1720 Bach Suites

Question 1

When and where were the Bach Cello Suites composed? What was Bach’s official position, and what was it like?

Answer 1

• They were most likely composed during the period 1717–1723, when Bach served as a Kapellmeister in Köthen (before he went to Leipzig in 1723, where he remained for the remainder of his life).
• His duties were limited mostly to secular music for the court.

Question 2

What were the names of the instrumentalists for whom Bach may have written the Cello Suites?

Answer 2

• Cellist Carl Berhard Lienicke

- Gambist Christian Ferdinand Abel

Question 3

What are other notable instrumental pieces by Bach from the period of the Cello Suites?

Answer 3

• Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin
• Well Tempered Klavier, Part 1
• 6 Brandenburg Concertos

Question 4

Describe the Baroque suite genre.

Answer 4

• “suite” is from the French word suivez, meaning “to follow”
• Defined most commonly by four specific types of dances: Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, and Gigue
• These principal movements may be introduced by a Prelude and/or augmented by inserting optional dances (e.g. Minuet, Boureé, Gavotte) between the Sarabande and Gigue
• Each movement is based on the same tonic key (unlike sonatas, symphonies, or concertos)
• Bach wrote over 40 works that could be considered as suites

Question 5

Describe the surviving sources for the Bach Cello Suites.

Answer 5

• Both the original manuscript and fair copy of the cello suites have been lost.
• All we have are early copies by both Bach’s second wife, Anna Magdalena Bach, Johann Peter Kellner, and three copies written in unknown hands.
• The fifth cello suite also was also written in a version for solo lute (BWV 995) which contains added bass lines. The manuscript in Bach’s hand for this version exists.

Question 6

Describe the Prelude genre in the context of a baroque suite, and also discuss the Preludes in the Bach Cello Suites.

Answer 6

• the term Prelude comes from the French prélude which in turn comes from the Latin prae (before) and ludus (play)
• Preludes may also provide an opportunity to demonstrate skill in performance or improvisation. In German, the term prelude also appears in the verb for präludieren, which means to improvise.
• Preludes may also have been used for pedagogical purposes. For instance, Bach’s Clavier-Büchlein vor Wilhelm Friedeman Bach were written for the instruction of his 10-year-old son.

Question 7

Describe the role of binary form in the dance movements of the Bach Cello Suites.

Answer 7

• Binary form was the most frequently used form of instrumental music in the 18th century and was also used frequently in earlier and later periods. It is regarded as the prototype from which the sonata form of the classical period evolved.
• More regularly structured and predictable compared to the preludes
• consists of two roughly equal parts which have clear endings

Question 8

Describe the Allemande genre in the context of a baroque suite, and also discuss the Allemandes in the Bach Cello Suites.

Answer 8

• allemande means “German” in French
• French composers of the 16th century wrote two principal types of allemandes: processional dances and concert pieces
• Processional Allemandes: model for Bach’s 1st, 2nd, 5th, & 6th Suites
• Dance Allemandes: model for Bach’s 3rd and 4th Suites
  relatively simple in rhythmic structure, melodic content and form
• either in a slow or fast tempo
• slow quadruple meter (common time) or duple meter (cut time)
• each of the two main parts typically begins with a single short upbeat (aka anacrusis) leading to a full chord
• each part ends with a post-cadential gesture lasting a full bar
• generally characterized by more elaborate melodic and rhythmic content than the other dance movements in the suites

Question 9

Describe the Courante genre in the context of a baroque suite, and also discuss the Courantes in the Bach Cello Suites.

Answer 9

• The term Courante means “running” in French
• Begins with a short pickup
• 2 Styles, Italian and French
• Italian (Suites #1-4, 6): fast triple meter, running 16th notes or 8th notes, more robust and straight-forward
• French (Suite #5): moderate triple meter with more complicated rhythmic patterns, more elegant and complex, often features hemiolas

Question 10

Describe the Sarabande genre in the context of a baroque suite, and also discuss the Sarabandes in the Bach Cello Suites.

Answer 10

• early writers used the general title of sarabande for several different dances from southern Europe and Latin America
• Originally the dance was performed in a lively tempo and it was deemed lascivious and unfit for polite society. Eventually, like other dances in Baroque suites it became slower, lost some if its dance characteristics, and became instead a vehicle for some of the most wonderfully expressive music
• Bach wrote more sarabandes than any other dance form
• 39 movements titled Sarabande
• The signature characteristic of the sarabande accentuation on the second beat in triple meter.

