Composed c1720; 22 minutes 

We can’t be sure exactly when or why Bach composed the six Cello Suites, or whether he intended them as anything more than ‘exercises’ (Übungen). But, by grouping them into a set of six—just as he did with the solo Violin Sonatas and Partitas, the Brandenburg Concertos, the French and English Suites—he was following what has been called a lifelong ‘guiding impulse’ to explore a genre fully, then move on to something new. In each case, Bach aimed to uncover both the expressive and technical possibilities of an instrument or musical form. 

Bach titled the violin collection Six solos for violin, without accompaniment, Book One, by Joh. Seb. Bach, 1720. The Cello Suites, his only works for unaccompanied cello, may have been conceived as a sequel—Book Two. He may even have planned to write similar sets for other instruments, continuing with the flute, perhaps, since a single Partita for solo flute has survived. Being a set of six may also suggest he had publication in mind.

Each Cello Suite follows the same broad structure: a Prélude sets the mood, followed by the traditional core of an 18th century suite—Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, ending with a Gigue. To this, Bach adds pairs of contrasting dances, often more recent in style. The Third Suite includes a pair of Bourrées—two of 29 such jaunty dance movements that he composed, drawn from a dance once favored at the court of Louis XIV and in French theater. 

There are no known precedents for Bach’s unaccompanied Cello Suites. With a single melodic line that implies much more than it states, they stand unmatched in 18th century music. For cellists, they remain among the greatest technical and interpretive challenges in the repertoire. For listeners, they invite deep engagement, as we fill in the rich, implied polyphony with our own imagination. As Johann Forkel, Bach’s first biographer, wrote over two centuries ago, Bach “develops his melodies from the internal resources of the art itself, without regard for the dictates of fashion…his melody never grows old.”