Movements from the Bach Cello Suites

Transcription

1 Movements from the Bach Cello Suites Realized for Harpsichord ~ Organ ~ Piano Realizations ~ noel Jones

2 dedicated to Fred & Janet Schweitzer.

3 Fifteen Movements from the Bach Cello Suites Realized for Keyboard Bach was a teacher, a theorist, a performer, a composer, and an arranger. His jobs required creating new music, and writing arrangements of his own music, as well as arrangements of music by great composers of his time, including Antonio Vivaldi. His Six Suites for the Unaccompanied Cello were built upon the style of earlier composers. Gabrieli, and others, explored the concept of low strings not providing a Bass, but playing their own melody, alone, and bits and pieces of harmony as well. Other instruments, and voices, supported them, each in its own part above the Bass. Bach is said to have written the Fifth Cello Suite first, later arranging it for the Lute, though others feel it was first written for the Lute. Regardless, this seems to indicate that Bach did not feel that the Cello Suites were written only for the cello, or that they should not be arranged. The Cello has the range of the male voice. Most keyboard composers fail to write melodies in that range so the instrument you perform these on will have a different timbre, a richness different from the organ, piano, harpsichord or clavichord. PLAYING NOTES For pieces which include repeats, enjoy playing the repeat differently from the way you played the first time through. It is common practice to freely add ornaments the second time through. Playing a repeat softly, with increased ornamentation, and a slight give and take of tempo, is introspective, permitting you to display what you have found in the music. HARPSICHORD A harpsichordist may change registrations and move between manuals, using the instrument to its fullest when playing these works. ORGAN The organ has a multitude of possible stop registrations. The question is not which stops to choose, but which stop combinations suit the building in which you are playing, and which combinations fit the performance of the music for those who are listening. While practicing, experiment with different stop combinations, and you will find yourself drawn to the right setting. Do not hesitate to try outlandish settings, as beautiful sounds may be found in somewhat strange stop combinations. PIANO When playing the repeated sections on the Piano, press and hold the Soft Pedal throughout the second time. This will change the timbre of the piano, especially on a grand piano. Note that the sustain pedal, too, can be effective at times - a good example might be sustaining the notes of the first beat on the first page Suite 2, Movement 1 - while being careful not to let the pedaling blur the music. While the resonance of the Cello and Harpsichord sustains these notes, the Piano sustain pedal may also be used to create the same fullness of sound. Noel Jones, 2018

4 This is created for keyboard musicians who love the Cello Suites and also for students interested in expanding their familiarity with the Bass Clef. These fifteen movements lend themselves nicely for realization and performance on a keyboard. The realization is based upon study of four early copies of the original violoncello manuscript - which, itself, has never been found. These copies vary and have been submitted to meticulous examination by learned scholars in an attempt to determine what the original score may have been. There are differing bowings and ornamentations in these four handwritten scores that challenge interpretations of one over another. Are these original intentions of Bach or just markings made by teachers for the benefit of a student? There are even different notes in passages between the four copies. The fifteen movements selected for this collection are displayed in black type on the opposite page, which lists all the movements of the six suites. Notes with parentheses in this score ( ) indicate a melodic note being played in the other hand already and need not be played. Realization

5 1 No. Title Page Suite No. 1 1 Prelude 2 2 Allemande 3 Courante 4 Sarabande 6 4 Menuet 8 5 Gigue Suite No. 2 6 Prelude 10 7 Allemande 8 Courante 8 Sarabande 15 8 Menuet 17 9 Gigue Suite No.3 10 Prelude 12 Allemande 13 Courante 14 Sarabande Bourrée Gigue Suite No Prelude 18 Allemande 19 Courante 20 Sarabande Bourree Gigue Suite No Prelude 26 Allemande 26 Courante Sarabande Gavotte 28 Gigue Suite No Prelude 32 Allemande 33 Courante 34 Sarabande Gavotte 1 33 Gavotte Gigue

6 2 Prelude Violoncello Suite

7 6 Sarabande Violoncello Suite

8 Menuet 2 Violoncello Suite 1

9 10 Prelude Cello Suite No

10 15 Sarabande Violoncello Suite

11 17 Menuet 1 Violoncello Suite

12 19 Sarabande Violoncello Suite

13 21 Bourée 2 Violoncello Suite

14 23 Sarabande Violoncello Suite

15 26 Bourrée Violoncello Suite

16 27 Courante Violoncello Suite

17 29 Sarabande Violoncello Suite

18 31 Sarabande Violoncello Suite

19 33 Gavotte 1 Violoncello Suite

20 35 Gavotte 2 Violoncello Suite 6 3 Fine 6 9