4250128524049

J. S. Bach: The Cello Suites On Six Different Instruments

Ronan Kernoa

Regular
£22.99
Sale
£22.99
Regular
Out of Stock
Unit Price
per 

Format: 2CD

Cat No: RAM2404

PRE-ORDER: This item will be shipped with the aim to deliver on release day.

Release Date:  17 October 2025

Label:  Outhere / Ramee

Packaging Type:  Digipak

No of Units:  2

Barcode:  4250128524049

Genres:  Classical  Solo Instrumental  

Composer/Series:  J. S. Bach

  • Description

    The term violoncello was particularly fluid in the early 18th century: it referred to a wide range of bowed stringed instruments of different sizes and shapes, generally with four or five strings; some of these instruments were held between the knees and others were supported by the arm. So when Bach's wife, Anna Magdalena, wrote Suites a Violoncello Solo senza Basso (Suites for Solo Cello without Bass) on the title page of her manuscript copy, we cannot be entirely sure what type of instrument she was referring to. It is said that Bach himself played both the violin and the viola exceptionally well, and it is quite possible that he originally composed the suites for his own use and played them on a violoncello piccolo held on the arm, using viola fingerings. It is, however, also possible that he composed these works for other virtuosi known to him, these including Gregor Christoph Eylenstein, concertmaster of the Weimar court orchestra, and the Leipzig violinist Carl Gotthelf Gerlach. While being excellent violinists, they were also known as experts on the cello and viola d'amore.

    These considerations--and the observation that certain suites seem particularly well suited to specific instruments--inspired Ronan Kernoa to record the six suites on six different instruments.