In the same year that Berklee Press released Mike Block’s book of 28 non classical cello études and he joined the faculty of the New England Conservatory of Music, the 36-year-old cellist has produced a provocative three-century recorded journey through the world of the solo cello. Consisting of single movements from the Bach Suites interleaved with music by Ligeti, Adnan Saygun, Giovanni Sollima and a relic of a Ricercar by Domenico Gabrielli, Block creates his own perspective on just how far the cello has come.

Still sounding fresh in their new surroundings, the Bach pieces include the Courante from Suite No 2 at lightning speed, a severely truncated Sarabande from No 6 and a mashup of the second Bourrée from No 4 with the second Gavotte from No 5, which actually works. In a touching moment for a CD titled ‘Echoes of Bach’, Block finishes the set with the Sarabande of No 1 played entirely in pizzicato – perhaps a nod from the future to the fact that there are no pizzicatos in Bach’s Suites.

What makes the experience so compelling is how naturally each track fits perfectly with the next, even though the ideas and technical requirements may be radically dissimilar. It can be momentarily disorientating, as when the pizz-rich first movement of Ligeti’s Sonata follows the pizz-less Prelude to Bach’s First Suite, but Block’s easy, flowing technique makes each track a universe in itself, including the premiere recording of Sollima’s ferocious tour de force Citarruni, a Silk Road commission from the Taranta Project.

The studio acoustic is a bit close up but detailed, dynamically vivid and surprisingly warm.