It is thought that Bach wrote his six suites for
unaccompanied cello between 1717 and 1723, while he was
in the employ of Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen and
had two superb solo cellists, Bernard Christian Linigke
and Christian Ferdinand Abel, at his disposal. However,
the earliest copy of the suites dates from 1726, and no
autographs survive. Thus a chronological order is
difficult to prove, though one guesses that these
suites were composed in numerical order from the way
that they gradually ...(+)
It is thought that Bach wrote his six suites for
unaccompanied cello between 1717 and 1723, while he was
in the employ of Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen and
had two superb solo cellists, Bernard Christian Linigke
and Christian Ferdinand Abel, at his disposal. However,
the earliest copy of the suites dates from 1726, and no
autographs survive. Thus a chronological order is
difficult to prove, though one guesses that these
suites were composed in numerical order from the way
that they gradually evolve and deepen, both technically
and musically.
A Baroque suite is typically a collection of dance
movements, usually in binary form with each half
repeated. Common elements of the suite were the
Allemande (German dance), a moderately slow duple-meter
dance; the Courante, a faster dance in triple meter;
the Sarabande, a Spanish-derived dance in a slow triple
meter with emphasis on the second beat; and a Gigue
(Jig), which is rapid, jaunty, and energetic. Bach took
these typical dance forms and abstracted them, and then
added a free-form, almost improvisatory Prelude which
sets the tone for each suite, and a galanterie, an
additional dance interposed between Sarabande and
Gigue. (In the first two suites, Bach uses a pair of
Minuets.) With these dances, Bach experimented and
created the first, and arguably still the finest, solo
works for a relatively new instrument.
As unique and extraordinary as each of Bach's other
five cello suites are, the Suite No. 6 is perhaps the
most ambitious, strangest, richest of all. For this
suite, Bach chose the key of D major, the triumphant
key of his Magnificat and the "Dona nobis pacem" which
concludes the Mass in B minor. He also calls for a
five-stringed variant on the cello, though the work is
playable on a conventional (four-stringed) cello. With
these resources, Bach calls for resounding joy,
carefully implied harmonies, and a rich, dense
counterpoint that tests the cellist's skills to the
maximum.
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.
Performers wishing to play the piece on a modern
four-string instruments encounter difficulties as they
are forced to use very high positions to reach many of
the notes, though modern cellists regularly perform the
suite on the 4-string instrument. Performers
specialising in early music and using authentic
instruments generally use the 5-string cello for this
suite, including Anner Bylsma, Pieter Wispelwey, Jaap
ter Linden and Josephine van Lier. The most common
method of transposing this suite for viola, is 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.
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 Tenor C clef,
which is not needed for the others since they never go
above the note G4 (G above middle C).
The Prelude, in a steady triple meter, is the only
place in the set where Bach employed the dynamic
markings (forte and piano), to simulate the effect of a
Vivaldi-like echo sonata with phrases calling,
responding, and gradually growing and developing into a
fast-moving and playful cadenza and an untroubled
recapitulation. With each suite Bach continues his
progression away from simple dance-like structural
roots. Melodic leaps are introduced in the fourth
suite, chords in the fifth suite, and a subtle mix of
chords, leaps, and implied harmonies, which become as
important as the melodies, in the sixth suite. Indeed,
this suite comes close in its technical challenges to
the polyphonic simulations that Bach created in the
partitas and sonatas for solo violin.
Although this piece was originally written for a period
bass instrument, I transcribed it (Transposing to
G-Major) for Viola.
PARTITION