All we have is the edition the young pablo casals discovered in a music shop in barcelona in 1890, a copy written by bachs second wife, anna magdalena. He takes us on an intriguing journey of speculation and discovery to uncover the truth and rewrite some musical wrongs. The cello suites according to anna magdelena, played on baroque cello and cello piccolo, the fivestring. Kuijken will perform the suites over three concerts, each also including selections from bachs little book for anna magdalena as performed by.
Hebbel few tasks are more daunting than attempting to discern and convey j. Sep 22, 2016 lately, the name of anna magdalena bach has been a hot topic and has made appearances in mainstream media since an australian professor martin jarvis mgbh argued that anna magdalena could have been the composer of the famous cello suites, and not johann sebastian bach himself. Bachs 6 suites for cello solo has been lost to history. Why the anna magdalena bach manuscripts of the bach cello suites are our primary source. Since no autograph manuscript of bachs cello suites survives, the primary source is the copy made by anna magdalena bach, his second wife. The recent editions of the bach cello suites by dimitry markevitch. More than any of the other collections of chamber music, bachs six unaccompanied cello suites, bwv 10071012, have stirred the interest and imagination of musicians, musicologists, and the public.
Bach works were written by his second wife, claims. In the last ten years, she has been the subject of at least five romantic biographies,2 and this is not just a recent phenomenon. The original manuscript of bachs cello suites is lost. The one casals bought in 1890 at age in a second hand bookstore in his native barcelona was an edition of the anna magdalena manuscript somewhat embellished by friedrich wilhelm ludwig grutzmacher with a dust cover in french that had been added by. It is the story of casals the firebrand virtuoso who brought the cello suites to international attention after centuries of obscurity that forms the final strand of this book. The cello suites according to anna magdalena by matt. Bach, johann sebastian minuet in a from anna magdalena notebook sheet music for piano. An online arts journal in north carolina soul food. An exercise book for the first three cello suites of.
Anna magdalenas little piece had now been given another. Markevitch, a noted cello scholar and author, based his edition on the three available manuscripts. The cello suites according to anna magdalena by matt haimovitz on amazon music. They were composed in the early 1720s at the same time as the sonatas and partitas for solo violin, when bach was court composer at cothen and surrounded by superb musicians. Little suite from the anna magdalena notebook duration. Musicologists, critics, and performers, however, pointing to the thinness of evidence of this proposition, and the extant evidence that supports johann sebastian bachs authorship, remain skeptical of the.
Those trite tunes were swiftly expelled by three of johann sebastian bachs cello suites. My belief is that anna composed the cello suites as a composition student of j s bach, jarvis, music professor and director of the confucius institute at charles darwin university, tells. Of the two copies of the cello suites mentioned above, anna magdalena s is by far the more reliable. Bachs small gem written for his second wife, anna magdalena contains pieces for solo keyboard and songs. The cello suites according to anna magdelena, played on baroque cello and cello piccolo, the fivestring instrument for which bachs sixth suite was likely intended. Bach, suggests that the composers second wife anna magdalena is the true author of his six suites for unaccompanied cello and other works. Notebooks for anna magdalena bach bach, johann sebastian first publication 1722, 1725 genre categories. This is a hybrid super audio cd playable on both regular and super audio cd players. This programme offers a fuller survey than most of its competitors and, from a performance standpoint, outstrips any other that i know the notenbuchlein or little music book for anna magdalena bach is one of the most affectionate and tangible means by which we can glimpse an aspect of the bach family off duty, sotospeak. Provided to youtube by sony music entertainment little suite from the anna magdalena notebook the philadelphia orchestra eugene ormandy. General resources and biographies are great, but anything dealing with her as a singer or composer would be greative been hearing things that possibly she wrote some of the compositions credited to him. The cello suites according to anna magdalena haimovitz.
I have finally discovered one possible source for the myth that amb was substantially involved in helping bach copy out from the score the parts for cantatas for the 1st performances of these works that were performed in leipzig on sundays and holidays. Anna magdalena bach did not write the bach suites, any more than anne hathaway wrote shakespeares plays, george henry lewes wrote. That s why in the years of 1722 and 1725 johann sebastian bach gave his second wife, anna magdalena, two notebooks. Oct 31, 2014 later, he fixated on a phrase that appears in the lowerrighthand corner of the title page of anna magdalenas copy of the suites, one of two principal manuscripts through which the pieces have. Mrs bach and the cello suites charles darwin university. The cello suites according to anna magdalena on baroque cello and cello piccolo, the fivestring instrument for which bachs suite vi was likely intended.
