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Bach's Cello Suite No. 5 in C Minor Below, for your reading and study, is a facsimile copy of the Bach's Cello Suite No.5 in C Minor, BWV 1011, believed to have been made by Bach's second wife Anna Magdalena. Hers is one of four manuscript copies of the Suites. It has been published in several modern editions. You will notice that the manuscript is written in Scordatura (Italian for mistuning). The "accord" at the beginning indicates that the A String is to be tuned down one whole step to G. The written notes show, not the actual sound, but the placement of the fingers in their usual position. Scordatura was quite common in the Baroque period. Much lute music uses it, as did Vivaldi in several violin concerti. The best known 20th Century use is in Kodaly's Solo Cello Sonata, where the C String is tuned down to B. The Suite No. 5 in C Minor is the only suite for which a Bach autograph still exists. This is an ornamented version for lute that gives us a rare glimpse of performance possibilities of this complex piece. (Compare Suite for Lute in G Minor BWV 995) You will also find a link here to a lecture-preview of a performance of mine at the Victoria Music Festival in Canada in which I discuss many of these issues.("Bach's C Minor Suite Was Written This Morning" by Harry Wimmer (reprinted from the Violoncello Society Newsletter Spring 1992) |
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