy; Rostropovich is inconstant; Casals ends by offering more Casals than Bach; Heinrich Schiff goes deep but cannot be said to have wagered with Time itself in essaying these Suites - there is impatience in his probing version. Maisky, whose playing is always informed and beautiful, often keeps himself from the very joy that wings from Fournier's body and bow! Fournier doesn't perform, he holds court; and an audience with his Sebastian Bach is more rewarding by leagues than mere regal favor. Listen and be ennobled; here is art beholden to the gods."
Unparallelled Bach
P. Kelley | SC United States | 10/09/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Fournier uses a rare circa-1722 Venetian Matteo Goffriler Cello for these recordings; hence their distinctive timbre which is without parallel in the Bach solo cello suites discography. Fournier's choice of instrument is vital in that Bach wrote these pieces between 1717 and 1723, while Kappelmeister in Kothen. This instrument, combined with Fournier's tasteful period-influenced lack of excessive vibrato may be the reason behind some of the less-than-positive reactions here. Incidentally, that Fournier's performance is still the benchmark for the repertory is evidenced by the fact that the original LPs featuring 2 suites apiece easily sell for a good deal more than the entire CD set as priced here. For those who prefer ahistorical histrionics, by all means go with Yo Yo. For those who would actually like to have a distinct notion of how these pieces must have sounded to Bach's contemporaries, I suggest the great Fournier."
The one to get
P. Kelley | 03/18/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Of the five versions of the Bach cello suites that I have heard -- Rostropovich, Starker, Yo-Yo Ma, Casals, and Fournier -- the Fournier in my opinion must get the nod as the finest overall. Ma seems mannered to me, and Starker a bit on the dry side. The Casals is important historically, but I find it stiff in its phrasing. There are moments in the Rostropovich set that I treasure above the corresponding moments in the Fournier, but the sound is muddy and Rostropovich's intonation is, honestly, not all it could be in all instances. The Fournier is beautifully recorded, despite the rough spot noted by several other reviewers, rhythmically assured, deeply felt, noble, and completely in the service of the composer. It is thoroughly beautiful. If you like Arthur Grumiaux's version of the solo violin sonatas and partitas, you will like this version of the cello suites."
Track Listings (18) - Disc #1
