J.S. Bach - Cello Suite No. 1 BWV 1007, II. Allemande (transc. S. Saulls)

Espressivo - Steven Saulls, Classical Guitarist

About the composer and the music...

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) was a German composer, organist, and musician of the late Baroque period. His work, known for its intellectual depth, technical command, and artistic beauty, synthesized the musical styles of his time and greatly influenced generations of composers who came after him.

Bach was born in Eisenach, Germany, Bach came from a long line of musicians. His father was a town musician, and his uncles were professional church organists and court composers. After his parents died when he was 10, Bach moved in with his older brother, a church organist who gave him his first keyboard lessons. A well-known story claims Bach copied his brother's valuable scores by moonlight, damaging his eyesight in the process. Expanding his skills: As a teenager, he attended St. Michael's School in Lüneburg, where he was exposed to a wider range of European music and honed his skills on the organ, harpsichord, and violin.

In 1703, Bach secured his first official post as an organist in Arnstadt. However, his tendency to challenge authority and take extended, unauthorized leaves of absence—including a 250-mile walk to hear organist Dieterich Buxtehude—created friction with his employers. He later worked for the ducal courts in Weimar (1708–1717) and Köthen (1717–1723). The Köthen period was especially productive for instrumental music, including the Brandenburg Concertos. In 1723, Bach took his most important post as the Cantor of the St. Thomas School in Leipzig, a position he held for the rest of his life. He was responsible for composing weekly music for the city's main Lutheran churches. Bach's prodigious output includes over 1,000 compositions, encompassing nearly every musical genre of the Baroque era except opera. In the last decade of his life, Bach revised and expanded many of his earlier compositions. His eyesight failed him, and he died in Leipzig in 1750 following a stroke and complications from eye surgery.

During his lifetime, Bach was more highly regarded as an organist than a composer. It was not until the 19th-century Bach Revival, led by figures like Felix Mendelssohn, that he was recognized as one of the greatest composers of all time. Today, his mastery of counterpoint and harmonic innovation is considered unparalleled.

J.S. Bach's Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007, is the most famous of his six suites for unaccompanied cello. Composed around 1720 during his time in Köthen, the work was revolutionary for elevating the cello from an accompaniment instrument to a solo voice. The opening Prelude, in particular, is one of the most recognizable pieces in all of classical music.

The suite follows the typical structure of a Baroque dance suite, consisting of six movements. The first suite is often considered the most accessible and comforting, with a bright, warm feel.

II. Allemande: Following the free-form Prelude, the Allemande is a fast, 4/4 meter German dance. It is characterized by scalar passages that move with a steady, lyrical pace.

For nearly two centuries, the cello suites were largely forgotten, regarded by a few as mere technical exercises. Their transformation into a cornerstone of the repertoire is largely thanks to the legendary Spanish cellist Pablo Casals.

About the performer...

Steven began studying the guitar at age nine and has attended some of the finest music schools in the world including the Berklee College of Music (Boston), and the Mozarteum (Salzburg, Austria). He holds both a Bachelor of Arts degree from Western Washington University (1980) and a Master of Music degree from the University of Arizona (1982).

Over the past 40 years, Steven has performed hundreds of concerts throughout the United States, Central & South America and Europe. His recordings 'Modern Music for the Classical Guitar', ‘Espressivo’, and ‘Classical Guitarist Steven Saulls Performing Works by J.S. Bach, Manuel Ponce, and Federico Moreno Torroba’ have received wide acclaim both nationally and internationally. In addition to solo concerts, he has performed over 200 chamber works including guitar concerti (with orchestra) by Vivaldi, Ponce and Rodrigo.

About the recording...

Recorded at the Sound Factory, Tucson, Arizona 1986/Engineer: Steve English/Cover photo: Joe Rinehart/Guitar handcrafted by Robert Ruck.

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