The Bach Cello Suite No. 1 Study Book Book Pdf
Zoe Northcutt
September 16, 2011 at 04:54 PM I've been listening to the Bach cello suites recently and started to wonder at what point a violin student should start to study them. What etudes/pieces should the student have already played and what etudes would they be working on while studying the suites? Another interesting question is which ASTA level would the suites be placed?
The double-stop movements are, I believe, harder for vln/vla than on cello, so I'd save those for later in the study. But the prelude mvts of #1, #2, #4 are excellent for musical bow control. And the other dances, well, they are just great, and great fun.
Is there more than one transcription? I use the edition by Enrico Polo, made from the Bach-Gesellschaft edition of the cello suites and published by Ricordi. (Alas, on a 2010 visit to Rome I was sad to note that Ricordi's very impressive shop at the Piazza Venezia,a frequent haunt of mine when I lived there in the mid 1970s, is now no more.) However, the edition is fine and the bowings and fingerings are helpful.
In my teaching I don't relate to grading systems such as those by ASTA or NISMA, but I'd say that if a student is ready for Kreutzer he should be techincally ready for the cello suite transcriptions. That said, the original violin repertoire is so vast and time is limited. The cello suite transcriptions - wonderful as the music is - might be better for independent exploration. A good way for students to get their feet wet with Bach would be the A minor concerto.
September 17, 2011 at 01:34 AM While it is not addressing the OP's question, it might be of interest to know that the cello suites are available as a download (free) from the Icking Archive. One can select whether they are notated as for cello, viola, or violin, and they will be suitably transposed.
September 17, 2011 at 03:16 AM The Bourree at the end of Suzuki Book 3 is transcribed from a Bach cello suite. It works very well, I don't see why any of the other cello suites shouldn't work just fine transcribed for the violin. As was said by another, all Bach is good for the violin. Janine Jansen has a recording of the keyboard inventions, it's a lovely album that also includes an excellent D-minor partita.
The D-major 6th suite was written for a 5-string cello-like instrument with a high E-string. This shows up in the high passage work necessary on today's 4-stringed instrument and in the difficult chord playing in movements such as the sarabande. A violin version I've seen of the sarabande obviously had a substantial re-write, otherwise the player would have been wandering into Ernst-land.
The other side of the coin is whether Bach's solo violin suites and sonatas transfer well to the cello. Again, mostly I think not, unless it's a simplified arrangement for student purposes, both for technical fingering reasons and for sonority and speed.
@Trevor: While I agree that the sonorities are very different and that the feel that the suites capture on cello cannot be matched on violin, there looks to be some interesting things that I might learn from them. For example, you mentioned the C minor suite. I was thinking that one could learn that single line fugue and that knowledge would be useful to apply to the fugues in the violin sonatas.
September 21, 2011 at 02:28 PM "That said, the original violin repertoire is so vast and time is limited. The cello suite transcriptions - wonderful as the music is - might be better for independent exploration. A good way for students to get their feet wet with Bach would be the A minor concerto."
I studied a few of the suite movements on viola when I started playing viola as an adult (after many years as a violinist only). I found that they were great for independent study, for helping me feel more comfortable reading viola clef, for really getting me to find my way around the viola both fingering and listening, and for performing. I had some little opportunities to perform--at church, busking, at the Farmers' Market, informally for friends--and a Bach suite movement was perfect for that. I didn't have to find an accompanist or an arrangement for solo instrument.
And I'm really not aware of unaccompanied pieces of that quality, technical level, and universal appeal in the violin literature. I've found some fiddle tunes, and I've transcribed melodies out of a fake book on my own, and I've played in string groups. But I haven't really found anything like the Bach suites for solo violin. As others have said, the S&P are technically more advanced, and concertos need an accompanist.
When Bach finished the solo violin works, I believe he was fascinated by the fact that one can leave out many notes and still be clear. The cello suites may have been an experiment to see how much he could omit, making the listener fill in the gaps of harmony and counterpoint for him or herself The cello suites were more an experiment in the minimal, and in using bow technique to bring out the music, whereas the violin pieces are more left-hand oriented. " [16]
Anyone wishing to tackle Bach's cello suites will find several editions from Bärenreiter, each tailored to meet the needs of a particular target group. For students starting cello lessons, the affordable performance edition by August Wenzinger (BA 320) has proved its worth. Wenzinger's years of experience in historically informed performance practice has left its mark on this edition, making it an excellent starting point for accurate interpretations.
