Bach Revealed: A Player’s Guide to the Solo Cello Suites by J. S. Bach (Vol. 1)

Volume 1: Suites I and II, BWV 1007-1008

Includes one volume plus insert

By Selma Gokcen & Kenneth Cooper

Selma Gokcen and Kenneth Cooper, musical friends, colleagues and co-conspirators in this Bach adventure, began their exploration of the Solo Cello Suites in 2005. Fifteen years later they emerged with a guide that could be the beginning of yours (and your students’) journey into the inner structures of these works. This guide is not a substitute for diving into the deep, but rather a companion to stimulate your own quest for discovery of what is structural and what is ornamental. The instrumental works of Bach embrace simple but enduring principles of harmony and counterpoint, and in these Suites, the genius of Bach manifests in the particular challenge of a monodic instrument sustaining and resolving more than one voice. We hope this guide will serve your pleasurable investigation of how Bach goes about his musical business with the greatest savoir-faire as well as divine inspiration.