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{{Short description|Cello suites by Johann Sebastian Bach}}
{{Redirect|Cello Suites|Benjamin Britten's three suites|Cello suites (Britten)}}
{{Infobox Bach composition
| name = Cello Suites
| bwv = 1007 to 1012
| composer = [[Johann Sebastian Bach|J. S. Bach]]
| image = Frontespizio Cello Suite.png
| caption = Title page of [[Anna Magdalena Bach]]'s manuscript: ''Suites á Violoncello Solo senza Basso''
| image_upright = 1.1
| composed = between {{nowrap|{{Start date|1717}} and {{End date|1723}}}}
| instrumental = Cello solo
}}
The six '''Cello Suites''', [[Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis|BWV]] 1007–1012, are suites for unaccompanied [[cello]] by [[Johann Sebastian Bach]] (1685–1750). They are some of the most frequently performed solo compositions ever written for cello. Bach most likely composed them during the period 1717–1723, when he served as ''[[Kapellmeister]]'' in [[Köthen (Anhalt)|Köthen]]. The title given on the cover of the [[Anna Magdalena Bach]] manuscript was ''Suites à Violoncello Solo senza Basso'' (Suites for cello solo without bass).
As usual in a [[Baroque (music)|Baroque]] musical [[Suite (music)#Dance suite|suite]], after the [[Prelude (music)|prelude]] which begins each suite, all the other movements are based around [[Baroque music#Dance suite|baroque dance]] types.<ref name=introduction>Wittstruck, Anna. [https://costanzabach.stanford.edu/history/baroque-dance "Dancing with J.S. Bach and a Cello – Introduction"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130325204914/https://costanzabach.stanford.edu/history/baroque-dance |date=2013-03-25 }}. [[Stanford University]]. ''Stanford.edu''. 2012.</ref> The cello suites are structured in six movements each: prelude, [[allemande]], [[courante]], [[sarabande]], two [[minuet]]s or two [[bourrée]]s or two [[gavotte]]s, and a final [[gigue]].<ref>de Acha, Rafael. [http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2014/May14/Bach_cello_CRC3263.htm "Review: Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750): Six suites for unaccompanied cello, Carmine Miranda (cello), CENTAUR CRC3263/4"]. ''MusicWeb International''. 2012.</ref> Gary S. Dalkin of MusicWeb International called Bach's cello suites "among the most profound of all classical music works"<ref>Dalkin, Gary S. [http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2001/Feb01/Bach_CelloSuites_Schiff.htm "J.S. Bach: ''Cello Suites''. Heinrich Schiff. EMI Double Fforte CZS 5741792"]. ''MusicWeb International''. Retrieved November 23, 2015.</ref> and [[Wilfrid Mellers]] described them in 1980 as "[[Monophonic music]] wherein a man has created a dance of God".<ref name=introduction/><ref>[[Wilfrid Mellers|Mellers, Wilfrid]]. ''Bach and the Dance of God''. Faber and Faber, 1980. p. 15.</ref>
Due to the works' technical demands, [[étude]]-like nature, and difficulty in interpretation because of the non-annotated nature of the surviving copies and the many discrepancies between them, the cello suites were little known and rarely publicly performed in the modern era until they were recorded by [[Pablo Casals]] (1876–1973) in the early 20th century. They have since been performed and recorded by many renowned cellists and have been transcribed for numerous other instruments; they are considered some of Bach's greatest musical achievements.<ref name=bbc>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/ex3zc8 Proms 2015. Prom 68: Bach – Six Cello Suites]. ''[[BBC]]''. 5 September 2015.</ref>
==History==
[[File:Bach1sa2.PNG|thumb|The first page from the manuscript by [[Anna Magdalena Bach]] of Suite No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007]]
An exact chronology of the suites (regarding both the order in which the suites were composed and whether they were composed before or after the [[Sonatas and partitas for solo violin (Bach)|solo violin sonatas]]) cannot be completely established. Scholars generally believe that—based on a comparative analysis of the styles of the sets of works—the cello suites arose first, effectively dating the suites earlier than 1720, the year on the title page of Bach's [[autograph]] of the violin sonatas.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sevier |first=Zay David |date=1981 |title=Bach's Solo Violin Sonatas and Partitas: The First Century and a Half, Part 1 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41640128 |journal=Bach |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=11–19 |jstor=41640128 |issn=0005-3600}}</ref>
