And So It Begins

 

Suite No. 1 in G Major

 

 

 What makes these works of J.S. Bach so difficult for the the cellist (bassist, violist, trombonist, marimbist, and any other instrument that transcribes the suites)?:

 

1.    We do not have an original manuscript.  I envy all the violinists out there who have Bach's direct instructions for the partitas.  If only we had the same for the suites!

 

2.  Some of the suites were written for different tuning and even different instruments (suites 5 and 6) 

 

3.  It was written for an instrument that used gut strings and a baroque bow, not steel/silver/tungsten strings and a  modern bow.

 

4.  Bach was a genius.  There is a dichotomy of simplicity and complexity in his music that if ignored or overworked can ruin a performance.

 

I am sure I could come up with more reasons if I sat here long enough at 3:00 AM in deep thought, but I certainly can and will expound on all the reasons listed above throughout the blog. 

 

Becca Does Bach

 

 The title is meant to grab one's attention. My love for alliteration tempted me to name this blog "Becca Bangs Bach", but I decided that was a hair too vulgar. No, this is not a musical rendition of Debbie Does Dallas... sorry to disappoint.  This is a chronicle of my journey with the infamous Cello Suites of the famous Johann Sebastian Bach.  

 

I turned 30 last July.  I found my late 20's to be very scary and stressful as I dreaded entering a new decade.  As if my life would end at 30, I made a VERY ambitious list of all the things I wanted to do before that inevitable day:

 

Things To Do Before I Turn 30

 

1) Create my own edition of the Bach Cello Suites and record

2) Record all the Popper Etudes and write a supplementary practice guide

3) Run another marathon

4) Get married

5) Learn Spanish

6) Create a website 

7) Read more books (vague, I know)