Welcome to the first post discussing The Cello Suites by Eric Siblin. I’m intrigued by the structure that Siblin employs to explore Bach’s cello suites. Siblin weaves together three centuries: Bach’s experience in the 1700s, Pablo Casals’ 1890 discovery of the "tobacco-colored" scores in Barcelona, and Siblin’s own modern-day obsession. By mirroring the six-movement structure of a classical suite, the prose actually "performs" the music it describes.
Through the lens of a fan's "magnificent obsession," Chapter 1 transforms the cello from a lowly background instrument into a vessel for universal human emotion. It’s a detective story, a biography, and a memoir all tuned to the vibrant, optimistic key of G Major.
If you want to dive deeper into Suite No. 1 with your students, here are some resources to do that.
- All of Bach - Suite No. 1: It includes a "behind the music" video where the musician discusses the "apparent inconsistency" of the manuscripts and the emotional transparency of the G major key. It’s perfect for visual learners and for showing the "detective work" involved in interpreting old texts.
- Comprehensive Musicianship through Performance Teaching Plan: While designed for music students, its sections on "Expression" and "Analysis" are excellent for cross-curricular teaching. It discusses how Bach uses "compositional secrets" to create tension and release, very similar to how you might analyze narrative tension in a novel.
- The Strad: "Four Insights on the Prelude": It provides high-level "literary" descriptions of the music. For instance, Antoine Tamestit describes the G-Major tonality as the color blue, suggesting "hope" and "fluidity." This is a great resource for a creative writing exercise or a lesson on mood and tone.
- "The Bach Cello Suite No. 1 Study Book" by Cassia Harvey: It breaks the piece down into "digestible exercises." In a classroom setting, you can use these excerpts to show how a complex masterpiece is actually a collection of small, repeating patterns, much like motifs in a poem.
- Inbal Segev’s Masterclass Series (YouTube): Her "Musings with Inbal" series treats the music as a conversation. She discusses the harmonic structure and the history of the manuscripts (including Anna Magdalena Bach). These videos are short and "snackable," making them ideal for bell-ringer activities or 15-minute lesson segments.
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I've published five piano music books and one guitar music book. Get them here.
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