Jacob Neville

MUSC 303

3/8/2021

Performance Comparison Essay

J. S. Bach: 6 suites a Violincello Solo, BMV 1007- Prelude

• Mstislav Rostropovich, solo cello (rec. 1995)

• Pablo Casals, solo cello (rec. 1936)

• Yo-Yo Ma, solo cello (rec. 2019)

While reading over the sheet music for J.S Bach’s Prelude in G Major for the first Cello

Suite, One of the first things that you will realize is that there are no dynamic markings, barely

any direction for bowing or articulation, and no tempo or style markings. Being as popular a

piece as it is, many different artists interpret this piece quite differently, and while it sounds the

same pitch wise, the meaning behind the piece for them changes. This essay will describe how

Rostropovich, Casals, and Yo-Yo Ma each play this piece slightly differently to convey a

different meaning.

Mstislav Rostropovich was one of the first performers to record this piece, setting a

precedent on how it should be performed. However, this performance I have chosen is in 1995.

The cellist performs the piece rather quickly and plays it almost exactly as written. There are not

many dynamic changes in the recording, and the tempo stay unchanged except for the fermata in

the eighth line, and the last two measure where there is a slight retard. When first learning the
movement, it is important to play it like this so that the tempo and pitches are accurate and

steady, so that later you can embellish the piece to your liking.

In Pablo Casals performance, the tempo often fluctuates. By doing this, the cellist is

emphasizing the bass line notes at the beginning of every other beat, allowing the listener to

better understand what direction the piece is going in. Casals also begins the piece at a mezzo

piano dynamic, and throughout the piece gradually crescendos and decrescendos based on the

section of the piece. For example, Casals play lines 4-6 softly as it branches off from

arpeggiation, and once the bass line and arpeggiation comes back in he crescendos to emphasize

it. Once the cellist gets withing two measures of the fermata, there is a much larger retard and

decrescendo to create a beautiful and peaceful moment in the music, whereas Rostropovich only

retards slightly and barely changes dynamic. After the fermata, Casals holds each of the top

notes of the passage to emphasize the direction of the piece. Towards the end of the piece, the

performer begins to use a detache bowing style to make the greater leaps harder and more

dramatic, something that Rostropovich played more softly and elegantly. For the final held

chord, Casals holds only the top note briefly without vibrato, while Rostropovich holds the top

two notes longer with vibrato. These two play the piece very differently because one played the

piece almost exactly as it was written by Bach, and one embellished the piece with tempo

changes, dynamics, and different articulations.

The final performance we will be analyzing is by Yo-Yo Ma. While Ma has performed

all 6 cello suites multiple times, this particular performance is very modern, being recorded in

2019. Because of the modernity, the piece is performed with many differences than the two

discussed earlier. Right away, Ma plays the piece much slower than Rostropovich and Casals

did, allowing listeners to hear the harmony much more clearly. He also retards on the high notes
of the arpeggiation along with the low notes, truly trying to create an emotional performance of

music written without direction. Ma plays each section of the Prelude with varying dynamic

contrast, giving each part a new meaning. He also finds sequences in the piece, and crescendos

through each sequence to accent these and show the listener what Bach’s intent was while

writing the piece. Strangely enough, the cellist does not retard at the fermata at all, unl ike the

other cellists. This gives the part a delicate and naïve sound, and the abrupt stop allows the

listeners to reflect on what they have heard so far and process it. The next section of the Prelude

is crescendo’d into and played loudly instead of at varying dynamics, which gives the piece a

majestic and free sound. For the final note, Ma play three different double stops to emphasize the

different voicings and harmonizations that can be realized through this chord.

While all three cellists played the movement very differently, all three are correct because

Bach wrote this piece to be played differently, otherwise he would have written in more

dynamics, articulations and bowing styles. Rostropovich has recorded the piece as it was written,

trying to preserve the art of J.S. Bach’s original composition, while Casals and Ma have taken

the direction of the piece into their own hands in different amounts, embellishing what they

believe to be the most important parts of the piece so the listeners could better enjoy it.
 Bibliography

Bach, J. S. (1685-1750). 6 Suites a Violincello Solo, Prelude in G major. Kothen.

Cello suite No. 1 in G MAJOR, Bwv 1007: I. Prelude. (2017, March 13). Retrieved March 08,
2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhMPFqGImCs

SatamikoR. (2010, December 08). Pablo Casals plays the Prelude From Bach´s Cello Suite No.
1. Retrieved March 08, 2021, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhvOZewh3BY&t=15s

YoYoMaVEVO. (2019, January 14). Yo-Yo MA - Bach: Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, Prélude
(Official Video). Retrieved March 08, 2021, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1prweT95Mo0