Bach Cello Suites
Solo Bach modern and ‘ancient’ – and it’s Baroque Bach that catches the ear
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Johann Sebastian Bach
Genre:
Instrumental
Label: fleurs de lys
Magazine Review Date: 1/2005
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 131
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: FL2 3114/5
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
(6) Suites (Sonatas) for Cello |
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer Sergeï Istomin, Baroque cello |
Composer or Director: Johann Sebastian Bach
Genre:
Instrumental
Label: Aeon
Magazine Review Date: 1/2005
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 134
Mastering:
Stereo
DDD
Catalogue Number: AECD0316
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
(6) Suites (Sonatas) for Cello |
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer Marc Coppey, Cello |
Author: Lindsay Kemp
Even so, I do not think that in a blind sampling many experienced listeners would find it difficult to guess which of these recordings uses the modern cello and which the Baroque: Marc Coppey unmistakably plays the former, producing a burly sound in the rather unyielding surroundings of IRCAM’s Paris studios, while Sergei Istomin’s lean and flexible tone, recorded in the more forgiving acoustic of an Ontario church, is clearly that of the latter. Both performances are technically accomplished and well thought-out. I would not dare to say that one is better, but they are very different.
Coppey was a prizewinner at the 1988 International Bach Competition, and the wait to put the suites down on disc has been rewarded with technical and mental assurance: his intonation is accurate, his tone cultured (despite the unhelpful acoustic), and his double-stops are punched out with a minimum of fuss. His concern is with longer lines and the larger-scale shaping of a movement, which he does unobtrusively and effectively. He is less sensitive, however, to local detail, betraying surprisingly little sense of the relative important of notes within a phrase, and as a result his playing can sound dogged, a bit uniform and wearing.
Istomin, in contrast, attends precisely to the smaller details that Coppey ignores, showing more rhythmic and tonal variety, making the music really dance – try the Gavottes of Suite No 6 to see what I mean – and adopting a more rhetorical approach. Phrases are often marked out with a generously free rubato which, while it can endanger forward momentum, also gives the music a refreshingly improvisatory feel. His intonation is not always as accurate as Coppey’s, but this is Bach playing of elegance and delicacy – I love the way his double-stops can be like wispy brush- strokes. In fact, by the time I reached the end of it, I realised that this unassuming release (recorded as far back as 1997) offers one of the most attractive and satisfying ‘Baroque’ recordings of these pieces yet made.
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