The Bach Suites for Unaccompanied Cello are often recognized as the most prolific set piece for cello, with even the most skilled cellists calling them the Mt. Everest of cello playing. Apart from providing a substantial part of the cello repertoire, the Suites continue to catch the attention of all musicians, classical or otherwise, for their use of endless hidden harmonies. Many contemporary solo cello pieces also take harmonic cues from the Suites. These underlying harmonies drive each of the six movements comprising each of the six suites and are the reason why many cellists and musicians often refer to them as Self-Accompanied Suites. Each of the suites’ latter five movements are in dance forms, and are preceded by a movement called a Prelude, or an introduction to the suite that establishes the key and provides both the cellist and listener with a groundwork for listening to the rest of the suite. While the Preludes can stand alone within the framework of the Suites, the Prelude to the Fifth Suite manages to separate itself from the other five Preludes in almost every way. Firstly, the entire fifth Suite is written for a cello where the uppermost string—the A string—is tuned down a whole tone. A technique called scordatura, simply meaning detuning, completely changes the instrument’s tone quality (especially on that string) and because of that string’s looser tension on the instrument, it allows the cello to resonate differently than it normally does. This Prelude is also written in two distinct sections: an introduction and a fugue. The introduction is more free-form and contains broad chords which act as a demonstration of what effects the scordatura tuning has on the instrument. The second half is in fugue form, and is much more rhythmic than the introduction. It is in this section where Bach’s work of incorporating intricate harmonies into his composition shines the brightest. Moments of deceptive resolutions and recollections to the main motif of the fugue take the listener on a journey where they feel as though they are being taken home and almost instantaneously transported to another setting over and over again.
My journey with this piece hasn’t been the most orthodox and the context in which I explored it most certainly allowed me to appreciate it on a completely different level. I started learning this piece at the beginning of April, in Morgantown, WV. I had spent the past year learning the Cello Sonata in F Major by Brahms, but having lost access to my pianist collaborator, my plans had to drastically change. I have never had any reason to go to Morgantown, but the closing of our school due to COVID-19 forced my good friends and I to make a choice: spend the rest of our college experience in our homes, not knowing when we would see each other again, or move to Morgantown, where the family of one of our friends generously offered us a place to stay with each other on property they owned.
While we knew where we were going and how long we would stay, the feeling of uncertainty around every other aspect of our lives was at the forefront of our minds. We were suddenly trying to balance schoolwork (now online), meals, managing and maintaining our living space, limiting our exposure to the outside world, and most importantly, our mental health. While this experience has both allowed me to appreciate the bonds I share with people with whom I have experienced the past three and a half years of my life, it has left me feeling a bit homesick at the same time. Learning this piece in this context of my life has allowed me to bring myself home in many aspects (except the physical sense) and calm much of the uncertainty that this experience has brought on. Playing cello and the Suites have been a pivotal part of my life ever since I started playing as a 5 year old. The two sections of this Prelude, the freeform and the more structured, allow me to reflect on times of freedom and structure in my life. While my academic life at school was more structured, I had more freedom with my time outside of academics. At this point in my life, my academic life is less structured, with many of my projects being self-directed, but my life outside is much more limited.
Listen below.