The suites were not widely known before the early 20th century.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rutherford |first=David |title=The Story Behind the Bach Cello Suites, And Why We Still Love Them Today |url=https://www.cpr.org/2018/07/25/the-story-behind-the-bach-cello-suites-and-why-we-still-love-them-today/ |access-date=2022-06-21 |website=Colorado Public Radio |language=en}}</ref> It was [[Pablo Casals]] who first began to popularize the suites, after discovering an edition by [[Friedrich Grützmacher]] (who was the first cellist to perform an entire Bach suite) in a thrift shop in [[Barcelona]] in 1889 when he was 13. Although Casals performed the suites publicly, it was not until 1936, when he was 60 years old, that he agreed to record them, beginning with Suites Nos. 2 and 3, at [[Abbey Road Studios]] in London. The other four were recorded in Paris: 1 and 6 in June 1938, and 4 and 5 in June 1939. Casals became the first to record all six suites; his recordings are still available and respected today.<ref name=allmusic>{{cite news|last1=Sanderson|first1=Blair|title=J.S. Bach: Six Suites for Solo Cello – Pablo Casals|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/js-bach-six-suites-for-solo-cello-mw0001813352|work=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=25 August 2014|quote="... Casals still seems to be the standard against which other performances are measured, and these recordings are indispensable to any serious collector."}}</ref> In 2019, the Casals recording was selected by the [[Library of Congress]] for preservation in the [[National Recording Registry]] as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".<ref>{{cite news |last=Andrews |first=Travis M. |date=March 20, 2019 |title=Jay-Z, a speech by Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and 'Schoolhouse Rock!' among recordings deemed classics by Library of Congress |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/jay-z-a-speech-by-sen-robert-f-kennedy-and-schoolhouse-rock-among-recordings-deemed-classics-by-library-of-congress/2019/03/19/f7eb08ea-4a58-11e9-9663-00ac73f49662_story.html?|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=March 25, 2019}}</ref>
The suites have since been performed and recorded by many cellists. [[Yo-Yo Ma]] won the 1985 [[Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (without orchestra)|Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance]] for his album ''Six Unaccompanied Cello Suites''. [[János Starker]] won the 1998 [[Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (without orchestra)|Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance]] for his fifth recording of ''Six Unaccompanied Cello Suites''.
==Manuscript==
[[File:Bach Cello Suites Facsmile.pdf|thumb|Page from a facsimile of A. M. Bach's manuscript]]
[[File:Viola da spalla.JPG|thumb|upright|[[Cello da spalla|Violoncello da spalla]]]]
Unlike with [[Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin (Bach)|Bach's solo violin sonatas]], no autograph manuscript of the Cello Suites survives, making it impossible to produce modern [[urtext edition|urtext]] performing editions. Analysis of secondary sources, including a hand-written copy by Bach's second wife, [[Anna Magdalena Bach|Anna Magdalena]], has produced presumably authentic editions, although critically deficient in the placement of [[Slur (music)|slurs]] and other articulations, devoid of basic performance markings such as bowings and dynamics, and with spurious notes and rhythms. As a result, the texts present performers with numerous problems of interpretation.<ref>Bromberger, Eric. [https://chicagopresents.uchicago.edu/sites/chicagopresents.uchicago.edu/files/UCP%20Program%20Notes%20Oct%2015.pdf Program Notes: The University of Chicago Presents | Performance Hall | Logan Center. October 15, 2013, 7:30 PM. Jean-Guihen Queyras, cello] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151123095650/https://chicagopresents.uchicago.edu/sites/chicagopresents.uchicago.edu/files/UCP%20Program%20Notes%20Oct%2015.pdf |date=November 23, 2015 }}. October 2013. p. 2.</ref>
