Search - Johann Sebastian Bach :: Bach: Cello Suites

One of the finest recordings of Bach's Cello Suites

Grady Harp | Los Angeles, CA United States | 01/11/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Truls Mørk is a musician who seems comfortable in every era of music. His performances of the major concerti for cello and orchestra range from the Baroque through the high Romantics to the Contemporary. And with every period of composition he sounds wondrously at ease. He has superlative technique, an endless arm, a control of a vibrato range and tonal color that is matched by few. And yet to everything he plays he brings passion, whether that be for works for solo instrument, chamber ensembles of the big concerti.



To spend time with Bach's luminous suites for solo cello is like learning to breathe again. The six suites BWV 1007 - 1012 are at once treacherously difficult, complex and intellectual, blending some of the finest motifs Bach ever created, and at the same time some of the most eloquently ethereal melodies ever composed. Mørk plays these as if they were written for him, so much into the spirit of the works is he. The sound is never less than gorgeous and the technical demands are met at every level with a sophistication and nimble fingering that makes this recording one of the very best available.



Virgin Classics is to be commended for the quality of sound produced here - a silent atmosphere with just the right ambient resonance to allow Mørk and Bach to sing. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, January 06



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Good, but Hardly Definitive

John Hopfensperger | Midland, MI | 01/06/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Like most notable cellists today (including Clemens Hagen, Natalie Clein, Jan Vogler, Christian Poltéra, and Torleif Thedéen - whose suites I easily prefer to these), Truls Mork studied his art with Heinrich Schiff. The master's influence is evident in Mork's performance: his tone is pure and strong, without ever becoming too big or romantic for the music at hand. Dynamics and phrasing tend to follow the same pattern in both recordings. Absent from these suites, however, are the little adrenaline surges which so poignantly charge Schiff's recording.

For me, Mork's suites are simply not exciting. Great fans of the cello suites should give this set a listen. However, excellent versions by Bylsma, Thedéen, Fornier, and Schiff supplant this one as a first choice. 3.5 / 5"