In the previous Interview with Richard Bamping, Principal Cellist of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, he claimed that to him, Bach's Cello Suites defined the possibilities of the instrument. These six works were written in the 18th century yet remain the only biblical piece in cello music. It is a return to the purest sound of cello without all the redundant ornaments, a return to the most fundamental beauty of the sound. The six unaccompanied cello suites have their own characteristics, which are difficult to explain in a few words. In this article, we would like to focus on the background of Bach composing the works and the instrumental interpretation at an early stage. We wish to let readers have a basic understanding of the suites.

Bach left no original manuscripts of this cello suites. Based on manuscript references copied by his second wife, Anna Magdalena, it is generally believed that the works were completed between 1717 and 1723,. At that time, he was the Kapellmeister of Leopold, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen in Cöthen. General public nowadays have a strong perception that these suites mainly stay in the first part, or even the prologue. Yet, as a kind of pop music in the old times, it consists of a series of dances, including Allemande, Courant, Sarabande, and Gigue. The melody is slightly modified in the fifth section of each suite, or even replaced by other dance genre, such as minuet, bray, and garo. Therefore, the style of the suites are basically light and rhythmically diverse.  Even though the structure sounds simple, the melodies are precisely designed so that the group is never boring.

At the time when the work is completed, i.e. the Baroque period, the Viola da gamba, with its thin sound and low resonance, no longer met the needs of the large concert halls in the market. It was gradually replaced by cello, which had transformed from a  solo instrument from bass accompaniment. This transformation was unprecedented in those days. At the same time, due to the high technical demands without clear interpretative instructions on the score, sits similar nature to an etude, as well as the fact that unaccompanied pieces were not as ornate as other concertos, there was no chance to play the whole set of the suite in the concert hall after it had been composed. Even in the nineteenth century, many composers, including Schumann and Grützmacher,, attempted to add piano accompaniment but did not succeed in transforming the nature of the score.

It was not until the twentieth century, when the Catalan cellist Pablo Casals (1876-1973) discovered the poetry underneath the suites. Thus the work was revived to a harmonious model of cello music. Casals was only a thirteen-year-old cello beginner at the time. Yet he already saw the full structure and artistry of the work, far beyond the misconception that it was merely a mechanical and unemotional exercise. His enthusiasm burned for the rest of his life since he discovered the score, from a second-hand bookstore, played the entire work for the first time at the age of twenty-five, and finally took another thirty-five years to complete the recording. Bach's unaccompanied cello suites came to life.

Complete recordings of the six Cello Suites by Casals (made in the 1930s):

In the nearly 100 years afterwards, as recording techniques have advanced and performers have refined their interpretations of the score, Casals' performance may not always be the most exciting version to the audience. However, if he had not seen through the possibilities of the score and devoted himself to defining the work, this cello bible might not have existed.