Customer Reviews

Bach: The 6 Unaccompanied Cello Suites

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

From the cover, this certainly looks like a re-release of the 1990 album. Ma also recorded the 6 suites again in 1998, aka the White album. I have both, and both are excellent as you might expect. I prefer the white album as the pieces are played in a more livley and dance-like manner.

Not exactly sure what I would do without these recordings. A world without Bach: a scary thought. My pulse slackens a bit each time I put these on. Relaxing, sure, but also tremendously moving. A perfect antidote for the trivial drone, distraction, and bustle of our post-capitalist world. No need to go buy new-age computer glitch world-music ambience; this is sonic therapy, written centuries before we needed it.

This is a great performance by Ma but may not be to the liking of traditionalists of Bach. I do not play the Cello so I can not comment on the technical aspect of it all but there is great energy and attack on this recording. It is quite different from other recordings of these suites but they all seem to be different. The preference is very personal unless you play and can be critical of the technique of the performer. This was recorded via DSD stream [high sampling rate] and mixed down for 16 bit CD. I had to take a star away for the recording quality which will not be a problem for most listeners on 'normal' stereo equipment. My system is resolving an annoying background noise present on several tracks which I can only describe as distant traffic outside of the recording studio. [This does not seem possible since Ma does not record in a garage in Manhattan] Like a large garbage truck off in the distance on Monday morning when your head is still on the pillow and the cans are still in the garage. It's quite unexplainable and sent me outside to look the first time I listened to the CD since the sound quality of the recorded dump truck is very good. I am sure the sound engineer heard it at some point and maybe decided not to tell Ma, or thought it added to his interpretation of Bach's Suites. Shame on him. The CD overall is still worth the price just based on Ma's performance because you rarely get a perfect recording ever anyway. I am probably just too critical on what I here. Cheers

You've probably heard the prelude to Bach's Cello Suite #1 in G, whether you know the title or not; it's been in featured in many movies and advertisements. Suite #1 is absolutely gorgeous and full of emotion, and absolutely worth your time to listen to - and Yo-Yo Ma plays not just the first but all six suites wonderfully on this two-disc album. Turn it up loud or put on some headphones, and let yourself fly away on the sound of the strings as they carry you through a pure and rich soundscape that's elegantly simple yet so full of meaning as to move men to tears.

YoYo Ma awoke an entire generation to Bach with this recording. Listening to Ma play these works is truly a stunning thing.

Bach is THE master who demands attention and requires another master to play his work correctly and with emotion. In the hands of a technician, Bach can be all dried up and too mathematical. In the hands of a master such as Yo Yo Ma, the concept of the Master living forever through his music becomes true. Bach is all about math. But, with only the math and none of the humanity, Bach can be cold-- and that would be an appalling thing.

Bach's music is about the glorification of God and humanity and only the combination of technique, mathematics, and emotion can bring it alive and make it true. Bach is very challenging for every player on every instrument. Yo Yo Ma will forever be remembered for this 2 disc set. He introduced Bach to a new generation and made Bach seem cool again. But Bach has always been cool and always will be.

Yo Yo Ma's Cello Suites set the standard for every Bach cello recording before or after, for better or ill. But this is no disservice to Mr. Ma. It is rather an acknowledgment of the power of his performance, the brilliance of his technique, and his very special and rare ability to bring the master alive and off the page to enrapture new audiences.

Yo Yo Ma has done the world a service and Bach would certainly concur, I think.

I had a friend in Massachusetts who lived next door to Yo Yo Ma. My friend could hear him practicing the cello at all hours. I said, "Oh how lucky you are!" He replied, "Well, it gets really aggravating after a while-- he's playing all through the night."

I kindly replied, "You're a f****** moron."

What a brilliant set this is by Yo Yo Ma. Anything that advances Bach into the public consciousness as this recording did and still does is a service to humanity. Superb.

Perhaps you've played this game at a party or something: if you were trapped on a desert island with only one book/record/painting/etc. -- what would it be? When it comes to music, this record is my "desert island" choice. I've had my copy of the old original "red album" since it first came out, and after hundreds of listens, this sublime music keeps renewing itself. Ma's performances are heartfelt, technically flawless, and riveting throughout. I don't think it's a stretch to call this disk one of the high points of recorded music in the 20th century.

Mix this CD with one reasonably good glass of wine and a decent hi-fi and you have the makings of a relaxing and wonderful evening! If you purchase only one Yo-Yo-Ma CD--make it this one! Enjoy!!

Yo-Yo Ma has given us a treasure here that will appeal to young and old alike. Throughout the suites, Ma gives us rapturous playing that will forever haunt your memory after having heard it. While Bach has given us lots of great music, his solo pieces have an extra-special quality. This CD features some of his most successful solo works--the cello suites.

The cello suites have a real intimacy and depth. The cello, by far my favorite string instrument, has a richness that is all its own. While we rarely hear it all by itself, the result here is one that is indescribable. The movements of the suites range from the lively Preludes, Courantes, and Gigues and the calm, relaxing Allemandes and Sarabande. Yo-Yo Ma's playing is sonorous, pulling out the wonderful detail. The recording quality is great - no drawbacks here.

Perhaps the biggest thing that makes this recording such a win is the richness and depth in Ma's playing. He has a very special way of unveiling the soul the Bach expressed in the suites. His tone allows him to delve into the music, pulling out wonderful bits of real meaning that are a joy to listen to. Listening to this recording makes me want to curl up in a comfy chair (with a cup of tea, if it's a cold day), and just absorb the beauty of the music. There's something very nostalgic about it, actually, that sends one into deep thought. But things never become ponderous. Instead, everything is kept in control, while still being very musical and interesting, pretty much the dream performance you want in the suites. This kind of playing makes this album one that deserves serious attention.

Buy this CD. You should also buy Murray Perahia's recording of the English Suites, Bach: Complete English Suites. With a purchase of the cello suites here and Perahia's English Suites, you will be entering an amazing world of gorgeous depth.

These cello suites, masterfully played by Yo-Yo Ma, are complex and beautiful compositions. Yo-Yo Ma is able to extract considerable elegance and emotion from the series since his control of the cello is absolutely complete and inspiring. This results in a series of suites that push the cello to the full extent of its capacities as a baroque instrument and as the medium by which Bach's full intentions may be experienced. By including all 6 suites on a 2 CD collection, the listener is given the opportunity to hear all 6 in one setting, which I found further enhances appreciation for Bach's accomplishment and Yo-Yo Ma's considerable interpretive talents.

The suites were composed around 1720 when Johann Sebastian Bach was temporarily focused on secular themes rather than religious music. The cello was gradually gaining acceptance by composers and musicians in the late 1600s and early 1700s so these 6 suites mark a pioneering effort on the part of Bach. The fact that there were few early works for cello means that these 6 suites built on few other examples of early works for cello. Thus they are masterpieces developed in a relatively new medium, a fantastic accomplishment.

Of interest is the fact that Bach would devote such effort to create such a fairly large collection of masterworks for a relatively new instrument in a compressed period of time. Yet art and music history is full of examples of those of genius who will push a concept, media, or instrument to extremes. Bach seemed to wish to determine for himself what he could create for this instrument.

My daughter's orchestra teacher asked parents to get the CDs that went along with the Suzuki books their students were using for class. She encourages the students to listen to other pieces as well, featuring the instrument they play. My daughter plays cello and I've always loved Bach and Yo Yo Ma, so this seemed like a good collection to have. We've been playing it non stop ever since! We both enjoy listening to the music and actually talk about the pieces. My daughter is 13, so anything that gets us to talk is a must have! The fact that the music is beautifully performed is a major bonus!