Bach Cello Suites The six unaccompanied cello suites, BWV 1007-1012 were written by Johann Sebastian Bach circa 1720. They are some of the most frequently performed and recognizable solo compositions ever written for cello. The cello suites were relatively unknown until the early 1900s, were thought to be études due to their technical demands, and were therefore rarely publicly performed. After 13-year-old Pablo Casals discovered a rare score in a Barcelona shop, he brought them to the world’s attention decades later in his classic recording of the complete set. Since that time, they have been performed and recorded 2 Bach Cello Suites by many renowned cellists and are considered some of Bach’s greatest musical achievements.. Due to the works’ technical demands and difficulty in interpretation because there were not composer notes accompanying the surviving copies, the cello suites were little known and rarely publicly performed until the great cellist Pablo Casals, who happened on a used edition of the score in a Barcelona shop when he was 13. Decades later, in the 1930s, he made a classic recording of the set, the success of which put the suites on the path to fame. They have since been performed and recorded by many renowned cellists. They are considered some of Bach’s greatest musical achievements. The Bach cello suites are structured in six movements. Each begins with a prelude followed by a similar progression of movements based on Baroque dance forms such as the allemande, courante, sarabande, two minuets, bourrées, or gavottes, and a final gigue. As Bach left no musical annotations in the score, the magic of the cello suites lies in the interpretive skill of the performer, Zuill Bailey 3 making each performance a unique treasure. Zuill Bailey’s first recording of the complete suites was released on the Telarc label in 2008. This second recording on the Octave Record label reflects his ever-evolving interpretation more than a decade later. Cellists typically wait for many years before they summon the courage to play the Suites in public, let alone record them. Casals waited twelve years. Rostropovich waited until he was in his 60’s, while Steven Isserlis and Truls Mørk, waited until their 50s to tackle this, the most challenging of all cello music. Octave Record’s release of Mr. Bailey’s second recording of the Bach Cello Suites is both daring and mature. Mr. Bailey finds himself at peace with the work, fulfilling his lifetime dream of sharing with the world his understanding of this seminal composition from J.S. Bach. 4 Bach Cello Suites Zuill Bailey Zuill Bailey, widely considered one of the premiere cellists in the world, is a Grammy Award winning, international- ly renowned soloist, recitalist, Artistic Director and teacher. His rare combination of celebrated artistry, technical wizardry and engaging personality has secured his place as one of the most sought after and active cellists today. A consummate concerto soloist, Mr. Bailey has appeared at Disney Hall, the Kennedy Center, the United Nations, Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In his storied career, he has collaborated with such conductors as Itzhak Perlman, Alan Gilbert, Andrew Litton, Neeme Jarvi, Giancarlo Guerrero, James DePriest, Jun Markl, Carlos Kalmar, Andrey Boreyko, Zuill Bailey 5 Krzysztof Urbanski, Jacques Lacombe, Grant Llewellyn and Stanislav Skrowaczewski. He also has been featured with musical luminaries Leon Fleisher, Jaime Laredo, the Juilliard String Quartet, Lynn Harrell and Janos Starker. His international appearances include notable performances with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, as well as concerts in Cuba, Australia, the Dominican Republic, France, Israel, Spain, South Africa, Hong Kong, Jordan, South America and the United Kingdom. Festival appearances include Ravinia, the Interlochen Center for the Arts, Manchester Cello Festival (UK), Wimbledon (UK), Consonances- St. Nazaire (France), Australian Festival of Chamber Music, Deia Music Festival- Mallorca (Spain), Montreal (Canada), and Santa Fe, New Mexico. 