BACH - COMPLETE CELLO SUITES
played by Massimiliano Martinelli
Bach's suites for cello are considered a real milestone in the history of music and represent for us cellists a pearl within our large and wonderful repertoire.
What is the great success of the Bach's Cello Suites due to?
Well, on the one hand they have a didactic function and almost represent a method of technical and musical growth for every aspiring cellist: written in progressive difficulty, they teach how to improve intonation, clarity of sound, phrasing, constancy and rhythmic variety, research of all kinds of color and timbre and much more. The daily study of the suites helps the interpreter to maintain excellent instrumental and spiritual form.
From an executive point of view, being the only character involved, the cellist has the responsibility to capture the attention of his audience and lead him through a path full of emotions and situations in which harmony, melody, rhythm come from a single source .But that's not all: the most fascinating part remains the interpretative one.
Different interpretations of Bach Six Solo Suites
Over the last 100 years we have listened to countless versions of Bach's suites for cello, from baroque to romantic or more modern practice, each interpreter has delivered his vision to the world and this process continues unabated today. Not having indications of dynamics and tempo in the score,
and being written for solo instrument, the interpreter is faced with maximum musical freedom "without compromise".
The recording of the 6 suites has thus become today, a kind of personal testament that every solo cellist bequeaths to the world and this recording is always, in my opinion, the most complete mirror of the musician's personality, almost as if it were a portrait of his soul.
My own interpretation of Bach's Cello Suites
(auidible on Youtube)
In my 2019 recording, I tried to interpret these six masterpieces in a profound and sensitive way, focusing a lot on the richness and strength of the emotions that Bach's music suggested to me.
Through the 6 dances that make up each suite, we pass from the joy and vivacity of some moments to the melancholy and meditation of others and through the six basic tones on which each suite is articulated, I have tried to give life to all the main emotions of my soul .
In this monologue of more than two hours I have highlighted (being Italian) the 'singability' and lyricism of some parts and the energy and panache of others.
In the video below you can hear my own version of Bach's complete cello suites