Learned a lot, to be sure, about bach, casals and these wonderful notes. The suites have been transcribed for numerous instruments, including the violin, viola, double bass, viola da gamba, mandolin, piano, marimba, classical guitar, recorder, electric bass, horn, saxophone, bass clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, euphonium, tuba, ukulele, and. The meter is 128 compound quadruple and the motion is one of continuous eighth notes, although one. J s bach the six cello suites pablo casals, 1936 39. The cello suites by eric siblin goodreads share book. In an effort to retain as much of the full frequency range of casals cello as possible, marston leaves a good bit of recording surface noise. I enjoyed the book immensely, and recommend it to anyone who appreciates a good story, whether or not he has the slightest interest in classical. I havent decided which suites im going to be working on, but will probably go with the first and move on as i progress through the summer.
Bach, pablo casals, and the search for a baroque masterpiece. Stream adfree with amazon music unlimited on mobile, desktop, and tablet. I put six questions to siblin about his book, the cello suites. Bach, pablo casals, and the search for a baroque masterpiece, by eric siblin new york. The author closely follows the format of the music, interlacing its history, stories of bach and his descendants, pablo casals finding and repetitively playing the. He made many recordings throughout his career, of solo, chamber, and orchestral music, also as conductor, but casals is best reme read more. Bach, pablo casals, and the search for a baroque masterpiece by eric siblin isbn. Cello suites, etc pablo casals, et al by bach, johann sebastian on cd. Siblin was hardly the first to be swept away by the suites. An avowed opponent of francos regime, casals established a festival in prades on the frenchspanish border. The earliest evidence i came across of casals performing a cello suite was in the autumn of 1901. Casals realized the immense musical value of the cello suites at a very early age and spent years in the profound study of these works.
His father had come to barcelona to pay him a visit, and brought him his first fullsized cello. This is a highly readable and entertaining book about bachs cello suites which. This is a great book, especially when you listen, as i have, to the cello suites while reading the manuscript version. Eric siblin includes these and countless other facts in the cello suites, a book that will fascinate anyone who loves bachs music. Although the cello suites first flowed from the composers quill sometime in the early 1700s, it was casals who, two centuries later, made them famous. Eric silbins the cello suites tenderly tracks them through bachs creation, their discovery by pablo casals and to the authors own exploration of the music and himself. There is also some information about the cotelle edition the edition though. In his debut, a canadian journalist traces the history of johann sebastian bachs six cello suites from their composition to their rediscovery. Bach, pablo casals, and the search for a baroque masterpiece kindle edition by siblin, eric. Bachs suites for unaccompanied cello have long been among my favorite pieces of music. This recording can sit proudly on the shelf alongside the great recordings of casals and rostropovich. First book prize, the cello suites weaves together three dramatic narratives.
Bach, pablo casals, and the search for a baroque masterpiece 9780802145246. Pablo casals discovered bachs suites for solo cello when he was thirteen years old. Ive decided to work on the bach cello suites, using the kynaston editions, and i was wondering if all of you can give me advice on recordings of it both on saxophone, and cello. Before casals came along, however, this music was misunderstood and neglected. The author closely follows the format of the music, interlacing its history, stories of bach and his descendants, pablo casals finding and repetitively playing the cello suites, and his own journey into the world of bach. In between are classic versions by pierre fournier dg. Pablo casals recorded the complete cello suites by js bach during 193639. One day in the late 1890s a jobbing cellist dropped into a thrift shop in barcelona and came out with the printed scores of bachs cello suites. Bach cello suites are some of the most frequently performed and recognizable solo compositions ever written for cello.
Bachs 6 cello suites for emi between 1936 and 1939 in london and paris, and these legendary recordings have been in print for many decades without break. Order from your preferred classical music cd store arkivmusic. It was the great catalan cellist pablo casals who brought bachs suites for solo cello into the standard concert repertory. Pablo casals the man who arguably put the cello on the musical map in the 20th century, casals was an inspiring musician. Cello suites by pablo casals on amazon music unlimited. Eric siblins bach infatuation in the cello suites the. This is the greatest performance of the bach suites casals found a torn copy of the suites. Siblin has managed to keep his book varied and to strain only. Cello suites 4, 5, 6 by pablo casals on amazon music. I recently read that there are over 80 editions of bachs cello suites in existence with publication dates ranging from 1825 to the present. Casals the practised then on a box that his father made him for 4 years.
Bachs cello suites, as presented by pablo casals on this album, is an excellent example of an outstanding musical performance. The idea to write a book about the bach suites, one that is not aimed at classical. Bach most likely composed them during the period 171723, when. Bach, and their mutual obsession with the sonic possibilities of the cello. Bach, pablo casals, and the search for a baroque masterpiece by eric siblin. The bach cello suites are widely regarded as among the best music written for a solo instrument, and as a result they have been transcribed for a very wide variety of other instruments. The six bach cello suites theanna magdalena manuscripts, the lute version autograph of suite no. Eric siblin has captured an extraordinary romancethat of pablo casals, j. Although the cello suites have not been published for over 100 years after their composition, in. There is a mystique attached to these performances that overrides any minor defects of reproduction, and students of these works repeatedly turn to this cellist, who essentially rescued the suites from the tedium. Johann sebastian bach cello suites steven isserlis.
They are some of the most frequently performed and recognizable solo compositions ever written for cello. These days, selfrespecting cellists always have all six suites under their fingers. His first book, the cello suites, explores the multilayered story of an epic composition by. The ironies of artistic genius and public taste are. This d major prelude is the longest and grandest of the 6 in fact, everything in this suite is larger in scale compared to the other five suites, rich, full, extended in range and length, just plain big.
J s bach the six cello suites pablo casals, 1936 39 youtube. Ive always enjoyed the timbre of the cello, and most of all want to make. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the cello suites. Pablo casals and the resurrection of bachs cello suites. The recordings are here published complete with the edition of the suites published by janet et cotelle paris 1824. Credits cello pablo casals composed by johann sebastian bach engineer restorations ward marston liner notes tully potter. Each movement in the recording has the corresponding movement from the score underneath. I find that the ear adjusts very quickly, and moreover that the naturalness of tone thus preserved is far. Eric siblins bach infatuation in the cello suites the new york.
Their rich, wonderful polyphony had remained lost to the world simply because no cellist before him had been gifted with the startling imagination, sensitivity and amazing technical command of. Pablo casalss cello gets a new life cellist amit peled is about to go on tour with an instrument played by the legendary pablo casals. Rediscovered and popularized by pablo casals a century ago, these suites vary greatly in difficulty and style. Cello suites pablo casals by bach, johann sebastian on cd. He is generally regarded as the preeminent cellist of the first half of the 20th. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Trills in the bach cello suites by jerome carrington. My own discovery of the cello suites had taken place one autumn evening in 2000, a bach year marking two and a half centuries since the death of the composer. The six cello suites, bwv 10071012, are suites for unaccompanied cello by johann sebastian bach. Book awards book club selections books by author books by series coming soon kids books new releases teens books this. He rescued the bach cello suites and his premiere recording for hmv remains a classic.
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