J.S. Bach, Suites for Cello, Vols. 1 and 2

Pablo Casals

A Worldly Cellist Goes One-on-One with Rock

The world's most celebrated cellist got his start playing dinner music: When he was twelve, growing up in the town of Vendrell near Barcelona, Pablo Casals worked as part of a trio in a popular café, playing three hours nightly for not much money. At age thirteen, he stumbled onto the manuscript for the Bach suites for unaccompanied cello. As he recalled later, the music had a massive impact.

He worked on the six pieces for nearly twelve years before venturing to play them in public. When he finally did, at age twenty-five, he didn't simply focus on one of the many dances in each suite, as his peers did. Instead, he played the suites whole, with all the repeats, to preserve what he called "the cohesion and inner structure of each movement."

Casals's interpretations were finally recorded in the 1930s, and they sound like pieces he's lived inside for years. The cellist captures Bach's vaunted structure, and uses an array of articulations to illuminate the multitiered logic of the themes. As with much baroque music, there are lots of notes; Casals plows through the connective phrases in a way that isolates—and brings to the fore—the less-obvious extended melodies. The interpretations are stunningly nuanced yet unified: Casals told students that he approached each suite based on Bach's written indications for its introductory prelude. "Suite 1" is labeled "optimistic," and in his hands that's exactly how it comes across—brisk and assured, always on the lookout for new horizons. Each suite receives a similarly empathetic reading, which is one reason these recordings are so revered; they catch Casals flowing through the music, going beyond technique to uncover a visceral dimension of Bach often hidden behind the fancy notes.

Genre: Classical
Released: 1988, EMI
Key Tracks: No. 5 (C Minor), No. 2 (D Minor)
Catalog Choice: Casals Edition: Beethoven Complete Cello Sonatas
Next Stop: Dvořák Cello Concerto, Haydn Concerto in C, Jacqueline du Pré, Chicago Symphony Orchestra (Daniel Barenboim, cond.)
Book Page: 149

Comments:

#1 from Adam Birnbaum, La Jolla, CA - 11/20/2009 7:09

Casals was a great player, but the Wispelwey and Kirshbaum recordings of the suites are much better!

#2 from RobFromTheManCave, World Citizen - 12/30/2009 4:20

Can’t go wrong with the Casals version but IMO, Pierre Fournier’s early 1960’s recording of the Bach Cello Suites beats the Casals for heart, mood & dynamics. Whereas Casals sounds technical, Fournier sounds more human.

Label is Archiv Produktion (Dg) Catalog #:000988202)

P.S. What’s up with the spammers on this website?

#3 from tom moon - 01/03/2010 11:26

thanks for those comments!

Adam, I don’t know the Wispelwey version at all. will check it. thanks…and Rob same answer re Fournier, who I’ve heard play other things. love his sound and am anxious to hear his version.
I know many people find Casals daunting because of the recording quality, and his approach differs somewhat from the way modern cellists attack the suites. still, I love the way he phrases and the sense he gives of “organizing” Bach into distinct shapes. he offers a nice foundation for appreciating other performers, on any instrument.
re the spammers: I don’t know what to say. we’ve done as much as possible to thwart these things but the “comment spam” still seems to sometimes get through. it’s frustrating.
thanks for bearing with it, and for participating here. it’s appreciated.

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