Cello Suite I in G major, BWV 1007

The  Cello  Suites, written in Cöthen around 1720, have been called "the
apotheosis of the Dance", a title they share  with  Beethoven's  Seventh
Symphony.   No‐one  but  Bach  has  written such rich music for the solo
line.  Everywhere there are several voices implied.   allowing  Bach  to
write  not  just melody, but also counterpoint and harmony.  The flow of
new motifs serves the needs of the implied counterpoint, but the  motifs
also  have their own motivic logic, balancing identity for each movement
with variety within it.  Casals  points  out  the  implication  for  the
performer:  "It is fantastic to think that with one note after the other
there can be melody, the central voices and the bass  all  together.   A
wonderful polyphony . . .  We have to give the proper expression to each
voice."

The  six  suites  have  different  characters.   Casals  spoke  of   the
"fundamental  mood  of  optimism" of the G‐major suite, contrasting with
the "tragic feeling" of the suite in d‐minor, or the "heroic"  suite  in
C‐major.   Rostropovic  spoke of the "Lightness" of the first suite, the
"Sorrow and intensity" of the second, the "Brilliance" of the third.

Within  each  suite,  the  character  of   each   movement   should   be
differentiated,  and there should always be variety from one dance tempo
to the next.  Casals observed "The first thing we must  understand  when
playing  the  cello  suites is that, as with the partitas for violin and
for keyboard, the Prelude gives the character to the  whole  work".   Of
the  Allemande  he said "How it sings! It's not like an exercise, it's a
melody; we must shape the phrases in a natural way"  and  "Rubato,  yes;
but  within  the  bar,  without  upsetting the dance character".  Of the
Sarabande he said "A Sarabande is not a romance, or an adagio; it  is  a
Spanish  dance, which used to be performed in the churches, and is still
danced in Sevilla.  We must not be lost between one beat  and  another".
The  later movements are more and more dance‐like, with the tempo firmer
and the downbeats more marked.

Many wonderful recordings are available; for example by Pierre Fournier,
Pablo  Casals,  Pieter Wispelwey, or Jaap ter Linden, or on the viola de
gamba by Paulo Pandolfo, on the flute by Wilbert  Hazelzet,  or  on  the
recorder by Marion Verbruggen.

The  first  three  of  the  six  suites  can  be played on the recorder,
especially the first suite in G‐major.  Of course the chords have to  be
played  as arpeggios, and some low notes have to be rewritten; these are
given here in chords, with the lower note for  flute  players,  and  the
upper  for  recorders.   The most uncomfortable passage is the string of
high f#'s in the second‐last bar of the  Prelude.   All  slurs  in  this
edition  are  editorial  suggestions only, and can be disregarded with a

                             ‐2‐

clear conscience.

                             Peter J Billam

                           www.pjb.com.au/mus