The Cello Suites

J. S. Bach, Pablo Casals, and the Search for a Baroque Masterpiece

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Music, Theory & Criticism, History & Criticism, Reference
Cover of the book The Cello Suites by Eric Siblin, Grove Atlantic
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Eric Siblin ISBN: 9780802197979
Publisher: Grove Atlantic Publication: January 4, 2011
Imprint: Grove Press Language: English
Author: Eric Siblin
ISBN: 9780802197979
Publisher: Grove Atlantic
Publication: January 4, 2011
Imprint: Grove Press
Language: English

An award-winning journey through Johann Sebastian Bach’s six cello suites and the brilliant musician who revealed their lasting genius.

One fateful evening, journalist and pop-music critic Eric Siblin attended a recital of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Cello Suites—an experience that set him on an epic quest to uncover the mysterious history of the entrancing compositions and their miraculous reemergence nearly two hundred years later. In pursuit of his musicological obsession, Siblin would unravel three centuries of intrigue, politics, and passion.

Winner of the Mavis Gallant Prize for Non-fiction and the McAuslan First Book Prize, The Cello Suites weaves together three dramatic narratives: the disappearance of Bach’s manuscript in the eighteenth century, Pablo Casals’s discovery and popularization of the music in Spain in the late nineteenth century, and Siblin’s infatuation with the suites in the present day. The search led Siblin to Barcelona, where Casals, just thirteen and in possession of his first cello, roamed the backstreets with his father in search of sheet music and found Bach’s lost suites tucked in a dark corner of a store. Casals played them every day for twelve years before finally performing them in public.

Siblin sheds new light on the mysteries that continue to haunt this music more than 250 years after its composer’s death: Why did Bach compose the suites for the cello, then considered a lowly instrument? What happened to the original manuscript? A seamless blend of biography and music history, The Cello Suites is a true-life journey of discovery, fueled by the power of these musical masterpieces.

“The ironies of artistic genius and public taste are subtly explored in this winding, entertaining tale of a musical masterpiece.” —Publishers Weekly

“Siblin’s writing is most inspired when describing the life of Casals, showing a genuine affection for the cellist, who . . . used his instrument and the suites as weapons of protest and pleas for peace.” —Booklist, starred review

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

An award-winning journey through Johann Sebastian Bach’s six cello suites and the brilliant musician who revealed their lasting genius.

One fateful evening, journalist and pop-music critic Eric Siblin attended a recital of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Cello Suites—an experience that set him on an epic quest to uncover the mysterious history of the entrancing compositions and their miraculous reemergence nearly two hundred years later. In pursuit of his musicological obsession, Siblin would unravel three centuries of intrigue, politics, and passion.

Winner of the Mavis Gallant Prize for Non-fiction and the McAuslan First Book Prize, The Cello Suites weaves together three dramatic narratives: the disappearance of Bach’s manuscript in the eighteenth century, Pablo Casals’s discovery and popularization of the music in Spain in the late nineteenth century, and Siblin’s infatuation with the suites in the present day. The search led Siblin to Barcelona, where Casals, just thirteen and in possession of his first cello, roamed the backstreets with his father in search of sheet music and found Bach’s lost suites tucked in a dark corner of a store. Casals played them every day for twelve years before finally performing them in public.

Siblin sheds new light on the mysteries that continue to haunt this music more than 250 years after its composer’s death: Why did Bach compose the suites for the cello, then considered a lowly instrument? What happened to the original manuscript? A seamless blend of biography and music history, The Cello Suites is a true-life journey of discovery, fueled by the power of these musical masterpieces.

“The ironies of artistic genius and public taste are subtly explored in this winding, entertaining tale of a musical masterpiece.” —Publishers Weekly

“Siblin’s writing is most inspired when describing the life of Casals, showing a genuine affection for the cellist, who . . . used his instrument and the suites as weapons of protest and pleas for peace.” —Booklist, starred review

More books from Grove Atlantic

Cover of the book Hue 1968 by Eric Siblin
Cover of the book The Age of Perpetual Light by Eric Siblin
Cover of the book The Old Ball Game by Eric Siblin
Cover of the book Holidays in Hell by Eric Siblin
Cover of the book Say Her Name by Eric Siblin
Cover of the book See What I Have Done by Eric Siblin
Cover of the book Alif the Unseen by Eric Siblin
Cover of the book Chairman Mao Would Not Be Amused by Eric Siblin
Cover of the book A Good Day to Die by Eric Siblin
Cover of the book I Don't Care if We Never Get Back by Eric Siblin
Cover of the book A Glass of Water by Eric Siblin
Cover of the book Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Eric Siblin
Cover of the book The Zanzibar Chest by Eric Siblin
Cover of the book Logic by Eric Siblin
Cover of the book After You've Gone by Eric Siblin
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy