got ink?

[Tom Holtz]

Nice. Legal?

[finnbogi]

Nice. Legal?

According to page 3, these are Walter Icking's own editions, copied from the sources, which are certainly not protected by copyright laws.
At the bottom of the page, Herr Icking writes Non-commercial copying welcome, so I guess it is legal.
Nice is an understatement...

[sc_curtis]

I've printed these before and played through them.

Be careful, there seems to be some (not a lot, but enough) erroneous notes.

[windshieldbug]

I highly recommend these for tuba players (helped me get started!)

[pwhitaker]

For the contrabass these are excellent for the low range when played down an octave. They do require one helluva lot of air though down there.

[Naptown Tuba]

Anyone willing to list practical playing tempos for these pieces Suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Tubaguy56]

I've heard this done really fast and really slow, your pick.

Although, on a side note I heard a guitar player do this at a fairly quick tempo and the chords that resulted were very beautiful and gave me a new perspective on this piece.

[windshieldbug]

Anyone willing to list practical playing tempos for these pieces?

Listen to 'cellist's recordings, and work from there. Not only are they not as bound by technique, but what really helped me was that you also get an idea of the singing tone you need to work for. It will also give you an idea of what you'll need to do for the double and triple stops; multiphonics or arpeggios.

I only ever performed the first suite in public, but these are great works to play, even if just as études.

[Naptown Tuba]

Anyone willing to list practical playing tempos for these pieces?

Listen to 'cellist's recordings, and work from there. Not only are they not as bound by technique, but what really helped me was that you also get an idea of the singing tone you need to work for. It will also give you an idea of what you'll need to do for the double and triple stops; multiphonics or arpeggios.

I only ever performed the first suite in public, but these are great works to play, even if just as études.

Thanks bug. Sounds like a good idea ( and fun, if the multiphonics would work.)

[Wyvern]

Those that have worked on these. Is there a particular order you would suggest practicing the suites, or just start at the beginning of No.1 and go through in order?

[windshieldbug]

I started at 1 and went through. Bach's writing for 'cello became increasingly more characteristic, so as you go through you will be faced with increasingly more issues such as multi-stops and interpretation, as elephant suggests.

For me, like an etude book, I'd read through as much of it as you can, then listen to recordings, decide what strikes your fancy, and make up usable adaptations that you can play.

Single, unrelated movements to start, and progress from there.

[Todd S. Malicoate]

I've done the second and fourth suites in recitals, and both work fairly well on CC.

For the second suite, I transposed the original down a perfect fifth, putting the movements in a comfortable range. I did this in my undergraduate studies (junior recital, I think), and used the "rolling chord" technique Wade described earlier. Note that you don't ALWAYS have to sound the notes of the double, triple, or quadruple stops that the original has...it's perfectly ok to just sound the melody note sometimes, especially in the faster movements (Prelude, Allemande, Gigue). In the slower movements (Courante, Sarabande, and the Minuets to some degree), it's agreeable to "roll" the chords and try to get the lowest note to ring a bit.

I did the fourth suite on a graduate recital. This time, I transposed down a minor third, changing the basic key from Eb to C. I think this suite "fits" the tuba a bit better...it seems to concentrate more on horizontal melodic movement than vertical chords. I didn't use any "rolled" chords this time (there aren't as many as in the second, anyway), but rather used multiphonics for the Saranbande and second Bourree. The Gigue is fun on this one...you can work it up very fast and it makes a nice recital piece with some "wow" to it.

General ideas...obviously, breathing is a problem when playing a piece for a stringed instrument. Find the phrase points and use rubato to create breathing points before continuing to the next idea. This is most difficult in the Prelude movements...they can be quite a blow until you get some speed to them. Don't be afraid to find some workarounds and create your own "arrangement" of these...that's part of the fun!

fun, if the multiphonics would work.

You mean like this?

<img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1114/120 ... 0f987a.jpg" width="500" height="408" alt="Sarabande"></img>

[Naptown Tuba]

Thanks Todd! I'll definitely give it a whirl.

[TMurphy]

To anyone interested in getting a recording of these as a guideline...

http://tinyurl.com/2rwssy

Seems like a reasonable price for all six suites. Especially considering they're being played by a master like Yo Yo Ma....

[TMurphy]

To anyone interested in getting a recording of these as a guideline...

http://tinyurl.com/2rwssy

Seems like a reasonable price for all six suites. Especially considering they're being played by a master like Yo Yo Ma....

This is a re-release of his 1990 album and not the later white one from 1997 or 1998 (I forget). An awful lot of cellists that I know really do not like some of his stuff, especially this particular recording. Apparently it is "interpreted outside the accepted norms." I love the recording, personally. I bought it when it was released. I like the newer one more, however. And, of course, I loaned it to a student that kept it . . .

Yeah...I read the reviews a bit after I posted the link, and one of those mentioned the other recording (but did not list a preference). I searched a bit on Amazon, and I don't think they have the other one.

[TMurphy]

This is a re-release of his 1990 album and not the later white one from 1997 or 1998 (I forget). An awful lot of cellists that I know really do not like some of his stuff, especially this particular recording. Apparently it is "interpreted outside the accepted norms." I love the recording, personally. I bought it when it was released. I like the newer one more, however. And, of course, I loaned it to a student that kept it . . .

Yeah...I read the reviews a bit after I posted the link, and one of those mentioned the other recording (but did not list a preference). I searched a bit on Amazon, and I don't think they have the other one.

I got something right? Me? I missed what you are talking about. Where are these reviews? I have never bought anything from this place, so I am not all that familiar with how their pages are set up. (Please don't tell me that I just needed to scroll down a bit further . . . )

*****
EDIT
*****

DANG IT! Yep. It was right there. Scroll down, stupid pachyderm! SORRY!




At least I was good on the years and stuff.

Sorry nuttin'!! You provided some useful stuff. Methinks I'll putter around the 'net a bit more, and see if I can't rustle up the other recording.


EDIT

See...now I think I goofed....is this the one???

http://tinyurl.com/2bx8mb

The title "Inspired by Bach" threw me off.....

[MikeS]

I agree with Wade that the Starker recordings are quite wonderful. My own favorite are the Casals recordings from the late 1930's on Naxos (8.110915-16). Since someone asked about tempi, here is an article that talks about the different Baroque dance forms and offers some suggestions.

http://www.cello.org/Newsletter/Article ... bridge.htm