German cellist [[Michael Bach (musician)|Michael Bach]] has stated that he believes the manuscripts of the suites by Anna Magdalena Bach are accurate. According to his analysis, the unexpected positioning of the slurs corresponds closely to the harmonic development, which he suggests supports his theory.<ref>Finckh, Eckhard. [http://www.ntz.de/nachrichten/kultur/artikel/kritischer-blick-auf-cello-suiten/ "Kritischer Blick auf Cello-Suiten"] (in German). ''{{Interlanguage link multi|Nürtinger Zeitung|de}}''. 8 May 2013. {{Subscription required}}</ref> His position is not universally accepted. The most recent studies{{which |date= October 2021}} into the relationships among the four manuscripts show that Anna Magdalena Bach's manuscript may not have been copied directly from her husband's holograph but from a lost intervening source. Thus, the slurs in the Magdalena manuscript may not come from Bach himself and would not be clues to their interpretation.{{Citation needed |date= October 2021}}
Recent research has suggested that the suites were not necessarily written for the familiar cello played between the legs (''da gamba''), but an instrument played rather like a violin, on the shoulder (''{{Lang|it|da [[Wikt:spalla|spalla]]}}''). Variations in the terminology used to refer to musical instruments during this period have led to modern confusion, and the discussion continues about what instrument "Bach intended", and even whether he intended any instrument in particular. [[Sigiswald Kuijken]] and [[Ryo Terakado]] have both recorded the complete suites on this "new" instrument, known today as a [[violoncello da spalla|violoncello (or viola) da spalla]];<ref>Kuijken, Sigiswald. [http://www.preludeklassiekemuziek.nl/kuijken_spalla.html "Sigiswald Kuijken over de 'violoncello da spalla'"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724163343/http://www.preludeklassiekemuziek.nl/kuijken_spalla.html |date=2011-07-24 }} (in Dutch). ''PreludeKlassiekeMuziek.nl''. Retrieved 27 July 2010.</ref> reproductions of the instrument have been made by [[luthier]] Dmitry Badiarov.<ref>Badiarov, Dmitry. [http://violoncellodaspalla.blogspot.com.au/2010/08/jsbach-violoncello-da-spalla-suites.html "J.S. Bach – Violoncello da Spalla Suites"]. ''The Violin Blog of Dmitry Badiarov – violin-maker''. 29 August 2010.</ref>
=== Editions ===
The cellist [[Edmund Kurtz]] published an edition in 1983, which he based on facsimiles of the manuscript by Anna Magdalena Bach, placing them opposite each printed page. It was described as "the most important edition of the greatest music ever written for the instrument".<ref name=independent>{{Cite web|title=Edmund Kurtz|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/edmund-kurtz-550329.html|date=2004-08-23|website=The Independent|language=en|last1=Campbell|first1=Margaret|access-date=2020-05-29}}</ref> However, Kurtz chooses to follow the Magdalena text exactly, leading to differences between his and other editions, which correct what are generally considered to be textual errors in the source.<ref>Szabó, Zoltán. 2016. Problematic sources, problematic transmission: An outline of the edition history of the solo cello suites. PhD dissertation, The University of Sidney.</ref>
=== Arrangements ===
Bach transcribed at least one of the suites, Suite No. 5 in C minor, for [[lute]]. An autograph manuscript of this version exists as [[Lute Suite in G minor, BWV 995|BWV 995]].<ref name=BWV995 />
Using the Bach edition prepared by cellist Johann Friedrich Dotzauer and published by [[Breitkopf & Härtel]] in 1826, [[Robert Schumann]] wrote arrangements with piano accompaniment for all six Bach cello suites.<ref name=arkiv>Altena, James A. [http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=566026 Review of 'Schumann: Chamber Music Vol 2 - Cello And Piano / Ensemble Villa Musica'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026044018/http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=566026 |date=2020-10-26 }}. ''[[Fanfare (magazine)|Fanfare]]''. 2011. Reprinted at ''[[ArkivMusic]]''.</ref> Schumann's publisher accepted his arrangements of the [[Sonatas and partitas for solo violin (Bach)|Bach violin sonatas]] in 1854, but rejected his Bach cello-suite arrangements.<ref name=newsletter /> His only cello-suite arrangement surviving is the one for Suite No. 3, discovered in 1981 by musicologist [[Joachim Draheim]] in an 1863 transcription by cellist [[Julius Goltermann]].