I'm playing the Bourrees from Suite no3 in C and I was just wondering if anyone had any tips regarding style and articulation as they sound a bit messy at the moment. I know that it is very hard to make Bach sound good but I really want to play them well.

Style: Ornamentation where you can

Articulation: Think "spiky" i.e. staccato

Sorry I'm not much more help

Try to avoid the lower third of the bow, and use quite a light bow stroke. Also add in lots of dynamics and phrasing that may not be printed in your edition.

*sucks in breath* - pet peeve of mine, such a special cello thing! ahem.
anyway, try get a "bite" on the beginnings of notes for the quavers in Bourree one. Make the short notes shorter and the long notes longer to get the baroque-y style sound. I think it's far far better to under-ornament than over-ornament, so I wouldn't advice much (personally I just put a trill on the eighth note of bourree one and that's it). To get the style, try "tail off" the crotchets and longer notes. Don't put on too much vibrato. And most importantly of all, get into the music and enjoy it! Doesn't matter if you're not playing with The Latest Authentic Style - if you're feeling the music and enjoying it, it's going to be stylised according to your interpretation, so it's going to sound good anyway!

I have been working on various movements from cello suite no. 1 for my diploma (on viola), but I have played the bourrees in suite 3.

Although the notes are easy to get right, I have found in general that it takes quite a lot of work to make them sound good.

The most important thing is to get the phrasing correct. Make sure that string crossings sound really clean, don't be too heavy on the chords, don't use too much bow, and try to make the music flow. I don't use much vibrato (if any) as I think they sound better played with a cleaner sound. Make sure that individual notes don't stick out (ie are too prominent) and don't overdo changes in dynamics.

If you are using the Watson Forbes edition, ignore the metronome markings as they are far too fast, and I wouldn't add any more ornamentation than is already there ( just the trill on the chord near the beginning of bourree 1).

If you can, try to listen to the CD of Nobuko Imai playing them on viola. Her version of them is one of the most beautiful that I have heard (and I compare it with both other viola recordings and cello recordings).

Thanks for all these tips, they're really useful!

I was wondering if anyone could suggest some appropriate dynamics? The Watson Forbes edition is marked 'poco f' at the beginning of Bourree 1, 'p' at the beginning of Bourree 2 and 'p sempre' at the beginning of the second section of Bouree 2. Are there any other places where it would be appropriate to change the dynamic level?

Also, the last quaver of the fourth complete bar in Bourree 2 is an A natural (an accidental is marked as it's in the key of C minor) but there is a flat sign in brackets above the stave over that note. How should I play that?

The best thing to do here, Rainbow, is to try and get your own ideas about how you think they should sound and then play them to your teacher to see if s/he violently disapproves of anything. Bach is an incredibly individual thing - you can't just copy someone else's interpretation when you get to an advanced level, so it's good to start early trying to find your own interpretation.

Try taking a section and playing it first very soft, then very loud. Experiment. See what works for you. There's no "wrong" - have a go and have fun!

The dynamics in the Watson Forbes edition are only editorial suggestions so you can ignore them if you don't like them. I think the flat sign in brackets above the stave over the note in the fourth bar of Bourree 2 is an optional way of playing that note. The Watson Forbes edition is based on both the Anna Magdalena Bach manuscript and the Bach-Gesellschaft edition of the suites. It is possible that they disagree about that note.

One way of working towards your own interpretation of these pieces, including dynamics, is to listen to lots of different recordings of them, and decide which you like/ don't like, then work out exactly what it is that you like or dislike about them. This should give you a much better idea of how you want to play them. If you listen to several recordings you will find that there is no single correct way to play these pieces, different performers have very different ideas. You could also try playing them in different ways yourself to find out what suits you.

You could also try having a look at different editions of the suites for different ideas, for example another scholarly edition for viola is the Simon Rowland-Jones edition. There are also some versions that you can download free.

Hi all,
Can anybody tell me the positioning to use in the suite 1 prelud, for the chromatic run in the treble clef part. This is way above my usual grade level, but I am doing not bad. Also how do I stop my bow bouncing on the string changes.
Ta muchly

son of Notafiddle player