The Cello Suites: J. S. Bach, Pablo Casals, and the Search for a Baroque Masterpiece

Johann Sebastian Bach's Cello Suites are perhaps the most intriguing pieces of music ever written. Largely forgotten for almost two centuries, but incredibly found by the man who would become the world's greatest cellist; written for an instrument for which not many solo pieces had been written; often performed now with a feeling and emotion not common in Bach's music; six suites of music for which many mysteries still linger. In other words, a fine subject for a book.Eric Siblin, the former pop music critic at The Montreal Gazette, has written here a great book about music. The book is about the suites and their mysterious history, but it's also a mini-biography of Bach and Pablo Casals, the cellist who discovered them at the age of thirteen and was responsible for making them what they are to the world today, which is simply one of the most divine pieces of music ever written. Siblin breaks the book into chunks based on the order of the suites; so six sections with six chapters each. Each section usually starts with a description of the related prelude, an interesting device to set the stage for the section. For example, he ties the melancholy second suite to the death of Bach's first wife, the romantic third to the meeting of his second wife. The first few chapters of each section usually covered Bach, the next few Casals, and then the last was reserved to tie the pieces together through Siblin's own search for the lost original manuscript of the suites (something of a holy grail for musicologists as there is currently no version that has the composer's own instructions for performance, which explains the wide disparity between interpretations) and his emotional exploration of the suites. This exploration included attending a Bach Festival, trying to learn to play cello, and then eventually learning to play the first prelude on guitar.This is simply a wonderful little book. Siblin is excited about his subjects and it comes through in his writing, carrying us along on his quest. He ably relates Bach's and Casal's biographies within the limited space allotted for each. In fact, the limited space probably helped Siblin stay with the most pertinent points. He also uses vivid and spot-on descriptions of the music, for example, as he does with the `churning mechanism' of the fourth prelude. And for an amateur musician, he speaks credibly about the transcendence of the music, using language that is not too overblown, a common mistake in other music books that I have read. Though there are many mysteries about the Suites still left at the end of the book, I felt satisfied; I felt I knew more about them and the transforming power of music.One further note, I have owned the EMI recording of Casal's Suites for about ten years and have always loved them. I found it helpful to listen to them repeatedly as I read this book. Not only did it shed a new light on the suites for me, but it also enhanced the reading of the book, tying me in a way to the journey. If you pick up this book, I recommend doing the same. And if you're a lover of music, especially Bach, I would recommend picking up this book.

This book was so entertaining that I read it in one sitting. Eric Siblin, a former popular music critic, really rocked it on the cello and wove together the stories of Bach and Pablo Casals and The Cello Suites in a very clever and informative book for the general reader. It is fun to read and I really enjoyed it. If you love the cello, you must read it. The book is a light read, but not lacking in research and thought. Musicologists might pick up some errors in it, but his exploration into the world of classical music and approach to the subject is original. Since this is the author's journey into a new musical world, we walk along with him, learning as he learns.The details of Bach's life are not well known because he did not leave much behind beside his music. At one point early in the book, the author describes a meeting of musicologists who mention that they know what Bach drank but not what he ate. I am not that obsessive even about Beethoven. Sheesh. I am more interested in key or relevant biographical details, the context, and how it relates to the music of the creator or performer. This is not an exhaustive examination of a subject, which are often exhausting anyway.The number of recordings of The Cello Suites by fine cellists is staggering, and though the music has been heard so often in the mainstream, it is not part of it because it is stuck in the stuffy world of classical music. Eric Siblin points out quite correctly that classical music was not always so stuffy, and a more relaxed presentation might attract more people to concerts today. I agree.

