Bach - Cello Suites
Steven Isserlis
Hyperion CDA67541-2 (2CDs)

Release date May 2007

Steven Isserlis’s recording of the Bach Cello Suites is a significant addition to the catalogue. This new release can be seen as a musical and academic study of the suites. Isserlis provides detailed, informative and interesting sleeve-notes, giving us a brief background to the history and origins of the manuscripts, a summary of the suites and also a personal note discussing his own thoughts surrounding the works. He provides three different interpretations of the Prelude from Suite No. 1, with a short discussion of these interpretations in the booklet. In his personal thoughts, Isserlis states that “there is certainly no need for any extra-musical input. The suites are perfect in themselves”. Accordingly, he gives us an interpretation free from fuss. Whilst his recordings are slightly faster than what we are perhaps used to, there is no sense of hurry in these performances. On the contrary, the suites come across as contemplative, considered and personal. At their current special price, this set is a must-buy!

Reviewed by Ruth Squire