5 string cellos

[josie]

The cello, in JS Bach's day, often had five strings, I've just learned - "Music Matters" on Radio 3 this morning included a very moving interview with cellist David Watkin, in which (among other things) he talks about how the 6th Cello Suite really has to be played on a 5-stringed instrument. Playing it on a 4-string, he says, is "an incredible technical achievement - like watching a fish climbing a tree" - but to get the flow and tone that Bach wanted, you need a 5.

The interview starts at 09:00 and the 5-string cello bit at 14:35 in this (later there are good discussions of the relationship of JSB's music to dark matter and to maths):

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09k5pg1

There's also a history and technical analysis here:

http://5stringcello.com/english/i-j-s-bach-and-the-five-string-cello/i-j-s-bach-and-the-five-string-cello/

[ambient]

I think they were also fretted at this time too?

I’m looking forward to this at my university in March.

 

http://barber.org.uk/fretwork/

[DJpullchord]

Thanks for that, man.