Cello Suites (Bach)
The Six suites for unaccompanied cello by Johann Sebastian Bach are some of the most often performed and recognizable solo compositions ever written for cello. They were most likely composed during the period 1717–1723, when Bach served as a Kapellmeister in Köthen. The title of Anna Magdalena Bach's manuscript was Suites á Violoncello Solo senza Basso.
The suites have been performed and recorded by many famous cellists; like Mstislav Rostropovich, Emanuel Feuermann, Pierre Fournier, Jacqueline du Pré, Paul Tortelier, André Navarra, Yo-Yo Ma, Gregor Piatigorsky, Mischa Maisky, János Starker, Anner Bijlsma or Heinrich Schiff. Yo-Yo Ma won the 1985 Best Instrumental Soloist Grammy Award for his bestselling album Six Unaccompanied Cello Suites.
Cello Suites (Bach) Media
The first page from the manuscript by Anna Magdalena Bach of Suite No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007
Page from a facsimile of A. M. Bach's manuscript
The arpeggiated motion in the prelude to Cello Suite No. 1
Open strings of the viola pomposa.
