Random Shuffle 19: Bylsma plays Bach
Cello Suite #3 in C major, BWV 1009, J.S. Bach (c. 1720)
III. Courante (3:20)
Anner Bylsma, Cello
What is it about the Netherlands that creates such amazing cellists? I love Bylsma’s Bach Suites better than any other recording I’ve heard; and a friend recently introduced me to the playing of Pieter Wispelwey, who’s got to be one of the most technically fluent and musically brilliant cellists around.
It’s always a pleasure to hear these pieces, and I have a special affection for the sunny, elegant C major suite. The Courante seems as though it would be more accurately identified as a Corrente in the Italian manner, as it moves in running eighth notes in 3/4 time. Bach occasional specifies an articulation or two, and a few of his slurs create a momentary ambiguity about the meter: is it really 3/4, or is it, in fact, 6/8? This is an old - and obvious - trick, but Bach brings his customary finesse to it. Bylsma finds just the right way to bring out these slurs without disturbing the overall dance, and his sense of timing and inflection is uncannily dead-on. If you like these suites, please find this recording!