(28) Cello Cycle I with Jean-Guihen Queyras
Foto-Copyright:
Marco Borggreve
Veranstaltungsdetails
Artists Jean-Guihen Queyras violoncello Programme Johann Sebastian Bach Cello Suite No. 1
Veranstaltungsdetails
Artists
Jean-Guihen Queyras violoncello
Programme
Johann Sebastian Bach
Cello Suite No. 1 in G major for solo cello, BWV 1007
Prélude – Allemande – Courante – Sarabande – Menuett I/II – Gigue
Cello Suite No. 2 in D minor for solo cello, BWV 1008
Prélude – Allemande – Courante – Sarabande – Menuett I/II – Gigue
Description
From December 1717 to May 1723, Johann Sebastian Bach served as Kapellmeister to the music-loving Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Köthen. He had at his disposal a superbly equipped court orchestra, which inspired him to compose a large number of chamber and orchestral works. During his time in Köthen, Bach created several instrumental cycles, including six substantial solo works each for violin and cello.
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A certain kinship between these two cycles is obvious: in these works for string instruments, Bach explores the instruments’ technical and compositional possibilities to their limits, without the otherwise obligatory basso continuo. He may even have envisioned a multi-volume project of demanding instrumental solos, as he intriguingly titled the “Sei Solo” for violin in his autograph “Libro primo” (first book). Whether the cello suites, or perhaps suites for solo transverse flute (of which only one has survived), were intended to provide the material for further “Libri” may at least be assumed.
In his six works for solo cello, Bach drew on the suite form, for which a kind of “schema” had become established in the early eighteenth century. Johann Mattheson described it in 1739 as follows: “The Allemande [comes] before the Courante, just as the Courante comes before the Sarabanda and Gigue; this sequence of melodies is called a Suite.” In the cello suites, Bach preceded these four core movements with a Prélude and added another pair of dances between the Sarabande and Gigue (Menuett, Bourrée or Gavotte). This sequence of movements can be found in many suite collections of the period, not least in Bach’s “English Suites” for harpsichord, which he likewise composed in Köthen.
The Suite in G major (BWV 1007) opens with an animated Prélude consisting almost entirely of broken chords, followed by an Allemande and Courante in a similar vein, before the Sarabande provides a tranquil contrast with its artful use of double stops. Bach then adds a pair of Menuetts, whose shift in tonality from major to minor is striking. A lively Gigue brings the suite to a close.
In contrast to the carefree G major Suite, Bach presents the Suite in D minor (BWV 1008) as an introspective, contemplative work. The Prélude immediately establishes this mood with elegiac turns and austere minor harmonies. The virtuosic and playful impetus is noticeably restrained. This serious tone persists throughout the following movements. As a result, the Allemande and Courante scarcely sound dance-like, while even the usually lively Gigue takes on more of the character of a grim character piece. Only in the second Menuett does Bach shift to D major, allowing a brief moment of brightness.
Cello Cycle on Saturday (28) and Sunday (30) (33)
Tickets per concert: 16 €, concessions 10 € | Tickets for the complete cycle:45 €, concessions 25 €
Zeit
Tickets kaufen
€ 16 | conc. € 10
ticketsVeranstalter
Kirche St. Agnus
Stiftstraße 11, 06366 Köthen (Anhalt)barrierefreiKirche St. Agnus
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Concessions
are available to school pupils, trainees and students, people who are
unemployed, and people with severe disabilities. Children up to the age of 6
are admitted free of charge. Holders of a disability pass marked with a “B” are
entitled to a concessionary ticket; their accompanying person is admitted free
of charge with a companion ticket. Free companion and children’s tickets can be
booked by email at tickets@bachfesttage.de or at the Köthen Information Centre.
Please note that the venues are only partially accessible. Concessionary
tickets are only valid upon presentation of the relevant proof of eligibility.
