Steven Isserlis has been living with the Bach Solo Cello Suites since he was 11, when he played them from an edition so corrupt that his teacher covered up all the added phrasing and dynamic markings on the score.
Now, almost four decades on, the British cellist has
finally recorded all six. The interpretations are the result of living with these masterworks for half a lifetime. Isserlis' penetrating booklet essay emphasises the importance of the dance in these scores and suggests their profundity could well justify an unspoken story lying behind their notes.
Isserlis' dance-like approach comes out in the very first phrase of the first G major Prelude - a piece we hear in three alternate editions, "mistakes included" as Isserlis puts it, as there are so many variances between them.
The veiled harmonies of the C minor Prelude are viol-like. Its Sarabande is melancholic, its final Gigue fiery and dotted. Isserlis has re-tuned the top string, as requested by Bach, making the harmonies lie more easily and, as the cellist comments, letting the two G strings vibrate in sympathy with one another.
Isserlis finds an individual tone and character for each suite, evident by the bold dynamics when the key turns to D major. Here the Courante is particularly frisky, with the tap of fingers on fingerboard suggesting a small tabour may be accompanying the dance. This is a familiar sound throughout the set and may be an irritation to some ears, although the Hyperion recording is a miracle of balance.
D minor proves to be an airy affair, as witnessed by the pensive lines of its Prelude and its short Allemande an elegant shrug.
The noble Sarabande has Isserlis bringing certain chords out from their generally muted background, a world away from the more immediate lyricism of the same dance from the C major Suite.
There are many fascinating voyages here, not least of which is Sally Beamish's thoughtful arrangement of The Song of the Birds, a popular encore on the programmes of both Isserlis and the great Pablo Casals.
* Bach, The Cello Suites (Hyperion CDA 67541/2, through Ode Records)
