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Mstislav Rostropovich plays the Gavotte and
Gigue from Bach's Cello Suite No. 6 in D
major, BWV 1012. Filmed at the Basilique
Sainte Madeleine, Vézelay, Yvonne, France in
1991.
On YouTube you can compare Rostropovich's
romantic, older-style interpretation of Bach
to the more classical original-instrument
approach by Mischa Maisky.
1. Prélude
2. Allemande
3. Courante
4. Sarabande
5. Gavotte I - Gavotte II - Gavotte I
6. Gigue
according to Wikipedia:
t is widely believed that the sixth suite was
composed specifically for a five-stringed
violoncello piccolo, a smaller cello, roughly
the size of a 7/8 normal cello that has a
fifth upper string tuned to E, a perfect
fifth above the otherwise top string.
However, some say there is not substantial
evidence to support this claim: whilst three
of the sources inform the player that it is
written for an instrument "a cinq cordes",
only Anna Magdalena Bach's manuscript
indicates the tunings of the strings and the
other sources do not mention any intended
instrument at all.
Other possible instruments for the suite
include a version of the violoncello piccolo
played on the arm like a viola, as well as a
five-stringed normal sized cello, called a
viola pomposa. As the range required in this
piece is very large, the suite was probably
intended for a larger instrument, although it
is conceivable that Bach—who was fond of
the viola—may have performed the work
himself on an arm-held violoncello piccolo.
However, it is equally likely that beyond
hinting the number of strings, Bach did not
intend any specific instrument at all as the
construction of instruments in the early 18th
century was highly variable.
Cellists wishing to play the piece on a
modern four-string cello encounter
difficulties as they are forced to use very
high positions to reach many of the notes,
though modern cellists regularly perform the
suite on the 4-string instrument. Performers
specialising in early music and using
authentic instruments generally use the
5-string cello for this suite, including
Pieter Wispelwey, Anner Bylsma and Jaap ter
Linden.
This suite is written in much more free form
than the others, containing more cadenza-like
movements and virtuosic passages. It is also
the only one of the suites that is partly
notated in the various C clefs, which is not
needed for the others since they never go
above the note G4 (G above middle C.
Mstislav Rostropovich called this suite "a
symphony for solo cello" and characterised
its D major tonality as evoking joy and
triumph.
Мстисла́в Леопо́льдович
Ростропо́вич, Mstislav
Leopol'dovič Rostropovič
Tags : Mstislav-Rostropovich Gavotte Gigue Bach Cello-Suite No6 Dmajor BWV1012 classical-music |
