It’s amazing how we can recall details when we can couple an experience with music. It just goes to show the power of emotion in solidifying memory and the power of music in evoking those emotions (just turn off the sound and watch a movie if you need a reminder). I remember exactly where I was when I first heard Bach’s suites for solo cello – nowhere important, a nondescript stretch of highway, maybe a 100 km or so from my departure on a 400 or 500 km trip. I simply remember being captivated by the music and taking note of the BMV (Bach’s catalogue) number when the announcer stated it. Details about my location and the weather have come along for the ride (pun intended). Since then, I’ve collected about 30 interpretations of this seminal work. There are six suites with six pieces in each suite. They are all sublime and every version by every cellist has its merits. Emotionally, it’s hard not to get entangled in this music if one really listens – despite the fact that they are a series of dances preceded by a prelude – they seem to celebrate the joys and sorrows of solitude. Bach’s compositions almost always came from a commission. These are different, we just don’t know why he wrote them. We do know that he often signed Soli Deo gloria (Glory to God alone) on his work. He believed that “Music’s only purpose should be the glory of God and the recreation of the human spirit.” That seems like a good enough reason to write them, and especially, to listen.

The Prelude to suite no.1 is a great place to start. A version I particularly like is Janos Starker’s recording from the 1960’s on the Mercury label.