Question 11

Describe the optional dance movement genre in the context of a baroque suite, and also discuss the optional dance movements in the Bach Cello Suites.

Answer 11

• Composers of the Baroque period were also experimenting with the incorporation of other dance movements into the suite, frequently French types, to bring more variety to the suite form.
• These so-called “optional movements” typically appeared between the sarabande and the gigue, and were usually written in pairs
• The First and Second Suites contain two Minuets, the Third and Fourth Suites contain two Boureés, and the Fifth and Sixth Suites contain two Gavottes.
• Each of these were originally rural dances from provinces of France that were later incorporated into the music of the French court.
• In the Cello Suites, as in most Baroque suites, there are written instructions after the second optional movement calling for a return to the first optional movement.
• The optional dances of the first three suites have a change of mode from a major key to its parallel minor key or from a minor key to its parallel major key. The optional dances of the last three suites remain in the same mode, but there are differences in the mood or character of the members of each dance pair.
  
  • Fourth Suite: Boureé I is extended and lively while Boureé II is short and syncopated
  • Fifth Suite: Gavotte I is emphatic and varied in rhythm while Gavotte II is flowing and unified in rhythm
  • Sixth Suite: Gavotte I is complex and courtly while Gavotte is simple and rustic

Minuets

• meaning “small” or “delicate”
• by the time Bach wrote the Cello Suites, the minuet had become the most popular dance in the courts of Europe.

Boureés

• French bourir which means “to stuff.”
• The original dance came from the French region of Auvergne and featured young men moving their arms in a “flapping” gesture. As the dance moved to the French court, it became more refined.

Gavottes

• from the French word referring to the inhabitants of the Pay de Gap in Dauphine.
• Of the dances that went from being country dances to being court dances, the gavotte is the one that most strongly maintained its rustic characteristics such as the use of drone basses.
• It is in moderately fast tempo and in simple duple meter, which is usually written as alla breve (cut time or 2/2).
• Characteristically, the gavotte begins with a pick-up of two half beats (e.g. two quarters in 2/2 meter)

Question 12

Describe the Gigue genre in the context of a baroque suite, and also discuss the Gigues in the Bach Cello Suites.

Answer 12

• probably came from “jig,” the name for a lively dance in the 16th century British Isles, especially in Ireland; however, it could have come from the medieval French verb giguer meaning “to dance”; or it could be related to the German word for violin, Geige. In the 17th century, British comedians popularized the jig on the European continent, and the association between these comedians and the dance form may have led to the use of the term jig with the meaning of joke, play, or game. In turn this led to the expression “the jig is up.” meaning “the joke is over,” “the play is over,” or perhaps even “the suite is over.”
• French type: compound duple meter in a moderately fast tempo, rhythmic variety and complexity, wide intervals, and frequently but not always imitative contrapuntal texture and melodic inversion
• Italian type: usually simpler, faster, and more homophonic
• Many gigues have characteristics that lie somewhere between these two types, and there is some debate about the proper classification of the gigues of the Cello Suites.
  
  • The Fourth Suite is a clear example of the Italian type
  • The Fifth Suite is a fairly clear example of the French type
  • The remaining four gigues exhibit characteristics that lie somewhere between these two types

Question 13

Describe the instrumentation of the 6th Bach Cello Suite.

Answer 13

• originally written for either the Viola Pomposa or the Violoncello Piccolo, both of which have 5 strings, added E string on top)
• There is some debate as to which one of these two Bach wrote his Sixth Suite, though there is equal evidence for either
• Bach wanted an instrument that could be used for continuo parts or solo parts in a more extended range.
• Bach also called for the use of the Viola Pomposo in 11 cantatas written between 1714 and 1726

Question 14

Describe the history of the rediscovery of the Bach Cello Suites.

Answer 14

The suites were not widely known before the 1900s, and for a long time it was generally thought that the pieces were intended to be studies. However, after discovering Grützmacher’s edition in a thrift shop in Barcelona, Spain, at age 13, Catalan cellist Pablo Casals began studying them. Although he would later perform the works publicly, it was not until 1936, when he was 60 years old, that he agreed to record the pieces, beginning with Suites Nos. 1 and 2, at Abbey Road Studios in London. Casals became the first to record all six suites by 1939.