Tortelier: Bach 6 Solo Cello Suites (r. 1961) - EMI SLS 798 (3LP box set)

$

85

ITEM DESCRIPTION:

This excellent 3LP box set from EMI (SLS 798 / CSD 3685-3687, English pressing, large dog semi-circle label, booklet included) features the legendary Paul Tortelier's magnificent, truly exalted set of Bach's Six Suites for Solo Cello BWV 1007-1012, recorded in the warm acoustics of the Salle Wagarm, Paris, during 5-8 December 1961 (producer: René Challan; engineer: Walter Ruhlmann).

Tortelier's visionary Bach playing can be spoken of in the same breath as that by Casals, Fournier, Gendron, et al. and this set remains his finest achievement in this repertoire.

Included then are the following works of Bach:

Suite No. 1 in G Major BWV 1007

Suite No. 2 in D minor BWV 1008

Suite No. 3 in C Major BWV 1009

Suite No. 4 in E-flat Major BWV 1010

Suite No. 5 in C minor BWV 1011

Suite No. 6 in D Major BWV 1012

Of the HMV SLS LP re-issue (789/1-3) the critic wrote in his review for the March 1971 issue of The Gramophone:

“A considerable achievement and a most welcome one, since good modern recordings of the Bach Cello Suites have been few. I'm glad to see that the catalogue still lists the pre-war recordings of Casals; more than anyone Casals was responsible for establishing this glorious music in the repertory, and his playing of it set a standard by which all others are judged. Though he did so much to make the works known, perhaps it was the very authority of his interpretations which made other cellists hesitate to record them. Few cellists have; in recent years only Pierre Fournier and Janos Starker have offered complete sets. Of these only the Fournier one is still generally available, a full-price set he made for DGG Archive; it came out during 1962-63, not exactly recently. And since then, nothing. The Starker set (Columbia) was even more elderly and recorded only in mono; it has long been deleted, though a fragment of an earlier set he did for Nixa is still with us and available on the Saga label. I still have part of Starker's Columbia set in my collection. I made a point of listening to it again when this new set arrived, but found myself much less content with it than I used to be; no doubt Mr Starker would be too. I think it may be true that, although unaccompanied Bach is a challenge which every cellist and violinist attempts to meet, there are precious few players whom one wants to hear repeatedly in all this music. Among cellists the only ones (for me) who have shown themselves to be of sufficient stature are Casals and Fournier; but I am quite sure that with this issue Paul Tortelier joins them in the same class. That is why I call the new set a considerable achievement. It does not replace Fournier's, who has his own excellence, but it's a fine complement to it.

“This is perhaps the moment to suggest that it's neither necessary nor desirable to regard unaccompanied Bach with the sort of awe reserved for Holy Writ. For the player the music is of course an enormous challenge on every level; and it's a challenge too for us as listeners—or rather, any encounter with Bach's mind should be; but let's not forget that the Cello Suites are predominantly collections of stylised dances (with only one fugue between them), predominantly light and untroubled in atmosphere, and that before anything else Bach surely meant people to take delight in playing them and listening to them.

“I like Tortelier particularly because he conveys with such directness and freshness his own delight in the music. One can take his technical mastery for granted, but one might mention that not the least part of the delight he communicates is that of an artist playing an instrument really well. That is important, but even stronger (and of course more important) is the communication of his intense involvement with every note of these pieces. Every one of them has been thought about and seems to have the right weight. His playing is continuously vital and illuminating. Above all he brings out the nobility of Bach and the variety of expression there is to be found here: he defines the different characters of the Suites and makes us realise that no two Bach allemandes, courantes, gigues, or whatever, are alike—any more than two Beethoven sonata-movements are. Throughout the set he never fails to characterise the music with vividness and with his vision of the truth, the truth as he sees it. One could hardly ask for more from any artist.

“I said that one can take his technical mastery for granted: and so one can, even in the cruelly taxing sixth Suite, the D major, which was written for a fivestringed instrument—this is one of his best performances (and surely about as good as one can get on four strings). But if I had to criticise anything it would be to say that here and there one comes across a 'whisker' or two and the odd note which is less than perfectly tuned, or a group of notes whicn is slightly snatched at; the recording producer might have insisted, I think, on some more retakes. I also noted Tortelier's tendency in some of the dance movements to give the music a 'push' over the doublebar halfway through, which seemed almost a mannerism; personally I would have preferred a little more punctuation at these points.

“In all other respects, however, there can be nothing but joy for a document of distinguished Bach playing which should continue to give pleasure for a long time. The recording captures all the bloom of the string tone and establishes to my mind an ideal distance between player and listener: apart from a couple of noticeable tape edits, the quality of the sound really is very good. And Tortelier here is as good as he has ever been on records: alive with musical energy but without any of the wildness which sometimes disfigures his playing; commanding, but with real authority, not just flamboyance; in short, every inch a master.”

Included is a 12-page booklet with extensive notes, including numerous musical illustrations, by Tristram Cary. The front of the booklet also includes an essay on Bach’s Cello Suites by Barrie Hall – all texts printed in English only.

Incidentally, the striking cover photo on the box front of Tortelier was taken by G. Neuvecelle.

CONDITION – PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:

The gradations of condition I use are as follows: MINT, Near-Mint, Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor.

The condition of the box is GOOD (Note: This is at the bottom of eBay’s grading scale). The lower-right corner is split and there is extensive edgewear to all four corners, as well as along the box edges. However, the box remains solid and presentation worthy – overall, still a decent copy.

The condition of the 12-page booklet is near-MINT. This is a fine collector’s copy.

The condition of the 3 LPs is near-MINT throughout. Although surfaces are not absolutely silent (and thus I have rated it NM vs. MINT), really these are very fine copies and playback is truly superb across all 6 sides. However, if you must have absolutely perfect surfaces, then please do not buy this set. Overall, these rate as truly fine collector's copies.