Customer Reviews

Bach: The Cello Suites

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It was not until I reached some maturity that I fell in love with Johann Sebastian Bach's Cello Suites. Prior to that time, I really couldn't see why they were considered so very great. Well into my adulthood, I fell completely in love with the works considering them as some of my favorite compositions. Similarity, Steven Isserlis did not record these works until he had done an enormous amount of study along with the acquisition of some gray hair. The result of the aforesaid has yielded a gorgeous recording of the Cello Suites on this two disc Hyperion recording. Steven plays these works most beautifully with nary a harsh tone. The fast dances are played very rhythmically sounding for once as if one could "twirl the floor to them". Most of all, the sound he produces is very lovely. I've never heard the works played as consistently beautiful as Steven Isserlis plays them in this recording. As expected the recorded sound is lovely too.

Do read the very extensive and educational notes in the recording sleeve by Steven Isserlis--they are marvelously informative!

(The last two suites on the second disc are particularly lovely. They find Bach at his mature best and Isserlis at his greatest playing with supreme technique and beautiful tone)

I have loved the Bach Cello Suites ever since I was an almost talent-free teenage cellist getting on for 40 years ago, and in that time I have heard (and often bought) wonderful recordings by some of the world's very greatest cellists including Casals, Tortelier, Fournier and Yo-Yo Ma. Isserlis's recording stands with the very best of them. He is a magnificent musician and has thought and studied for years before tackling the Bach Suites. This shows in his delightful involvement in the music, the way the dances really dance when they should and how the very soul of the music and of Bach shines through what he does. Joy, sorrow, beauty and passion are all beautifully evoked, and it's all exactly appropriate - no flashy tricks or dodgy imposition of things which aren't really there. There is just a deep understanding and love of Bach's music. The whole thing is a monumental pleasure.

The accompanying notes are extremely interesting. They show both the depth of Isserlis's scholarship and his thoughtfulness about the Suites. I particularly like the section headed "A personal feeling (definitely not a theory!)" in which he suggests that the suites may be seen as akin to Mystery Sonatas - an interesting and thought-provoking viewpoint, which never interferes with the music itself.

The recording quality is excellent. It is miked very close, giving an intimate feel - so intimate that you can hear the slap of Isserlis's fingers in the livelier parts. I love the sense this gives of his being in the room with you, and the sound of his cello is simply lovely throughout.

In the face of the greatness of some of the recordings which have preceded this one, I couldn't say this was definitive, nor even that it was my absolute favourite. But then I couldn't say that of any of the others either. I do know that if I had to choose just one recording to live with, this would be a very strong contender. Very highly recommended indeed.

Yes, the playing is beautiful. Yes, the dances have a rhythmic spring. Yes, Isserlis understands the arc of the melody. But I am reminded of how a non-English conductor instructed an English orchestra on rehearsing a Mahler symphony: "Forget that you are gentlemen." Well, Isserlis does not forget that he is a gentleman. Granted Bach isn't Mahler, but there is room for a lot more gutsiness and passion than we get here. Emotionally these performances are on the cool and tepid side. Everything is very genteel, very proper. I want this music to grab me by the lapels, and these performances don't do that. Without being self-indulgent, many others do: Casals, Mork, Wispelwey I, Haimowitz, Ma I, Kirschbaum and Starker to name a few. If you want more committed performances with the same beauty and elegance as these, Fournier is your man.

I tend to eschew recordings of the Bach cello suites on modern instruments because the modern cello sound often tends toward the crunchy, especially when mic'ed close. But Steven Isserlis' cello sound in this recording is silky, round, and beautiful, without sacrificing crispness and energy in the interpretation. I read an interview from around the time the recording was first released and he mentioned that he put gut strings on his Strad--I wonder if this is what makes the difference in the sound: the lack of tension on the instrument. It sounds like a period instrument but recorded at modern pitch. His tempi for the fast movements is lively and exuberant, the shaping of the phrases beautiful and he puts his own personal stamp on each movement without the result sounding self-indulgent. The only thing that gets on my nerves a bit is that, like almost all Bach cello recordings, you can hear the slap of his fingertips against the fingerboard. It also sounds in a couple of places like he hits an incorrect open string by accident. But I can put up with that because the overall performance is completely charming and--dare I say it--sexy.

Bach: The Cello Suites is a recording played by Steven Isserlis on this Hyperion Records 2007. I agree with BBC Radio 3 that claims this recording that this is "Some of the Best Bach I have heard since Casals". Listening to Isserlies is pure joy. The booklet contains 19 pages and contains liner-notes by the performer himself. Highly recommended. 5/5.

I like the way Steven Isserlis phrases Bach's Cello Suites. He understands the arc of the melody, the breath and swing of each piece, taking these Menuets and Gigues back to their dance roots. His sound is a bit chalky, nicely so, sometimes touching a pedal note just shy of full resonance. There is a sense of fiddling to his technique. It's a fun recording, well worth the listen.

You will love this recording! It's truly the most sincere and beautiful playing of the Suites I've ever heard. Steven Isserlis always gets it right. But be warned - you won't get a thing done for awhile, because you'll want to listen to these over and over! The music will draw you in, and you'll find yourself thinking about the beauty of the Suites even after you've finished listening. My advice - turn it back on!

Steven Isserlis can do no wrong! His interpretations and lovely performances are unsurpassed. He reads and investigates every project he is working on and we get to enjoy the results. This Bach was worth the wait!!