Cello Suite No 2 in d

The Suite in D Minor opens in a mood of brooding austerity. Outlining the D-minor triad, Bach lingers on the second beat of the triple meter, which is also the highest note in the measure. This pattern—rising to a high held note and then falling back down in faster rhythms—creates a wave-like gesture redolent of breathing. After the theme has been presented in the relative major (F), Bach settles into a consistent rhythm until an important low C-sharp—the lowest pitch in the entire prélude —signals the imminent arrival of dominant harmony. Bach lingers over the dominant before closing the prélude with five block chords whose rhythmic realization is left to the discretion of the performer. It is a reminder of just how much “tasteful” liberty was granted musicians in the Baroque era.
Some of that improvisatory feel carries over into the allemande. In particular, consider how Bach evades an expected cadence into the dominant key, A minor. Having prepared the modulation, Bach avoids the move to A in the bass and slides instead into a flurry of 32nd notes. Nowhere else in the suite do we hear such rapid rhythms. We will ultimately come around to A minor. But the nuance contained in such minor diversions conveys a larger, metaphorical significance that Bach deftly reveals.
During the courante, relentless 16th notes and frequent use of insistent pedal tones add an intensity that is unsettling. The following sarabande is thus well-placed to induce a more reflective mood. With its slow tempo, frequent plodding eighth notes, and pungent chromatics, this movement carries an important emotional role for the whole suite. We are nearer the work’s end than the beginning, but the sarabande clearly holds the suite’s center of gravity. After it come two delightful minuets—one in minor, the other in major—and a brilliant polyphonic gigue. The D-Minor Suite may be one of the shortest suites in terms of clock time. But what Bach manages to capture here is an intensity of expression and control of our inner, psychological time. In that way, it is far from being a lightweight companion to the larger suites.

(c) Jason Stell