Cello Suites
The six suites for unaccompanied cello by Johann Sebastian Bach, catalogued as BWV 1007–1012. Each suite combines a prelude with stylized dances.
Allemande: A moderate duple-meter dance of German origin, commonly used as the first dance in a Baroque suite. Each suite places an allemande after its prelude, establishing the sequence of dances.
Monophony: A musical texture consisting of a single melodic line without independent accompanying voices. The suites are written for one instrument, yet their lines often suggest fuller textures.
Johann Sebastian Bach: German composer and musician of the Baroque era, whose works include the Cello Suites. He composed and organized the six suites, though no autograph score survives.
Cello Suite No. 1 (Bach): The first Bach cello suite, in G major, whose prelude is among his best-known instrumental movements. Its flowing arpeggios offer the clearest introduction to the suites’ solo texture.
Pablo Casals: Spanish cellist who helped establish Bach’s Cello Suites as central works of the cello repertoire through performances and recordings. His early twentieth-century advocacy transformed the suites’ public standing.
Courante: A lively Baroque dance in triple meter, with distinct French and Italian forms. The courante follows the allemande in every suite, shifting its pace and rhythmic character.
Polyphonic texture: A musical texture in which two or more melodic lines sound simultaneously or are perceived as independent. Bach uses implied voices and overlapping registers to evoke polyphony on a solo cello.
Leipzig: A city in Saxony where Bach worked as cantor of St. Thomas Church from 1723 until his death. The suites are generally dated to Bach’s years in Köthen or Leipzig, but their precise place of composition is unknown.
Cello Suite No. 2 (Bach): The second Bach cello suite, in D minor, marked by a somber prelude and a concluding gigue. Its darker key and concentrated prelude contrast with the opening suite’s buoyant character.
Friedrich Grützmacher: German cellist and editor whose nineteenth-century adaptation of the Cello Suites combined and altered Bach’s movements. His freely edited version shaped nineteenth-century access to music then rarely performed complete.