Musicians, producers, instruments and equipment: four separate components within classical music. Four individual components, but when fused correctly, a beautiful piece of art. Here, on this recording of Quirine Viersen, the Cello Suites of Johann Sebastian Bach will move the listener. Especially in the DSD format in which it was recorded by Northstar’s Bert van der Wolf.
“When we asked Quirine what she would like to play straight from her heart, it was Bach’s Cello Suites! This is her second recording of the Cello Suites. The passion of her play, the personal development she goes through, and a desire to perform, makes this a great recording. “As we record in the highest quality possible format we are very pleased to work with NativeDSD to make this beautiful music available to all music lovers.”
– Hubert Koekenberg, BarcaNova Records
Tracklist
Please note that the below previews are loaded as 44.1 kHz / 16 bit.Total time: 02:10:33
Additional information
| Label | |
|---|---|
| SKU | BNP1801 |
| Qualities | |
| Channels | 2ch Stereo, 5 Channel Surround Sound, 2ch Stereo & 5ch Surround |
| Artists | |
| Composers | |
| Genres | |
| Mastering Engineer | Bert van der Wolf |
| Instruments | |
| Original Recording Format | |
| Producer | Hubert Koekenberg |
| Project Coordinator | Elsa Hänsli |
| Recording Engineer | Bert van der Wolf |
| Recording Location | Koepelkerk, Renswoude, Netherlands on March 5-7, 2018 and April 9-11, 2018 |
| Recording Type & Bit Rate | DXD |
| Release Date | November 16, 2018 |
Press reviews
NativeDSD / HR Audio
(An) honest and disarming account of Bach’s extraordinary brainchild. Plenty of spiritual food for even the most discerning music lover. A reading not to be missed. (…) Full of detail, and with realistic dynamics, provided one has the equipment to go with it.
HiFi.NL
Quirine Viersen plays the complete suites for unaccompanied cello on the second album released on BarcaNova Records. The work, which consists of six suites, is a rediscovery for Viersen of her passion for music and cello, which is the reason for the re-release of the Suites.
It is precisely that freedom and possibilities for interpretation that continued to appeal to Quirine Viersen. Born in 1972 from a musical nest, the cellist born in 1972 came into doubt about her life as a musician, partly thanks to the birth of her twin daughters and the toll motherhood took at the expense of her stage time. Quirine, however, found her personal anchor in Bach and gave her life energy again.
The purity she experienced made her feel like continuing to convey the essence of music through the cello. Self-reflection and the desire to be able to show purity forced her to delve into Bach’s cello suites again, while her fascination with the process that Bach must have gone through during the composing of the six suites provided inspiration. Viersen reports that Bach may have considered the pieces as an experiment or study material. “The further you go in the suites, the greater the technical challenges.” Quirine experiences the musical journey and personal growth that Johann Sebastian Bach must have experienced, which led to the narrative new recording of the complete suites.
Recorded in the first part of 2018 in the Koepelkerk in Renswoude, Quirine Viersen performed her interpretation of the complete suites for unaccompanied cello. Bert van der Wolf from Northstar Recording Services took care of the recordings and the producer was BarcaNova Records owner Hubert Koekenberg.
The Complete Suites for Unaccompanied Cello in the performance of Quirine Viersen show the cellist’s love for Bach’s work well. Viersen knows how to convert the (musical) life energy she found in Bach back into an almost emotional transfer of the suites, in which she transfers the polyphonic music to the listener in an engaging way. She makes the many interactions that exist between the voices sound, while the intimacy of the instrument and the complexity of the music are combined by her into a natural, narrative whole. Where necessary, Viersen puts a good dose of emotion into her play, which translates into melancholy or even melancholy, for example, in a piece like Suite II in D Minor (BWV 1008).
But it is mainly the personality in combination with the interpretations of how Viersen approaches Bach that turns this performance into something magical. Quirine brings the pieces to life, as if they were organisms that evolve. She lets her cello speak, carries out her own interpretations in phrases in engaging ways and combines light-heartedness with speed and deep sounds with the quieter passages. The great thing about it is that Viersen’s performance sounds so full of respect towards Bach that she transcends herself in the service of music. Nothing less than engaging.
BarcaNova Records brings Quirine Viersen – Bach | Complete Works for Unaccompanied Cello as a DSD High Resolution release. The DSD edition, in my opinion, sounds just a bit better than the LP. The multi-channel surround layer of the album certainly shows the acoustics of the church in Renswoude beautifully and all (six) channels are naturally balanced. It doesn’t get more personal than this. But whatever version you listen to, You always know how to take Viersen into ‘her’ world called Johann Sebastian Bach and do so in a pure, engaging way. Recommended.
Music: 9 out of 10
Sound: 9.5 out of 10
1 review for Johann Sebastian Bach Cello Suites
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Quirine Viersen’s recording of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Complete Suites for Unaccompanied Cello (BarcaNova Records, 2018) is the purest expression of this music I have ever heard. She uses her dynamic touch to take the listener on a sensual ride, while always staying true to the journey of the music. In soft parts, she draws the listener in, begging for more. With her next surge, she delivers intensity to the limits.
Listening to it on speakers fills the room with waves that resonate with one’s body. Immersing oneself in it through headphones makes it seem like one can feel every fiber of the bow caressing the strings.
She makes it a personal experience without coming between the music and the listener. She is not so much playing the instrument as much as she is unleashing the beauty from it.
Thank you, Quirine Viersen, for sharing the life energy of this music!
Edward Muelhaupt (verified owner) –