Suite for solo cello No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007: 1. Pr?lude
Suite for solo cello No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007: 2. Allemande
Suite for solo cello No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007: 3. Courante
Suite for solo cello No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007: 4. Sarabande
Suite for solo cello No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007: 5. Menuet 1 & 2
Suite for solo cello No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007: 6. Gigue
Suite for solo cello No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1008: 1. Pr?lude
Suite for solo cello No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1008: 2. Allemande
Suite for solo cello No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1008: 3. Courante
Suite for solo cello No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1008: 4. Sarabande
Suite for solo cello No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1008: 5. Menuet 1 & 2
Suite for solo cello No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1008: 6. Gigue
Suite for solo cello No. 3 in C major, BWV 1009: 1. Pr?lude
Suite for solo cello No. 3 in C major, BWV 1009: 2. Allemande
Suite for solo cello No. 3 in C major, BWV 1009: 3. Courante
Suite for solo cello No. 3 in C major, BWV 1009: 4. Sarabande
Suite for solo cello No. 3 in C major, BWV 1009: 5. Bourr?e 1 & 2
Suite for solo cello No. 3 in C major, BWV 1009: 6. Gigue
Track Listings (18) - Disc #2
Suite for solo cello No. 4 in E flat major, BWV 1010: 1. Pr?lude
Suite for solo cello No. 4 in E flat major, BWV 1010: 2. Allemande
Suite for solo cello No. 4 in E flat major, BWV 1010: 3. Courante
Suite for solo cello No. 4 in E flat major, BWV 1010: 4. Sarabande
Suite for solo cello No. 4 in E flat major, BWV 1010: 5. Bourr?e 1 & 2
Suite for solo cello No. 4 in E flat major, BWV 1010: 6. Gigue
Suite for solo cello No. 5 in C minor, BWV 1011: 1. Pr?lude
Suite for solo cello No. 5 in C minor, BWV 1011: 2. Allemande
Suite for solo cello No. 5 in C minor, BWV 1011: 3. Courante
Suite for solo cello No. 5 in C minor, BWV 1011: 4. Sarabande
Suite for solo cello No. 5 in C minor, BWV 1011: 5. Gavotte 1 & 2
Suite for solo cello No. 5 in C minor, BWV 1011: 6. Gigue
Suite for solo cello No. 6 in D major, BWV 1012: 1. Pr?lude
Suite for solo cello No. 6 in D major, BWV 1012: 2. Allemande
Suite for solo cello No. 6 in D major, BWV 1012: 3. Courante
Suite for solo cello No. 6 in D major, BWV 1012: 4. Sarabande
Suite for solo cello No. 6 in D major, BWV 1012: 5. Gavotte 1 & 2
Suite for solo cello No. 6 in D major, BWV 1012: 6. Gigue
Anner Bylsma, who plays a Baroque cello in original condition, has written a whole book about the variety of bow strokes needed for this music. Fancying the use of the bow as an analogue to the use of a foil in a duel, he ... more »calls Bach a "fencing master," a term that implies intense training, physical coordination used with spontaneity, and a readiness to change the approach instantly as each successive, fast-moving challenge demands. His playing makes the music fresh and new with a flexibility and vitality that illustrates the thesis of his book. --Joe McLellan« less
Anner Bylsma, who plays a Baroque cello in original condition, has written a whole book about the variety of bow strokes needed for this music. Fancying the use of the bow as an analogue to the use of a foil in a duel, he calls Bach a "fencing master," a term that implies intense training, physical coordination used with spontaneity, and a readiness to change the approach instantly as each successive, fast-moving challenge demands. His playing makes the music fresh and new with a flexibility and vitality that illustrates the thesis of his book. --Joe McLellan
"Shoppers should note that Anner Bylsma has recorded the Bach Suites twice. The 2 volume set Sony #48047 was recorded in 1992, while Sony #61811 and #61812 are reissues of a 1979 recording. Both are outstanding. The later set, which I own, was recorded on a very large instrument, the "Stradivarius Servais," in a very resonant recording. Some critics prefer the performance on the earlier set, which has a rather dry sound. I have been waiting for it to be reissued so that I can obtain Volume 2."
As a baroque cello student...
