LDV115-6

22 BACH | THE SIX CELLO SUITES The Suites for solo cello constitute a monument of musical literature that transcends the fundamentals of the instrument’s technique. Each suite opens with a prelude and invariably closes with a gigue. In all but the prelude, the most varied of dance rhythms participate in the construction of the polyphony. These dance movements allude to the German, French, English and Italian styles, and alternate according to the tempo scheme slow-fast-slow- fast. One might summarise the structure of each suite by saying it is built on a solid polyphonic foundation, German in nature, then enriched by a series of playful dances in the Italian style, all of this ornamented with the refinement characteristic of French thought. Can one imagine a work in a more ‘European’ spirit’?