Simone Libralon - J.S. Bach: Six Suites for Viola Solo BWV 1007-1012 (2021) [Official Digital Download 24/88]

In the music of Bach, the Italian violist Simone Libralon has found a lifelong companion, who ‘unfailingly touches that emotional chord we need in the varied and contrasting moments of human experience - a safe haven reserved for intimate spirituality.’ His own approach to the suites which Bach wrote while Capellmeister at Weimar, however, is inflected not only by lived experience but also scholarship and a lively sense of performance style: ‘I’ve always thought of the sound of Bach in keyboard-related terms: fresh and light like a harpsichord, with the depth and solemnity of the organ, but sensed throughout as a continuum that conceals great compositional and conceptual complexity.’

His new recording of the Suites is accordingly personal and unique; he omits most of the marked repeats and brings a refreshingly flowing pulse to movements which are often interpreted as monuments of reflection such as the Sarabande of the Fifth Suite (here lasting less than a minute and a half). However, his decisions always arise from a sense of each movement’s inner character, and his account of the Sixth Suite’s Prelude is as spacious as Rostropovich’s. In doing so, he further demonstrates the imperishable quality of music which absorbs and reflects an almost infinite multiplicity of interpretations while conveying the different character of the artists who channel Bach’s inspiration.

Simone Libralon is presently a member of LaVerdi, Milan’s premier symphonic ensemble, but also a solo recitalist and chamber musician who has built unique recitals around the history of his instrument and worked with artists, architects and writers to create multimedia events which place the viola front and centre.

This new recording presents Bach’s 6 Suites for unaccompanied cello BWV 1007-1012 in the arrangement for viola solo, made by the artist Simone Libralon. He comments on this: “Bach’s Suites BWV 1007-1012 are, unquestionably, among the most important works composed for an unaccompanied string instrument. Their extraordinary compositional quality means they can assimilate, with remarkable adaptability, to the full range of taste and style associated with any historical and artistic period. The way they can lend themselves to differing interpretations ensure they always exercise a “contemporary” appeal. This recording is the result of a long period of study, concerts and research that led me to develop my own style hand-in-hand with establishing the character of this work.”

Tracklist
01. Bach: Suite No. 1, BWV 1007: I. Prélude
02. Bach: Suite No. 1, BWV 1007: II. Allemande
03. Bach: Suite No. 1, BWV 1007: III. Courante
04. Bach: Suite No. 1, BWV 1007: IV. Sarabande
05. Bach: Suite No. 1, BWV 1007: V. Menuet I / II
06. Bach: Suite No. 1, BWV 1007: VI. Gigue
07. Bach: Suite No. 2, BWV 1008: I. Prélude
08. Bach: Suite No. 2, BWV 1008: II. Allemande
09. Bach: Suite No. 2, BWV 1008: III. Courante
10. Bach: Suite No. 2, BWV 1008: IV. Sarabande
11. Bach: Suite No. 2, BWV 1008: V. Menuet I / II
12. Bach: Suite No. 2, BWV 1008: VI. Gigue
13. Bach: Suite No. 3, BWV 1009: I. Prélude
14. Bach: Suite No. 3, BWV 1009: II. Allemande
15. Bach: Suite No. 3, BWV 1009: III. Courante
16. Bach: Suite No. 3, BWV 1009: IV. Sarabande
17. Bach: Suite No. 3, BWV 1009: V. Bourrée I / II
18. Bach: Suite No. 3, BWV 1009: VI. Gigue
19. Bach: Suite No. 4, BWV 1010: I. Prélude
20. Bach: Suite No. 4, BWV 1010: II. Allemande
21. Bach: Suite No. 4, BWV 1010: III. Courante
22. Bach: Suite No. 4, BWV 1010: IV. Sarabande
23. Bach: Suite No. 4, BWV 1010: V. Bourrée I / II
24. Bach: Suite No. 4, BWV 1010: VI. Gigue
25. Bach: Suite No. 5, BWV 1011: I. Prélude
26. Bach: Suite No. 5, BWV 1011: II. Allemande
27. Bach: Suite No. 5, BWV 1011: III. Courante
28. Bach: Suite No. 5, BWV 1011: IV. Sarabande
29. Bach: Suite No. 5, BWV 1011: V. Gavotte I / II
30. Bach: Suite No. 5, BWV 1011: VI. Gigue
31. Bach: Suite No. 6, BWV 1012: I. Prélude
32. Bach: Suite No. 6, BWV 1012: II. Allemande
33. Bach: Suite No. 6, BWV 1012: III. Courante
34. Bach: Suite No. 6, BWV 1012: IV. Sarabande
35. Bach: Suite No. 6, BWV 1012: V. Gavotte I / II
36. Bach: Suite No. 6, BWV 1012: VI. Gigue