Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
The Cello Suites BWV 1007-1012 · Guitar Transcriptions
Eliot Fisk (guitar)
rec. 2022, Gordan Hall, Watertown, USA
Booklet in Spanish & English
IBS Classical IBS42026 [2 CDs: 130]

As the blurb on the label website tells us, Eliot Fisk is “a direct disciple of the legendary Andrés Segovia”. He is not, of course, the first guitarist to transcribe these great works – I have long loved Narcisco Yepes’s 1973 recording of Bach’s own lute version of Suite No. 5 (BWV 995) and other works for lute played on guitar – but among classical guitar players, Fisk’s approach is generally regarded as being more creative rather than urtext-faithful. He uses that lute version as a model for his own transcriptions, transposing the first four up a fifth but retaining the original keys for the final pair “for reasons of playability”; No. 6 requires a five-stringed instrument – as Fisk’s notes tell us, probably a viola pomposa or violoncello piccolo; helpfully and coincidentally, the additional string was tuned to E, the same as the top string of a modern guitar. Bach’s own frequent practice of re-arranging his works for different instruments is adduced as further justification for these transcriptions.

If you embark upon listening to this set in chronological order, you might need an initial mental re-set, insofar as the guitar has associations – with Spain, flamenco, and even rock – which slightly jar with Bach’s idiom. The cheerful optimism and melodiousness of the first suite, however will soon win you over and dispel any doubts. In my case, as a result of knowing No. 5 played by Yepes, I turned first to Fisk’s arrangement and discovered that he had retained the original key of C minor whereas Yepes played it in A minor. This tessitura lends the music as Fisk plays it a lighter, “shimmering” quality and somewhat mitigates its dark, tempestuous nature, especially in the fast section of the Prélude which has a rather perky tune, in contrast to the prevailing atmosphere of the suite as a whole. Fisk is quite free with his phrasing without being overtly “Romantic”; he does employ the “campanella” fingering technique whereby he plays consecutive notes on different strings whenever possible, allowing previously played notes to keep ringing, producing the “little bell” effect, but his playing is crisp, precise and wonderfully sonorous. He embraces an impressive range of emotion; hence the Sarabande, for example, is starkly simple – a single unharmonized line, so different from the tripping pair of Gavottes which follow, replete with roulades and ornamentation. Fisk’s notes usefully point out, explain and justify some of his choices, such as the ornamented petite reprises (mini repeats) in the closing Gigue of this suite and the first. He occasionally expands textures, adds bass note and enriches harmonies without undue intervention; such modifications are tastefully applied and enhance the listener’s pleasure without distraction. The close recording occasionally picks up his breathing, especially in the first suite, but not obtrusively so.

I do not propose to extend this review unnecessarily by commenting exhaustively on every suite but will make a few random observations. Things like the almost wrenching change of mood between the dark, sombre Fifth suite and the sunny, festive Sixth provide welcome variety and point to Fisk’s ability to colour and charge his playing very differently according to temperament of the music. I particularly like his treatment of the Sarabandes throughout, which are free without becoming unduly shapeless.

While it is clear that the guitar is ideally configured for the depiction of gentler and more intimate emotions such as love and grief, it is surely legitimate to question whether it can encompass the heroism and grandeur of the third and fourth suites respectively. Fisk certainly makes a bigger, more resonant sound with more vibrato and darker, thrumming bass-note arpeggios, and adopts a generally more overt manner, thus making every effort to broaden his gestures. The skipping Gigue concluding No. 3 is both big-boned and delightful and there is a beguiling, enveloping warmth to the Prélude of No. 4 – no shortage of noble majesty in the arpeggios and implied rich harmonies.

This provides a new avenue into appreciation and enjoyment of these masterpieces, making as valid and convincing a claim for their realisation on guitar as could possibly be desired.

[Note: In my ignorance and forgetfulness, I had to look up the label here, being unsure whether the modishly mixed upper and lower case of the recording label logo was “IBS” (as in “Irritable Bowel Syndrome”) or “LBS” (as in “London Business School”) only to (re-)discover that it is the highly reputable, productive and award-winning Spanish company founded in 2011 whose issues received several complimentary reviews from distinguished colleagues here on MusicWeb, including one selection by David Barker in 2020 as a “Recording of the Year”.]

Ralph Moore

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Contents
Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007 (transcr. for guitar in D Major)
Cello Suite No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1008 (transcr. for guitar in A Minor)
Cello Suite No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1009 (transcr. for guitar in G Major)
Cello Suite No. 4 in E-Flat Major, BWV 1010 (transcr. for guitar in B-Flat Major)
Cello Suite No. 5 in C Minor, BWV 1011 (transcr. for guitar)
Cello Suite No. 6 in D Major, BWV 1012 (transcr. for guitar)
All transcriptions by Eliot Fisk