It's delightful that Eric Siblin discovered Bach, and like converts in so many fields, became obsessed. He took his new obsession to journalistic heights and depths, spending about ten years putting this story together. He has done a very entertaining job, weaving the stories of Bach and Casals through the structure of the six cello suites. A unique approach that is refreshingly different.I have some quibbles, like when he describes how Bach died without a will on one page, but then goes on to describe how Bach bequeathed specific instruments and manuscripts to specific sons he favored. Well, which is it? Did Bach die intestate, or did he leave a highly detailed will? Or how Bach never went to Italy, which limited his renown in his time. It is my understanding that Bach made at least three trips to Italy, and all of them to see what Antonio Vivaldi was up to. Bach lifted liberally from Vivaldi, and sometimes even credited Vivaldi in pieces directly adapted and dedicated to him. Siblin mentions the lack of any Italy forage twice, which is something he does a lot - mentioning things twice, as if his gentle readers could not be expected to remember the last time he brought it up. So the book is not perfect (and a couple of typos don't help, which is surprising for a book that was published in Canada a year ago), but these are, I repeat myself, quibbles. It's a delightful read.Another quibble, perhaps, is Siblin's website. What a perfect place to put clips of the themes he tries to describe. Words have never lived up to the effect of actual music, and today we have the technology to make it happen. Notes, chords, bars and melodies fairly scream to be demonstrated online, with references back to their pages in the book. Instead, Siblin has embedded Youtube videos of bizarrely unusual Bach cello performances but not including any of Pablo Casals, the worthy subject of numerous Youtube clips, not to mention this book. I don't get it, and Siblin's readers are left behind.One thing Siblin regrets is that events he goes to are attended by a lot of white haired Caucasians plus a few students. It does not portend good things for classical music. He complains about the mandatory silence during the performance and the protocol against applause until the end. I can only say that he would have written another whole book had he seen Virgil Fox. Fox, the Riverside Church (NYC) organist, took Bach on tour in a concert series called Bach Live - Heavy Organ. He used strobe lights, giant screens and smoke to enhance the effects, and audiences responded with wild applause, including clapping to the beat during the pieces, calling out to him from their seats, and in every performance I saw, climbing onto the stage to dance the Gigue fugue. He recorded LPs live at the Fillmore and the Winter Garden, and appealed directly to a whole new demographic.That's the secret of Bach - he appeals to different people for different reasons with different results - but he always appeals.

I love this book. Quite unusual to have such a book from a journalist, and one that is more known for his work in non-classical world. His first hearing of Bach 'Cello Suites was obviously a revelation for him, and he shares this with the reader in a most engaging way. Something for everyone to enjoy and appreciate, whether a musician or not. His first hearing of the Suites led him to discover more about the music and the history of its performance, so there is plenty of historical background (told in a more engaging way than many other books on music) as well as much of the life-story of Casals. Moving, entertaining and instructive.

Book as described and safely delivered

Well researched book and I have also purchased a cd of the cello suites so I can appreciate the music and the book compatibly. Siblin has done an amazing attempt to tell the story, the challenges faced in the time period, and if you have been to Barcelona you can visualize where he is in the chapters. I haven't quite finished the book but he has divided the book into the Suites, the chapters are short within the division so you can read it the prelude for instance, listen to the music and realize the interpretation of Bach's writings. I would recommend this book for anyone interested in Bach's life and his music that has been carried on to future generations who have perhaps brought their own interpretations to the stage. What Bach began carries on today. There is a garden in Toronto, Ontario called the Music Garden and Yo Yo Ma and an landscape architect have created theCello Suites in the movements of the landscape. Something to enjoy for a summer's walk by the waterfront would be to enjoy walking the cello suites of this garden and listening to his music. After having read this book, listening to his music and perhaps making a visit to this garden in Toronto will bring the Bach experience to you in an almost meditative moment.

Para quem conhece as Suítes, um livro muito interessante. O autor usa uma abordagem inovadora em três níveis: fala da vida de Bach, fala do contexto em que cada peça foi composta e fala, finalmente, da sua experiência de pesquisa sobre o tema. Minha compreensão das Suítes certamente melhorou muito, mas estamos falando da Música no limite de sua expressão.

Excelente!!!