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Technical Notice
| Classical Composer: | Bach, Johann Sebastian |
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| Work: | Cello Suite No. 4 in E-Flat Major, BWV 1010 (arr. G.A. Devine for guitar) |
| Year Composed: | 1720 |
| Duration: | 00:22:00 |
| Work Category: | Instrumental |
Work Information
Available Recording(s)
Suite No. 4 begins with an extended Prelude, a remarkable exploration of style brisé or 'broken chords', akin to the textures of baroque lute preludes. But after bar 49, the even flow of chordal patterns is interrupted several times by rapid scale passages, the latter ending the movement in a brilliant cascade. The Allemande, with its subtle combinations of semiquavers and quavers, is one of the most complex treatments of this form within the Cello Suites, the mixture of note values being continued immediately after in the sophisticated intricacies of the Courante. In the latter, the unexpected introduction of triplets alongside quaver values and semiquavers gives this dance vivid rhythmic dynamism and a degree of unpredictability in its characteristic patterns. The chordal nature of the Sarabande is well suited to the guitar, and the aria-like qualities of this particular piece have been compared to those written in the galant style by the great baroque lutenist, Sylvius Leopold Weiss. Its elegant dignity contrasts keenly with the skittish Bourrée I where upbeat semiquaver runs provide a rhythmic impetus unique of its kind. Bourrée II reverts to the peasant simplicity of the dance, this movement being notably brief before the return of its companion. The final vivacity of the Gigue, in twelve-eight time is rendered in ebullient triplets possessing an element of humour as well as an implicit reminder of the intricate footwork if such a piece were ever to be danced to.
Writer: Graham Wade
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