(30) Cello Cycle II with Jean-Guihen Queyras
Foto-Copyright:
Marco Borggreve
Veranstaltungsdetails
Artists Jean-Guihen Queras violoncello Programme Johann Sebastian Bach Cello Suite No. 3
Veranstaltungsdetails
Artists
Jean-Guihen Queras violoncello
Programme
Johann Sebastian Bach
Cello Suite No. 3 in C major for solo cello, BWV 1009
Prélude – Allemande – Courante – Sarabande – Bourée I/II – Gigue
Cello Suite No. 4 in E-flat major for solo cello, BWV 1010
Prélude – Allemande – Courante – Sarabande – Bourrée I/II – Gigue
Description
Italy was the birthplace of the violoncello. As early as the sixteenth century, instrument makers there were experimenting with lower-pitched, fretless string instruments. At first, there were no standardised forms or tunings, and terminology varied widely as well. It was not until the middle of the seventeenth century that standards gradually began to emerge; the name “violoncello”, still in common use today, first appeared in print in a musical publication by Giulio Cesare Arresti in 1665. The earliest compositions explicitly written for this instrument are unaccompanied works. These include several ricercari by the Bologna-based cellists Domenico Gabrielli and Giovanni Battista Degli Antonii.
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However, it would be inappropriate to regard these Italian works from around 1690 as models for Bach’s Cello Suites. The stylistic differences are too great, and it can safely be assumed that Bach never saw the manuscripts of Gabrielli and Antonii. Bach, by contrast, seems to have drawn more on the literature for solo violin when conceiving his six suites. Around 1700, highly sophisticated solo pieces were already circulating in this field, including works by Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber, Johann Jakob Walther and Johann Paul Westhoff. Bach now transferred the principle of these immensely demanding works to the technical possibilities of the violoncello. This clearly took place alongside his work on the Partitas and Sonatas for solo violin.
Much more consistently than in his solo works for violin, Bach adhered to a uniform sequence of movements in the cello suites. All the suites begin with a Prélude, followed in each case by the four stylised dance movements Allemande, Courante, Sarabande and Gigue. As a “change of pace”, Bach adds another pair of dances in the penultimate position: Menuett (Suites 1 and 2), Bourrée (Suites 3 and 4) or Gavotte (Suites 5 and 6). Within this formal framework, however, Bach presents a fascinating range of movement types, themes and technical challenges. From one suite to the next – much like in a pedagogically conceived textbook – there is a perceptible continuous increase in complexity.
In the Suite in C major (BWV 1009), Bach places the lively virtuoso character entirely in the foreground. The rapid Prélude at the beginning consists almost entirely of fast semiquaver runs and broken chords. The following Allemande is likewise dominated by rapid movement, with Bach also incorporating more intricate rhythms. The melodic line of the Courante makes full use of the cello’s range and possesses an elegant lightness. After the tranquil Sarabande and the dance-like pair of Bourrées, the Gigue brings the work to an effective close with its unrestrained delight in playing.
The Prélude of the E-flat major Suite (BWV 1010) also begins with broken-chord playing, which as it progresses is combined with chains of semiquavers that have an improvisatory quality. The Allemande and Courante likewise make considerable virtuoso demands, while the Sarabande once again serves as a moment of tranquillity at the centre of the work. The Bourrée pair increases the suite’s vitality before the Gigue races along like a true “perpetual motion machine”.
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Cello Cycle on Saturday (28) and Sunday (30) (33)
Tickets per concert: 16 €, concessions 10 € | Tickets for the complete cycle: 45 €, concessions 25 €
Please note: The venue is not wheelchair accessible.
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€ 16 | conc. € 10
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Schlosskapelle im Schloss Köthen
Schloßplatz 4, 06366 Köthen (Anhalt)nicht barrierefreiSchlosskapelle im Schloss Köthen
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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.
