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Bach Cello Suites
First page of the manuscript by Anna Magdalena Bach of Suite No. 1These pieces are all identical in form, they all start with a prelude, followed by the classic french suite movements allemande, courante and sarabande. Between them and the final gigue, Bach uses different free dances: minuet, bourrée and gavotte. The initial preludes are the most demanding for the performer, and also the most musically profound. They are in a free form, so, Bach releases his musical imagination in this pieces. You can download the complete pieces. These are synthesized versions in Ogg Vorbis format, supported by most players. Click here to know more about these files.
The prelude from this suite is the most famous movement of the set. It consists mainly of arpeggiated chords.
The prelude from this suite is very different. It reminds me of some movements of the solo violin pieces. I love the gigue movement from this piece. I usually like gigues because of their speed and conclusive spirit.
In this prelude as with the others, Bach releases his creativity. I starts with a dynamic movement and ends with an interesting chord movement.
In the prelude Bach spans a great number of keys, producing different emotions.
The prelude starts with an expressive introduction. This is followed by a great fugue. The sarabande from this suite is a famous one. I think it is one of the most emotional movements of the entire set. Bach also wrote this suite for lute, it exists as BWV 995.
This suite was originally composed for another instrument with five strings. However, today it is commonly played on a four-string cello. I think this is the greatest suite, because it is written in a much more free form that the others and all the virtuosic passages that contains. Return from Bach Cello Suites to Bach Main Page
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