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Marrow - The Bach Cello Suites / Thorsteinsdóttir
Sono Luminus

Marrow - The Bach Cello Suites / Thorsteinsdóttir

$9.99
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Details

Composer
Johann Sebastian Bach
Artist
Saeunn Thorsteinsdottir
Format
CD
Label
Sono Luminus
Released
Jun 23, 2023
Catalog #
DSL-92263
UPC
053479226303

About

There is an Icelandic saying, “mergur málsins”, which directly translates to “the marrow of the matter,” and these Suites, to me, speak directly to the essence of being human. As for many cellists, these Suites have been my steady companion throughout my life with the cello, first as a vehicle to learn counterpoint, style, and harmony, then as material with which to explore personal expression and interpretation, and today they are a mirror, reflecting the deeper truth of the human experience, revealing more layers of meaning each time I come back to them.

As far as we know, these Suites were not written for the church, and by 1720, they were not written for people to actually dance to, but rather as forms with familiar rhythms and style. In contrast to the Violin Sonatas and Partitas which were written around the same time, the Cello Suites each have the same movement structure, which includes a Prelude and two pairs of dances (Allemande and Courante, Sarabande and Gigue) with an added “wildcard” of pairs of Menuets, Gavottes, or Bourées. Rather than hindering expression, this structure seems to enable more creativity to flow, as Bach pushes the boundaries of the expressive and technical possibilities of the instrument with each succeeding Suite.

During the heart of the pandemic of 2020, I found comfort and refuge in these Suites. As I began to play them not just individually but as a set, an arch started to emerge, a true Hero’s journey: starting with the innocent 1st Suite in G major, the first taste of bitter disappointment in the d minor 2nd Suite, a renewed optimism in the 3rd Suite in C major, the bold and brash 4th Suite in Eb Major, the dark tragedy of the 5th Suite in C minor, and finally the glorious redemption of the 6th Suite in D Major. My hope in presenting these Suites without repeats is to more clearly illuminate this arch of their presented order so that we may more closely follow this universal storyline. - Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir

REVIEW:

Recordings of Bach’s six Cello Suites aren’t in short supply, so what does this latest new one have going for it? Icelandic-American cellist Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir is known as a contemporary music specialist, returning here to what she describes as “mergur málsins” (“the marrow of the matter” in Icelandic), a constant companion throughout her musical life. Thorsteinsdóttir found solace in the suites during the pandemic and celebrated the 2020 summer solstice by playing each suite in a different church in Iceland’s remote Westfjords region. Thorsteinsdóttir views each work as part of a sequence, “a true hero’s journey” which takes the listener from innocence to redemption, tasting disappointment, optimism and tragedy along the way.

Knowing this isn’t a prerequisite for enjoying the performances, and Thorsteinsdóttir’s poised, lyrical playing makes this set a front runner among recent recordings.

-- The Arts Desk

Tracklist 36 tracks

  1. Disc 1
  2. 1 I. Prelude 02:43
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Prelude
    Duration
    02:43
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir
  3. 2 II. Allemande 02:36
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Allemande
    Duration
    02:36
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir
  4. 3 III. Courante 01:28
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Courante
    Duration
    01:28
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir
  5. 4 IV. Sarabande 01:46
    Track
    4
    Title
    IV. Sarabande
    Duration
    01:46
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir
  6. 5 V. Menuet I-II 02:10
    Track
    5
    Title
    V. Menuet I-II
    Duration
    02:10
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir
  7. 6 VI. Gigue 01:06
    Track
    6
    Title
    VI. Gigue
    Duration
    01:06
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir
  8. 7 I. Prélude 03:44
    Track
    7
    Title
    I. Prélude
    Duration
    03:44
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir
  9. 8 II. Allemande 01:43
    Track
    8
    Title
    II. Allemande
    Duration
    01:43
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir
  10. 9 III. Courante 01:07
    Track
    9
    Title
    III. Courante
    Duration
    01:07
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir
  11. 10 IV. Sarabande 02:35
    Track
    10
    Title
    IV. Sarabande
    Duration
    02:35
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir
  12. 11 V. Menuet I-II 01:50
    Track
    11
    Title
    V. Menuet I-II
    Duration
    01:50
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir
  13. 12 VI. Gigue 01:29
    Track
    12
    Title
    VI. Gigue
    Duration
    01:29
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir
  14. 13 I. Prélude 03:54
    Track
    13
    Title
    I. Prélude
    Duration
    03:54
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir
  15. 14 II. Allemande 02:10
    Track
    14
    Title
    II. Allemande
    Duration
    02:10
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir
  16. 15 III. Courante 01:44
    Track
    15
    Title
    III. Courante
    Duration
    01:44
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir
  17. 16 IV. Sarabande 02:24
    Track
    16
    Title
    IV. Sarabande
    Duration
    02:24
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir
  18. 17 V. Bourree I-II 02:36
    Track
    17
    Title
    V. Bourree I-II
    Duration
    02:36
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir
  19. 18 VI. Gigue 01:55
    Track
    18
    Title
    VI. Gigue
    Duration
    01:55
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir
  20. Disc 2
  21. 1 I. Prelude 03:56
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Prelude
    Duration
    03:56
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir
  22. 2 II. Allemande 02:17
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Allemande
    Duration
    02:17
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir
  23. 3 III. Courante 02:03
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Courante
    Duration
    02:03
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir
  24. 4 IV. Sarabande 02:28
    Track
    4
    Title
    IV. Sarabande
    Duration
    02:28
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir
  25. 5 V. Bourrée I-II 03:21
    Track
    5
    Title
    V. Bourrée I-II
    Duration
    03:21
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir
  26. 6 VI. Gigue 01:31
    Track
    6
    Title
    VI. Gigue
    Duration
    01:31
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir
  27. 7 I. Prelude 06:40
    Track
    7
    Title
    I. Prelude
    Duration
    06:40
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir
  28. 8 II. Allemande 03:06
    Track
    8
    Title
    II. Allemande
    Duration
    03:06
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir
  29. 9 III. Courante 00:59
    Track
    9
    Title
    III. Courante
    Duration
    00:59
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir
  30. 10 IV. Sarabande 02:09
    Track
    10
    Title
    IV. Sarabande
    Duration
    02:09
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir
  31. 11 V. Gavotte I-II 02:55
    Track
    11
    Title
    V. Gavotte I-II
    Duration
    02:55
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir
  32. 12 VI. Gigue 01:22
    Track
    12
    Title
    VI. Gigue
    Duration
    01:22
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir
  33. 13 I. Prélude 04:39
    Track
    13
    Title
    I. Prélude
    Duration
    04:39
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir
  34. 14 II. Allemande 03:41
    Track
    14
    Title
    II. Allemande
    Duration
    03:41
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir
  35. 15 III. Courante 02:05
    Track
    15
    Title
    III. Courante
    Duration
    02:05
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir
  36. 16 IV. Sarabande 02:40
    Track
    16
    Title
    IV. Sarabande
    Duration
    02:40
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir
  37. 17 V. Gavotte I-II 02:44
    Track
    17
    Title
    V. Gavotte I-II
    Duration
    02:44
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir
  38. 18 VI. Gigue 02:26
    Track
    18
    Title
    VI. Gigue
    Duration
    02:26
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir