Bach Cello Suites • Ronan Kernoa

This is not just another recording of Bach’s cello suites; the approach here was to record each suite on a different instrument (and no, they are not all cellos).

The liner notes intelligently discuss the history of the works and the wide definition of what constituted a violoncello in Bach’s Germany. I don’t think the variety suggested was so wide to include all the instruments Kenoa uses: a treble viol, a six string bass viol, different piccolo cellos, a “grand cello” and a seven-string bass viol.

The sound represents well the recording location, a church, the recording dominated too much by the location’s reverb. It’s a beautiful sound, but it’s for me a bit distracting to not at least be a little closer to the musician in terms of the stereo effect.

Kernoa’s strength here, I think, is his willingness to go beyond the written score, using these occasional departures to decorate the line.

A weakness may be that some of the dances feel less energetic; the tempos are likely appropriate for the church, but if you’re used to, say, the Courantes to be a tad faster, this may disappoint.

The use of different instruments to me wasn’t as interesting as I’d hoped it would be; the most disappointing was the treble viol that was used in the first suite. It brings the sonata into “viola” territory and required transposition.

The experiment here of trying Bach’s works on different instruments—some of which clearly are not cellos—is a curious exercise that goes so far to expose interest in the varying sounds of these different instruments. The approach I think may work better in a live situation, where the audience gets to hear familiar material realized with different timbres. But as a recording I think it’s less successful, at least when combined with this acoustic.

Despite good playing and great intonation, this is not an album I plan to return to. For others, it may be a curious departure from already familiar recordings.