6 Bach Cello Suites Mr. Bailey is a renowned recording artist with over thirty titles. Mr. Bailey won a best solo performance Grammy Award in 2017 for his Live Recording of “Tales of Hemingway,” by composer Michael Daugherty. The award-winning CD, recorded with the Nashville Symphony, Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor, also won the triple crown with Grammys for best composition, “Tales of Hemingway,” and Best Compendium. His celebrated “Bach Cello Suites”, Britten Cello Symphony/Sonata CD with pianist Natasha Paremski, Haydn Cello Concertos CD and recently released Schumann/Brahms Concertos immediately soared to the Number One spot on the Classical Billboard Charts. Zuill Bailey 7 Other critically acclaimed recordings include his live performances with the Indianapolis Symphony of the Bloch Schelomo, Muhly Cello Concerto (World Premiere), Elgar and Dvorak Cello Concertos, described by Gramophone magazine as the new “reference” recording and one that “sweeps the board.” In addition, the Dvorak Cello Concerto CD is listed in the “Penguin’s Guide,” as one the Top 1000 Classical Recordings of all time. Mr. Bailey received his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from the Peabody Conservatory and the Juilliard School. His 8 Bach Cello Suites primary teachers include Loran Stephenson, Stephen Kates and Joel Krosnick. Mr. Bailey performs on the “Rosette” 1693 Matteo Gofriller Cello, formerly owned by Mischa Schneider of the Budapest String Quartet. In addition to his extensive solo touring engagements, he is the Artistic Director of El Paso Pro-Musica (Texas), the Sitka Music Festival/Series and Cello Seminar, (Alaska), Juneau Jazz and Classics, (Alaska), the Northwest Bach Festival (Washington), Classical Inside Out Series, Mesa Arts Center (Arizona) and is Director of the Center for Arts Entrepreneurship and professor of cello at the University of Texas at El Paso. Mesa Arts Center The Mesa Arts Center, owned and operated by the City of Mesa Arizona, is a unique, and architecturally stunning international award winning facility located in the heart of downtown Mesa. At more than 210,000 square feet, the $95 million facility, completed in 2005, is the largest comprehensive arts campus in the state. Mr. Bailey recorded in the Center’s largest theater, the 1,600 Zuill Bailey 9 seat Ikeda, built to mirror the local landscape. It normally hosts jazz, classical, and popular musical performers, along with dance shows, and lectures. Some of the performers that have appeared at the Ikeda Theater at Mesa Arts Center include David Gray, Explosions in the Sky, and Kansas. The Ikeda is one of the finest acoustic halls requiring no 10 Bach Cello Suites amplification. When we recorded Zuill in the theater, the only people present were our recording staff. It was a magical moment. Zuill Bailey 11 The Recording Produced and Edited by Thomas C. Moore, Five/Four Productions, Ltd. Recorded, Mixed and Mastered by Robert Friedrich, Five/ Four Productions, Ltd. Technical onsite support and DAW Systems Operations by Gus Skinas, Octave Records and Super Audio Center. Executive Producer, Jessica Carson, Octave Records. Recorded, Mixed and Mastered using Five/Four REVEAL SDM DSD Technology. Recorded at Ikeda Theater, Mesa Arts Center, Mesa Arizona, January 23-27, 2021 Microphones: AEA R88, Royer SF-24 and Sennheiser 12 Bach Cello Suites MKH800 Microphone Preamplifiers: Integer RMP-1 and Fred Forsell Technologies SMP-2b Recording system powered through PS Audio Direct Stream Power Plant 15 Zuill Bailey 13 Analog Mix Console: Custom modified Studer 962 Interconnecting Cables: Brown Electronics Labs BEL “The Wire” Type P1; Music Interface Technologies Proline with Balanced Terminators; Mogami Neglex. 14 Bach Cello Suites Digital Recording System: Merging Technologies Pyramix DAW with Merging Technologies Hapi A/D and D/A converters Monitored Through: EMM Labs Switchman Monitor Speakers: ATC SCM 50 and SCM 25 Zuill Bailey 15 Digital Editor: Pyramix Special thanks to Randy Vogel, Robby Elliott and Troy Buckey, Mesa Arts Center. 16 Bach Cello Suites Special Recognition Zuill Bailey wishes to dedicate this recording to his private patron for the generous loan of the cello on which he performs and used for this recording: 1693 Mateo Goffriller Ex Mischa Zuill Bailey 17 Schneider “Rosette” cello – Venice, Italy. Zuill Bailey performs with the Benoit Rolland cello bow (2020) Boston, Massachusetts. He endorses Thomastik Infeld Strings with Connolly and Company; Jargar A&D (Soloist/ 18 Bach Cello Suites Special), and Spirocore Tungsten G&C (medium); Sonoma Headphones and Warwick Acoustics Ltd. Sanders/Wingo Advertising, El Paso, Texas “Intersection of Possibilities” for use of Zuill’s silhouette photo on page 5. Zuill Bailey 19 .