Light On Dark Water

Weekend Music

I think I've listened with at least some degree of attention to about half of the cello suites, and have to admit that I haven't warmed up to them on the whole, although some individual movements caught my ear. Last Sunday I listened to the fifth suite, and the sarabande really grabbed me. It was the Rostropovich recording, and after I'd heard the suite I read the liner notes to see if Rostropovich had anything to say about that suite in particular. He did, and moreover particularly emphasized his love for the sarabande. I suppose it's silly, but that pleased me.

Why #5? Because the suites are arranged to fit on two CDs (I assume), three on each disk, and #5 is the last one on the disk, and I wanted to play only a single suite, and that was the easiest way to do it. I think part of my lack of response to the suites is that I generally put on one of these CDs and let it play all the way through. I'm sorry, but seventy minutes of solo cello is too much.