Alexandra Roedder | between here and there | 10/28/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"As a student of baroque cello, studying under one of Bylsma's own students, I find these recordings inspiring. They are always fresh and interesting, with new information to be found. His version here is simply one of the many ways of playing the pieces, and I think that, compared with the Rostropovich, Casals, and Ma recordings (which I also own), his is the only one that shows their flexibility. Using a baroque bow and tuning down to A=415 helps, of course, as does using gut strings and studying the patterns of baroque dance.
I met Mr Bylsma recently at a masterclass at my conservatory, and I found him intelligent, insightful, and passionate. These recordings show those exact qualities.
I love the tone of both instruments, and I love the way he makes the pieces speak, perhaps even with the same rhetorical ideas that J.S. Bach himself would have been considering. Rhetoric was a huge part of composition in the 17th and 18th centuries; none of the "modern" recordings, done on "normal" cellos, do this relationship quite as much justice as Mr Bylsma."
A must for Bach cello suite fans
John Harrington | anywhere, USA | 01/13/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"To those of you who are chary of "historically informed" interpretations, you needn't be in this case. Though presumably Bylsma's approach is scholarly and "correct", there is nothing objective about his interpretation. It is sinewy, chocolately, dramatic, as winning and hearfelt an interpretation as any of the great performances on the modern cello by Cassals, Fournier, Rostropovich et al. Bylsma uses an actual period cello, not a reproduction, but manages to bring it alive and to coax out of it the sweetest sounds. Bylsma's tempi are faster than those familiar with modern interpretations might be prepared for, but his musicianship is so keen that the most precise phrasing remains intact and Bach's music never ends up sounding forced or rushed. Do your best to judge from the samples above, but I urge you to take a risk with this."
String Theory in the Majors and Minors
Giordano Bruno | Wherever I am, I am. | 03/20/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Listen up, sports fans! If you haven't heard the six Suites for solo cello by JS Bach, no matter how old you are, you haven't fully lived. Each of the suites has the experiential equivalent of: climbing a mountain in the Himalayas (I have!); watching your team sweep the World Series (I have!!); giving an SI swimsuit model a sponge bath (I have... but she was only four years old at the time.); and meditating for a year under a bodhi tree (I haven't). Without Bach, you haven't lived 40 years; you've lived one year forty times!
Baroque cellist Anner Bylsma is, as baseball announcers say, the whole package, a four skills player: left hand on the fingerboard for pitch and tempo, right hand on the bow for phrasing, left brain for understanding the complex rhythms and rhythmic patterns, right brain for emotional depth.
For those blessed souls who know the Bach cello suites well enough to hum them in the shower, the question is, why bother to acquire another performance of them when you're already thrilled enough with your Rostropovich or Casals? The answer is that Bylsma understands Bach in a different dialect, the language of historically informed performance, and has the skills to make you hear the difference. That's the joy of great music, by the way; it never gets trite, it gets more meaningful every time you hear it carefully. Listening to Bylsma right before or after Yo Yo Ma, you have every justification for adoring Ma's bold richness of timbre and thinking Bylsma is just too fussy about nuances. Listen again another day, however, and you might find Bylsma's headlong dance tempi exhilarating and Ma's bigness merely blunt.
There's another performance of the six suites on Baroque cello, with authentic gut strings, that you might also want to hear - that of cellist Jaap ter Linden, which is included in the Brilliant Classics complete Bach box. Honestly, I've only once heard a performance of these suites, by anyone, that I didn't enjoy... and that one wasn't recorded."
Bylsma + Bach=Outstanding!
D. Gammelgard | Falun, Sweden | 02/08/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I consider this recording of the cello suites to be the ultimate one! Mr Bylsma is in every aspect an absolutely amazing cellist and he plays the music in a way that is overwhelming and gives you the feeling that you are discovering the truth for the first time! Through this recording, concerts and private lessons, Anner Bylsma has given me a lot of understanding of the suites and also other music by Bach. He has the golden key to the tempos and the character of each movement. After all, it is "just" a question of playing a couple of dance movements! All those cellists, sitting for hours trying to deeply understand the music of Bach and using all sorts of ways to do it. Just look a Yo-Yo Ma! His recording is very good but his playing is hardly ever close to the natural and free feeling that Bylsma manages to express the music with. I also strongly recommend his book "The Fencing Master" (ponticello.com). All cellists interested in the basic aspects of playing the suites should go and get it. But first, get this cd and enjoy! Everything else would be a compromise!"