Suite no. 2 for Solo Cello in D minor, BWV1008

About this work

Bach’s Second Suite in D minor opens with a line that alternates short groups of notes and wider intervals. The lower notes support those shifts. The prelude asks the player to follow the phrase across bar lines while allowing the sustained notes to complete their gesture.Several voices on one staffIn the sarabande, chords and sustained notes suggest several voices on the solo cello. Find the upper line first, then listen to the support from the lower notes. The notes of a chord cannot all last equally long, yet their order and weight should still make the harmony clear.The allemande and courante need precise openings, while the two minuets bring a steadier dance pulse. Locate the return to the first minuet after the second. The slurs and trills in this edition guide the bowing: practise them slowly before returning to the movement’s tempo.
Score and listeningThe PDF contains the complete piece for solo cello on 6 pages. The MIDI joins the seven sections; use the score for repeats, the return of the first dance and ornaments.This engraving by Hajo Dezelski, distributed by the Mutopia Project, is available under CC BY-SA 3.0. It was typeset with LilyPond. See the Mutopia entry for credits and find more scores at LesPartitions.info.