Gyöngy Erödi J.S. BACH Cello Suites I, II, V

Silent and largely unknown for more than 200 years after their creation, Bach’s six suites for solo violoncello were recorded for the first time between 1936-1939 by the legendary Pablo Casals. In the 80 years since then, the suites inspired not only generations of cellists, but also other instrumentalists from tubists to marimba players to perform and record their own versions. Based on interpretation, historical background, research of instrumentation and performance practice, these recordings offer a colourful variety of different perspectives. In fact, one might wonder whether there is anything left that has not been researched, associated with or inspired by these pieces. 

Bach’s cello suites, composed some 300 years ago, have a quality of mystery. First, there is no exact dating of their creation partly due to the absence of a manuscript by J. S. Bach. One of the two earliest surviving manuscripts is by Bach’s second wife Anna Magdalena (the main source for my recording). The missing original score leaves musicologists without evidence about where, for whom, for what purpose and for what kind of a violoncello they were written. Furthermore, there are disputes surrounding areas such as articulation, bowings and even authorship, a topic of the latest debates among academics. 

Wonderfully, this lack of data leads to the very essence of the music, which, as I see it, is free of time and space. This means, that the meaning of the suites can only be fully understood by experiencing them in the moment and not by acquiring more information about them. Their past and future, being intangible, merge in the moment of now, when they are being played and heard. In the present, this resonating music is a medium of eternal human experience and emotion that connects us to ourselves and to each other. The deeper, unconscious sense of these pieces can only be gained by our sensory perception of vibrating sound: the reason why these particular works remain relevant today. (Gyöngy Erödi)