Pablo Casals – Bach: The Six Cello Suites (1946/2012) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Pablo Casals – Bach: The Six Cello Suites (1946/2012)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 02:10:04 minutes | 1,10 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © EMI Classics

At a tender age, renowned cellist Pablo Casals was introduced to Bach’s legendary Cello Suites. The musician studied the pieces for several years before performing it publically. An extraordinary exploration, the remastered album highlights Casals’ spontaneity, detailed execution and meaningful appreciation. A definitive set to these historic works.

Pablo Casals recorded J.S. Bach’s 6 Cello Suites for EMI between 1936 and 1939 in London and Paris, and these legendary recordings have been in print for many decades without break. There is a mystique attached to these performances that overrides any minor defects of reproduction, and students of these works repeatedly turn to this cellist, who essentially rescued the suites from the tedium of the practice room and presented them to the world as fully fledged works of invention and virtuosity. Casals’ freedom of phrasing and playfulness with rhythm make the music feel spontaneous and often intensely lyrical, and the quality of interpretation approaches recitative, insofar as Bach’s lines at times receive an almost vocal expression. Since Casals’ day, the Cello Suites have been played in many ways, including efforts to play them in an authentic Baroque manner, as well as more Romantic attempts at individual expression, but Casals still seems to be the standard against which other performances are measured, and these recordings are indispensable to any serious collector. While the reproduction is extraordinarily clear in these digitally remastered recordings, there remain patches of noise and a thinning of tone that seems to be the result of removing analog hiss. Even so, this is still a phenomenal set compared to other recordings made in the 1930s, and the value of the music trumps any roughness or weakness of sound. –AllMusic Review by Blair Sanderson

Tracklist:

01. Pablo Casals – Suite No. 1 in G, BWV 1007: Prelude (Moderato) (02:28)
02. Pablo Casals – Suite No. 1 in G, BWV 1007: Allemande (Molto moderato) (03:41)
03. Pablo Casals – Suite No. 1 in G, BWV 1007: Courante (Allegro non troppo) (02:32)
04. Pablo Casals – Suite No. 1 in G, BWV 1007: Sarabande (Lento) (02:22)
05. Pablo Casals – Suite No. 1 in G, BWV 1007: Menuett I & II (Allegro moderato) (03:14)
06. Pablo Casals – Suite No. 1 in G, BWV 1007: Gigue (Vivace) (01:57)
07. Pablo Casals – Suite No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1008: Preludium (03:42)
08. Pablo Casals – Suite No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1008: Allemande (03:55)
09. Pablo Casals – Suite No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1008: Courante (02:12)
10. Pablo Casals – Suite No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1008: Sarabande (04:07)
11. Pablo Casals – Suite No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1008: Menuett I & II (03:19)
12. Pablo Casals – Suite No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1008: Gigue (02:39)
13. Pablo Casals – Suite No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1009: Preludium (03:32)
14. Pablo Casals – Suite No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1009: Allemande (03:44)
15. Pablo Casals – Suite No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1009: Courante (03:12)
16. Pablo Casals – Suite No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1009: Sarbande (03:30)
17. Pablo Casals – Suite No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1009: Bourrees I & II (03:25)
18. Pablo Casals – Suite No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1009: Gigue (03:08)
19. Pablo Casals – Suite No. 4 in E Flat Major, BWV 1010: Prelude (allegro maestoso) (04:21)
20. Pablo Casals – Suite No. 4 in E Flat Major, BWV 1010: Allemande (Allegro moderato) (03:51)
21. Pablo Casals – Suite No. 4 in E Flat Major, BWV 1010: Courante (Allegro non troppo) (04:00)
22. Pablo Casals – Suite No. 4 in E Flat Major, BWV 1010: Sarabande (Lento) (04:13)
23. Pablo Casals – Suite No. 4 in E Flat Major, BWV 1010: Bourree I & II (03:42)
24. Pablo Casals – Suite No. 4 in E Flat Major, BWV 1010: Gigue (Vivace) (02:42)
25. Pablo Casals – Suite No. 5 in C Minor, BWV 1011: Prelude (Adagio – Allegro moderato) (07:23)
26. Pablo Casals – Suite No. 5 in C Minor, BWV 1011: Allemande (Molto moderato) (03:23)
27. Pablo Casals – Suite No. 5 in C Minor, BWV 1011: Courante (Allegro non troppo) (02:01)
28. Pablo Casals – Suite No. 5 in C Minor, BWV 1011: Sarabande (Lento) (02:46)
29. Pablo Casals – Suite No. 5 in C Minor, BWV 1011: Gavotte I & II (04:32)
30. Pablo Casals – Suite No. 5 in C Minor, BWV 1011: Gigue (Allegretto) (02:26)
31. Pablo Casals – Suite No. 6 in D Major, BWV 1012: Prelude (Allegro moderato) (05:07)
32. Pablo Casals – Suite No. 6 in D Major, BWV 1012: Allemande (Quasi adagio) (07:33)
33. Pablo Casals – Suite No. 6 in D Major, BWV 1012: Courante (Allegro non troppo) (03:40)
34. Pablo Casals – Suite No. 6 in D Major, BWV 1012: Sarabande (Lento) (04:18)
35. Pablo Casals – Suite No. 6 in D Major, BWV 1012: Gavotte I & II (Allegro moderato) (03:08)
36. Pablo Casals – Suite No. 6 in D Major, BWV 1012: Gigue (Vivace) (03:59)

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