J.S. Bach: Cello Suites

South Korean cellist Sung-Won Yang recorded the Bach cello suites in the church of Notre Dame de Bon Secours in Paris, not to be confused with the Notre-Dame Cathedral damaged by fire earlier this year, but a different building with great acoustics for this kind of recording.

Yang plays a Guarneri cello built in 1692 (when Bach was seven years old) so the sound is just right for the music. He wrote some lovely liner notes for the recording about how these suites move him; how when he is feeling down, or out of energy, or irritable, or just in need of inspiration, he plays the suites very slowly until his body and mind have reached a certain meditative state of calm and focus.

“Bach’s music goes beyond beautiful or intellectual, it contains spiritual depth,” writes Yang.

Yang’s connection to that spiritual depth is reflected in the recording, with lots of subtle technique and a free interpretation of tempos, sometimes providing a sense of rubato usually associated with Romantic-era composers. I found the music beautifully performed and very moving.