<ref name=arkiv /><ref name=newsletter>[http://www.cello.org/Newsletter/SeptOct96.html#article "Schumann Bach Suite Accompaniments, Summarized by Tim Finholt (Summarized from a preface by Joachim Draheim, Karlsruhe, Spring 1985.)"]. In: ''Tutti Celli'' (International Cello Society Newsletter). September/October 1996.</ref> It is believed that Schumann's widow [[Clara Schumann]], along with violinist [[Joseph Joachim]], destroyed his Bach cello-arrangement manuscripts sometime after 1860, when Joachim declared them substandard.<ref name=arkiv /><ref name=newsletter/> Writing in 2011, ''[[Fanfare (magazine)|Fanfare]]'' reviewer James A. Altena agreed with that critique, calling the surviving Bach-Schumann cello/piano arrangement "a musical duckbilled platypus, an extreme oddity of sustained interest only to 19th-century musicologists".<ref name=arkiv/>
[[Joachim Raff]], in 1868 while working on his own suites for solo piano and for other ensembles, made arrangements of the suites for piano solo, published from 1869 to 1871 by Rieter-Biedermann.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://raff.org/music/catalog/genre/arr1.htm |title=Raff Work Catalog: Arrangements of Works by Others. |access-date=2018-02-17 |archive-date=2020-09-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919000627/https://raff.org/music/catalog/genre/arr1.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>
In 1923, [[Leopold Godowsky]] composed piano transcriptions of Suites Nos. 2, 3, and 5, in full [[counterpoint]] for solo piano, subtitling them "very freely transcribed and adapted for piano".<ref>Siblin, Eric. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Euf2Loch7YcC&pg=PA215 ''The Cello Suites: J. S. Bach, Pablo Casals, and the Search for a Baroque Masterpiece'']. Grove/Atlantic, 2011. p. 215.</ref>
The cello suites have been transcribed for numerous solo instruments, including the violin, viola, double bass, viola da gamba, mandolin, piano, marimba, classical guitar, recorder, flute, electric bass, [[French horn|horn]], saxophone, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, euphonium, tuba, ukulele, and [[charango]]. They have been transcribed and arranged for orchestra as well.
==Structure==
The suites are in six movements each, and have the following structure and order of movements.
# [[Prelude (music)|Prelude]]
Line 23 ⟶ 55:
# [[Courante]]
# [[Sarabande]]
#
# [[Gigue]]
Scholars believe that Bach intended the works to be considered as a systematically conceived cycle, rather than an arbitrary series of pieces
===Suite No. 1 in G major,
[[File:Bach cello harmony.JPG|thumb|The arpeggiated motion in the prelude to Cello Suite No. 1]]
{{Listen
|image=none
|help=no
|type=music
|filename=Bach - Cello Suite no. 1 in G major, BWV 1007 - I. Prélude, Lud and Schlatts Musical Emporium.ogg
|title=Cello Suite No. 1 (BWV 1007) – Prelude
|description=A 2022 recording, played by Philip Milman.
}}
The prelude, mainly consisting of [[arpeggio|arpeggiated]] [[chord (music)|chord]]s, is the best known movement from the entire set of suites and is regularly heard on television and in films.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Bach Cello Suites Analyses & Explorations Volume I: Text|last=Winold|first=Allen|publisher=Indiana University Press|year=2007|isbn=9780253218858|___location=Bloomington, IN|pages=17}}</ref>
# [[Prelude (music)|Prelude]]
# [[Allemande]]
# [[Courante]]
# [[Sarabande]]
# [[Minuet]] I / II
# [[Gigue]]
===Suite No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1008===
The Prelude consists of two parts, the first of which has a strong recurring theme that is immediately introduced in the beginning. The second part is a [[Scale (music)|scale]]-based [[cadenza]] movement that leads to the final, powerful chords. The subsequent
# [[Prelude (music)|Prelude]]
# [[Allemande]]
# [[Courante]]
# [[Sarabande]]
# [[Minuet]] I / II
# [[Gigue]]
{{listen|image=none|help=no|type=music|header=Cello Suite No. 2 (BWV 1008)
| filename = Bach Cello Suite BWV 1008 Gigue.ogg
| title = Gigue (performed by P. Mélet)
}}
===Suite No. 3 in C major, BWV 1009===
The Prelude of this suite
The
The second bourrée, though in C minor, has a two-flat (or G minor) [[key signature]]. This notation, common in pre-[[Classical period (music)|Classical]] music, is sometimes known as a partial key signature. The first and second bourrée of the 3rd Suite are sometimes used as solo material for other bass instruments such as the tuba, euphonium, trombone and bassoon.
# [[Prelude (music)|Prelude]]
# [[Allemande]]
# [[Courante]]
# [[Sarabande]]
# [[Bourrée]] I / II
# [[Gigue]]
{{listen||image=none|help=no|type=music|header=Cello Suite No. 3 (BWV 1009)
| filename = JOHN MICHEL CELLO-J S BACH CELLO SUITE 3 in C Prelude.ogg
| title = 1 – Prelude
| filename2 = JOHN MICHEL CELLO-J S BACH CELLO SUITE 3 in C Allemande.ogg
| title2 = 2 – Allemande
| filename3 = JOHN MICHEL CELLO-J S BACH CELLO SUITE 3 in C Courante.ogg
| title3 = 3 – Courante
| filename4 = JOHN MICHEL CELLO-J S BACH CELLO SUITE 3 in C Sarabande.ogg
| title4 = 4 – Sarabande
| filename5 = JOHN MICHEL CELLO-J S BACH CELLO SUITE 3 in G Bourees.ogg
| title5 = 5 – Bourees
| filename6 = JOHN MICHEL CELLO-J S BACH CELLO SUITE 3 in C Gigue.ogg
| title6 = 6 – Gigue
| description6 = All performed by John Michel
}}
===Suite No. 4 in E{{music|flat}} major, BWV 1010===
Suite No. 4 is one of the most technically demanding of the suites, as E{{music|flat}} is an uncomfortable key on the cello and requires many extended left hand positions. The key is also difficult on cello due to the lack of resonant open strings.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://libres.uncg.edu/ir/uncg/f/Timmons_uncg_0154D_10915.pdf|title=Using the Organ to Teach the Fourth Suite Prelude for Violoncello Solo by J.S. Bach|last=Timmons|first=Lena|date=2012|website=libres.uncg.edu|access-date=13 September 2018}}</ref> The prelude primarily consists of a difficult flowing quaver movement that leaves room for a cadenza before returning to its original theme.
The very peaceful sarabande is quite obscure about the stressed second beat, which is the basic characteristic of the {{music|time|3|4}} dance, since, in this particular sarabande, almost every first beat contains a chord, whereas the second beat most often does not.
# [[Prelude (music)|Prelude]]
# [[Allemande]]
# [[Courante]]
# [[Sarabande]]
# [[Bourrée]] I / II
# [[Gigue]]
===Suite No. 5 in C minor, BWV 1011===
Suite No. 5 was originally written in
The Prelude is written in an
This suite is most famous for its intimate sarabande, which is one of the few movements in the six suites that does not contain any double stops (chords). [[Mstislav Rostropovich]] described it as the essence of Bach's genius. [[Paul Tortelier]] viewed it as an extension of silence. Rostropovich, extending Tortelier's "silence" to an extreme, would sometimes play the Sarabande as a recital encore at a metronome marking of 32 or slower, one note per beat, with no vibrato and no slurs, each note standing alone in a "well of silence". [[Yo-Yo Ma]] played this movement on September 11, 2002 at the site of the [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]], while the names of the dead were read on the first anniversary of remembrance of those lost in the [[September 11 attacks]].
The 5th Suite is also exceptional as its courante and gigue are in the French style, rather than in the Italian form of the other five suites.
An autograph manuscript of Bach's [[lute]] version of this suite exists as [[Lute Suite in G minor, BWV 995|BWV 995]].<ref name=BWV995>[http://jsbach.org/bwv995.html BWV995] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090904183639/http://www.jsbach.org/bwv995.html |date=2009-09-04 }} at ''JSBach.org''. Retrieved November 23, 2015.</ref>
# [[Prelude (music)|Prelude]]
# [[Allemande]]
# [[Courante]]
# [[Sarabande]]
# [[Gavotte]] I / II
# [[Gigue]]
{{listen|image=none|help=no|type=music|filename=Bach - Cello Suite No. 5 - 1. Prelude.ogg|title=Cello Suite No. 5 (BWV 1011) – Prelude|description=Performed on a viola by Elias Goldstein}}
===Suite No. 6 in D major, BWV 1012===
[[File:Accord cello CGDAE.jpg|thumb|Open strings of the viola pomposa.]]
It is widely believed that Suite No. 6 was composed specifically for a five-stringed [[violoncello piccolo]], a smaller cello, roughly {{frac|7|8}} normal cello size with a fifth upper string tuned to E, a perfect fifth above the otherwise top string. However, some say there is no substantial evidence to support this claim: whilst three of the sources inform the player that it is written for an instrument ''à cinq cordes'', only [[Anna Magdalena Bach]]'s manuscript indicates the tunings of the strings, and the other sources do not mention any intended instrument at all.
Other possible instruments for the suite include a [[cello da spalla]], a version of the violoncello piccolo played on the shoulder like a [[viola]], as well as a viola with a fifth string tuned to E, called a [[viola pomposa]]. As the range required in this piece is very large, the suite was probably intended for a larger instrument, although it is conceivable that Bach—who was fond of the viola—may have performed the work himself on an arm-held violoncello piccolo. However, it is equally likely that beyond hinting the number of strings, Bach did not intend any specific instrument at all as the construction of instruments in the early 18th century was highly variable.
Cellists playing this suite on a modern four-string cello encounter difficulties as they are forced to use very high positions to reach many of the notes. Performers specialising in [[early music]] and using [[Historically informed performance|authentic instruments]] generally use the five-string cello for this suite. The approach of [[Watson Forbes]], in his transcription of this suite for viola, was to transpose the entire suite to G major, avoiding "a tone colour which is not very suitable for this type of music" and making most of the original chords playable on a four-stringed instrument.<ref>Bach, J.S. (composer) and Watson Forbes (transcriber and editor). ''Six Suites for Viola (Originally for Cello)''. J. & W. Chester Ltd., 1951. Preface.</ref>
This suite is written in much more free form than the others, containing more cadenza-like movements and virtuosic passages. It is also the only one of the suites that is partly notated in the [[Clef#Alto clef|alto]] and [[Clef#C-clefs|soprano clefs]] (modern editions use tenor and treble clefs), which are not needed for the others since they never go above the note G<sub>4</sub> (G above [[middle C]]).
[[Mstislav Rostropovich]] called Suite No. 6 "a symphony for solo cello" and characterised its [[D major]] tonality as evoking joy and triumph.
# [[Prelude (music)|Prelude]]
# [[Allemande]]
# [[Courante]]
# [[Sarabande]]
# [[Gavotte]] I / II
# [[Gigue]]
==Speculations about Anna Magdalena Bach==
[[Martin Jarvis (conductor)|Martin Jarvis]] formerly of [[Charles Darwin University]] School of Music, in Darwin, Australia, speculated in 2006 that [[Anna Magdalena Bach|Anna Magdalena]] may have been the composer of several musical pieces attributed to her husband.<ref name=dutter>Dutter, Barbie and Roya Nikkhah. [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1516423/Bach-works-were-written-by-his-second-wife-claims-academic.html "Bach works were written by his second wife, claims academic"]. ''[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]''. 23 April 2006.</ref> Jarvis proposes that Anna Magdalena wrote the six Cello Suites and was involved in composing the aria from the ''[[Goldberg Variations]]'' (BWV 988).
Musicologists, critics, and performers, however, pointing to the thinness of evidence of this proposition, and the extant evidence that supports Johann Sebastian Bach's authorship, remain skeptical of the claim.<ref name=dutter/><ref>Ross, Alex. [http://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/case-mrs-bach "The Search for Mrs. Bach"]. ''[[The New Yorker]]''. October 31, 2010.</ref>
== Notable recordings ==
There have been a large handful of recordings of the Cello Suites. Some notable interpretations include:
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Year of recording
!Cellist
!Label
!Notes
|-
|1939
|[[Pablo Casals]]
|[[Gramophone Company|Gramophone]]
|Multiple LP reissues
|-
|1953
|[[Antonio Janigro]]
|[[Westminster Records|Westminster]]
|CD reissue 1996
|-
|1954–56
|[[Enrico Mainardi]]
|[[Archiv Produktion|Archiv]]
|
|-
|1959
|[[János Starker|Janos Starker]]
|EMI/[[Columbia Records|Columbia]]
|
|-
|1960
|[[Gaspar Cassadó|Gaspar Cassado]]
|[[Vox Records|Vox]]
|
|-
|1960
|[[Jean-Max Clément]]
|[[L'Oiseau-Lyre]]
|Reissued on CD in 2020
|-
|1961
|[[Pierre Fournier]]
|[[Archiv Produktion|Archiv]]
|
|-
|1961
|[[August Wenzinger]]
|Barenreiter–Musicaphon
|
|-
|1963
|Enrico Mainardi
|Eurodiscs
|multiple reissues on Eurodisc and [[Denon Records|Denon]]
|-
|1963
|[[Paul Tortelier]]
|[[His Master's Voice (British record label)|His Master's Voice]]
|
|-
|1965
|[[Nikolaus Harnoncourt]]
|[[Harmonia Mundi]]
|
|-
|1965
|[[János Starker|Janos Starker]]
|[[Mercury Records|Mercury]]
|several reissues and remasterings
|-
|1972
|[[Reine Flachot]]
|Intercord
|Reissued on Saphir
|-
|1978
|[[André Navarra]]
|[[Calliope (record label)|Calliope]]
|
|-
|1978
|[[Miloš Sádlo]]
|[[Supraphon]]
|
|-
|1979
|[[Anner Bylsma]]
|[[RCA Red Seal Records|RCA Red Seal]]
|
|-
|1979
|[[Maurice Gendron]]
|[[Philips Records|Philips]]
|Recorded in 1964, not released until 1976. Reissued in 1994 on [[Philips Classics Records]]
|-
|1982
|[[Miklós Perényi]]
|[[Hungaroton]]
|
|-
|1983
|[[Yo-Yo Ma]]
|[[CBS Masterworks]]
|
|-
|1983
|[[Paul Tortelier]]
|[[EMI|EMI Digital]]
|
|-
|1984
|[[Erling Blöndal Bengtsson|Erling Bengtsson]]
|[[Danacord]]
|
|-
|1984
|[[Julius Berger (cellist)|Julius Berger]]
|[[Orfeo (record label)|Orfeo]]
|
|-
|1984
|[[János Starker|Janos Starker]]
|Sefel Records
|
|-
|1985
|[[Jorg Baumann]]
|[[Teldec]]
|
|-
|1985
|[[Lynn Harrell]]
|[[Decca Records|Decca]]
|
|-
|1985
|[[Mischa Maisky]]
|[[Deutsche Grammophon]]
|
|-
|1985
|[[Heinrich Schiff]]
|[[EMI]]
|
|-
|1986
|[[Saša Večtomov]]
|[[Supraphon]]
|Reissued on CD in 2020 by Supraphon
|-
|1990
|[[Pieter Wispelwey]]
|[[Channel Classics Records|Channel Classics]]
|
|-
|1991
|[[Roel Dieltiens]]
|[[Accent Records|Accent]]
|Reissued as digital download in 2006
|-
|1992
|[[Anner Bylsma]]
|[[Sony Classical Records|Sony Classical]]
|
|-
|1992
|[[Dimitry Markevitch]]
|[[Gallo Record Company|Gallo]]
|
|-
|2015
|David Watkin
|Resonus Classics
|
|}
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
==External links==
{{Commons category|Cello suites by Johann Sebastian Bach}}
* [http://www.
* [http://www.jsbachcellosuites.com/score.html Manuscript Sources]
* {{IMSLP2|work=6 Cello Suites, BWV 1007-1012 (Bach, Johann Sebastian)|cname=Cello Suites}}
* [https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.6002278195 Johann Sebastian Bach] at [http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com Grove Music Online]
* [http://georgcello.com/bachcellosuites.htm The Cello Suites of Bach: History – Analysis – Detailed Interpretation – Program Notes – Audio – Video] – Comprehensive analysis and notes on interpretation by cellist Georg Mertens
* [https://costanzabach.stanford.edu/ Audio, commentary, analysis, and history] from [[Stanford University]]
* [http://www.jsbachcellosuites.com/ History, Baroque Cello, Editions, Recordings, Interpretation] jsbachcellosuites.com
* [https://www.bachvereniging.nl/en/bwv/bwv-1007/ Cello Suite No. 1], [https://www.bachvereniging.nl/en/bwv/bwv-1008/ Cello Suite No. 2], [https://www.bachvereniging.nl/en/bwv/bwv-1009/ Cello Suite No. 3], [https://www.bachvereniging.nl/en/bwv/bwv-1010/ Cello Suite No. 4], [https://www.bachvereniging.nl/en/bwv/bwv-1011/ Cello Suite No. 5] and [https://www.bachvereniging.nl/en/bwv/bwv-1012/ Cello Suite No. 6]: performances by the [[Netherlands Bach Society]] (video and background information)
* [http://www.jsbach.net/midi/midi_solo_cello.html MIDI Sequences]
* [http://www.mutopiaproject.org/cgibin/make-table.cgi?collection=bachcello&preview=1 Musical scores and MIDI files] at the [[Mutopia Project]]
{{Authority control}}
[[
[[Category:Solo cello pieces]]
[[Category:1710s works]]
[[Category:1720s works]]
[[Category:Pablo Casals]]
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