Matthauspassion, bwv 244 bach, johann sebastian minuet in g major, bwv anh. Just playing them is hard enough, but a true and meaningful interpretation of the suites requires an entirely different heuristic model than that of. Nov 08, 2014 provided to youtube by sony music entertainment little suite from the anna magdalena notebook the philadelphia orchestra eugene ormandy johann sebastian bach the sunday brunch album. Anna magdalena as bachs copyist 69 the pro blem becomes more serious when the notation does not involve beams, e. It is awe inspiring to see the original magdalena script. We are witnessing, since 1996, an unprecedented proliferation of the editions of these wonderful bach masterpieces. Difficult to read, but beautiful, and well worth owning if you play the cello. Suites for solo cello bwv 10071012 general discussions part 3.
I also discovered that the only complete manuscript from the time for the cello suites was a manuscript in the hand of anna magdalena, and that the original manuscript in. Anna magdalena bach, his second wife, copied a large amount of her husbands works and a. Written by mrs bach charles darwin university bookshop. Sep 02, 2015 fresh off the heels of his revelatory periodinstrument recording of the complete beethoven sonatas and variations with christopher oriley, beethoven, period.
The obvious reason being the observance in the year 2000 of the 250th anniversary of the great musicians death. Anna magdalena, who was both a musician and a precise copyist. Today they give the listener an insight into bachs domestic music making. Martin jarvis, a conductor and professor of music at charles darwin university in australia, first proposed his theory in 2006, but it was met with almost universal. Suites for solo cello bwv 10071012 general discussions. One of the only manuscripts left is a copy made by anna magdalena, bachs second wife. This story is about mrs bach, her relationship to the six cello suites historically attributed to. Support the guardian available for everyone, funded by readers. The cello suites according to anna magdalena on baroque cello and cello piccolo, the fivestring instrument for which bachs suite vi. It has a very informative preface that discusses the research into the origins of the suites and performance practice issues, and represents some of the latest research into the bach suites.
Mrs bach and the cello suites the words hidden from history are aptly used by feminist writer anne laurence to describe the legacy of 18th century women. Fresh off the heels of his revelatory periodinstrument recording of the complete beethoven sonatas and variations with christopher oriley, beethoven, period. The six bach cello suites the anna magdalena manuscripts, the lute version autograph of suite no. But his version has many interesting ornaments, and even some tempo and dynamic markings, which i think must have come from bach. The long awaited, and much debated, documentary that investigates the role of anna magdalena bach as not only wife but collaborator and, most controversially, composer of the cello suites, is now available online. There is strong evidence that the two sets were written. Id recommend it even to those who just enjoy listening to the suites. Could the six cello suites by johann sebastian bach. Fresh on the heels of his period instrument recording of the complete beethoven sonatas and variations with pianist christopher oreilly, beethoven, period. Classical festivals compete with youknowwhat montreal. Recently, it has been suggested that anna magdalena bach composed several musical pieces bearing her husbands name. Notenbuchlein fur anna magdalena bach refers to either of two manuscript notebooks that the german baroque composer johann sebastian bach presented to his second wife, anna magdalena. Professor martin jarvis of the school of music at charles darwin university in darwin, australia, claims that she composed the famed six cello suites bwv 10071012 and was involved with the composition of the aria from the goldberg variations bwv 988 and the opening.
Jarvis proposes that anna magdalena wrote the six cello suites and was involved in composing the aria from the goldberg variations bwv 988. Little suite from the anna magdalena notebook youtube. Notebooks for anna magdalena bach bach, johann sebastian. Bach, johann sebastian six suites for violoncello solo bwv 1007. Hers is one of four manuscript copies of the suites. Conductor martin jarvis believes bachs cello suites were composed by the german musicians second wife, anna magdalena bach 170160. Nov 03, 2014 a new documentary film, written by mrs. Laurence lesser speaks on the anna magdalena manuscripts of the bach cello suites at the beginning of a masterclass at the new england conservatory of music. The bach cello suites according to anna magdalena oxingale.