I come from a blues/rock background and play some jazz too. Recently I started to learn Bach's cello suite 1 on bass guitar, and I am confused by the way I am supposed to feel the rhythm. If I were to write it down, I would do using 8th notes, because of the following reasons:
I wrote the book for three groups of readers with varied but related interests. I wrote it for cellists and other performing musicians, not to insist that they follow my ideas on how to interpret, perform, and teach these works, but rather to show them how concepts from music analysis could help them form their own ideas on interpreting, performing, and teaching these works. I wrote it for music teachers and for advanced students, not to challenge them with new theories, but to help them explore ways in which traditional analytical techniques and ideas could be made more accessible and meaningful. I wrote it for interested and informed general readers and music listeners, not to give them a superficial survey of the Cello Suites, but to introduce them to the excitement that can come from delving deeply into the study of these works.
The organization of the study reflects an emphasis on active involvement on the part of the reader. Chapter 1 engages readers in an exploration of the historical background of the Cello Suites and presents basic ideas that shape the analytical studies which follow. Chapters 2 through 7 invite readers to explore the individual movements of the suites at the same time they are learning various analytical concepts and techniques. These chapters are organized by movement types rather than by individual suites, to facilitate recognition of common characteristics in each movement type. Chapter 2 discusses the Preludes and introduces basic harmonic and melodic concepts. Chapter 3 discusses the Allemandes and emphasizes concepts of form. Chapter 4 discusses the Courantes and emphasizes detailed investigations of rhythm and melody. Chapter 5 discusses the Sarabandes and introduces some more advanced or speculative ideas. Chapter 6 discusses the optional dances (Minuets, Bourrées, and Gavottes) and explores the relation between music and dance. Chapter 7 discusses the Gigues; and introduces the technique of recomposition. Chapter 8 considers the relations between the movements of the individual suites, and addresses questions of performance practice, textual revision, meaning and emotion in music, and the application of analysis to perception, performance, and pedagogy. A detailed table of contents at the end of volume 1 enables readers to find discussions of specific movements and explanations of specific analytical concepts.
August Wenzinger's edition of J. S. Bach's famous solo suites for violoncello has become the recognized edition for cellists today. Wenzinger's year-long experience in the field of the performance practice of early music has left its mark on this edition and makes an outstanding guide for an authentic interpretation.
Abstract: Among the Bach unaccompanied suites for violoncello, the fourth suite in E-flat major is probably the least familiar to listeners and young cellists. It is also the least idiomatic for the cello, and the most difficult movement is the prelude. Musically speaking, it can be frustratingly abstract. For these reasons, it is not as popular as the other preludes and some students and teachers avoid its study. Taking into account Bach's famous and primary skill as an organist, the cello idiom can be enhanced by studying the organ idiom and using this knowledge to study this prelude. Watching organists perform the music of Bach and listening to more of Bach's organ works, especially the praeludia, toccatas, and fantasias can give cellists ideas for this fourth suite prelude. An organ performance of a transcription of this fourth suite prelude will be available online in the near future as a resource for cellists interested in this relationship between the cello and organ idioms where genres like the prelude are concerned. Discussing the timbres and technical issues of the organ can guide the cellist toward ideas of phrasing and articulation. Organ issues of registration, manual changes, and performance style can aid the performer, teacher, and student in large-scale analysis and phrasing, thus making this prelude more accessible and shedding a more positive musical light upon this movement to make it less intimidating and abstract.
This is FRESH AIR. For most cellists, the holy grail of the cello repertoire is the set of six suites Bach composed for solo cello. The most beloved cellist of our time, Yo-Yo Ma, has just released his third recording of these pieces as he begins a 36-city world tour of marathon concerts in which he plays all six suites. Our classical music critic, Lloyd Schwartz, says that while each of Yo-Yo Ma's Bach recordings is worthy, Lloyd's favorite version may very well be this latest. Here's Lloyd's review.
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