Catalogue

Summary:

René Schiffer, principal cellist of Apollo’s Fire, steps into the spotlight with a distinctive and probing interpretation of J.S. Bach’s Six Suites for Solo Cello.

Anyone familiar with Apollo’s Fire will recognise the exceptional baroque orchestra’s engaging and entertaining principal cellist René Schiffer. Featured on dozens of the Apollo’s Fire recordings, René steps into the spotlight for his solo debut recording with a meticulous rendering of that pillar of the baroque repertoire, J.S. Bach’s Six Suites for Solo Cello.

Deploying different instruments – a 1768 Benoît Fleury cello for the first four suites, an anonymous late 18th century violoncello piccolo with an added string for the fifth (in his own arrangement) and sixth – and multiple tunings, René’s distinctive interpretations are in harmony with his comprehensive and probing liner notes which abound with theories and intellectual insights.

Tracklist:

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685–1750)

Six Suites for Solo Cello

Disc 1

Cello Suite No. 1, BWV 1007 in G Major
1. I. Prélude (2:35)
2. II. Allemande (5:19)
3. III. Courante (2:44)
4. IV. Sarabande (2:53)
5. V. Menuet I & II (3:15)
6. VI. Gigue (2:02)

Cello Suite No. 2, BWV 1008 in D Minor
7. I. Prélude (4:20)
8. II. Allemande (4:40)
9. III. Courante (2:12)
10. IV. Sarabande (4:41)
11. V. Menuet I & II (3:12)
12. VI. Gigue (2:44)

Cello Suite No. 3, BWV 1009 in C Major
13. I. Prélude (3:08)
14. II. Allemande (4:37)
15. III. Courante (3:13)
16. IV. Sarabande (3:59)
17. V. Bourrée I & II (2:55)
18. VI. Gigue (3:33)

Disc 2

Cello Suite No. 4, BWV 1010 in E-Flat Major
1. I. Prélude (3:45)
2. II. Allemande (5:12)
3. III. Courante (3:37)
4. IV. Sarabande (3:53)
5. V. Bourée I & II (3:40)
6. VI. Gigue (2:54)

Cello Suite No. 5, BWV 1011 in C Minor
Arranged for five-string cello by René Schiffer
7. I. Prélude (6:08)
8. II. Allemande (5:33)
9. III. Courante (2:23)
10. IV. Sarabande (3:41)
11. V. Gavotte I & II (4:48)
12. VI. Gigue (2:07)

Cello Suite No. 6, BWV 1012 in D Major
Standard five-string tuning
13. Prélude (5:15)
14. Allemande (7:05)
15. Courante (3:56)
16. Sarabande (4:51)
17. Gavotte I & II (5:45)
18. Gigue (4:32)

Recorded at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Cleveland Heights, Ohio,
4–6 November 2019 (Suites 3 & 4), 13–15 January 2020 (Suites 5 & 6), 6–8 February 2022 (Suites 1 & 2)
Recording Producer: Erica Brenner | Recording Engineer: Daniel Shores
Editing, Mixing and Mastering Engineer: Erica Brenner