Double-bass player Luis Cabrera releases a historically informed double bass performance of JS Bach’s famous Cello Suite No. 1
On 17 June, double-bass player Luis Cabrera releases a historically informed double bass performance of JS Bach’s famous Cello Suite No. 1 in G major using a baroque violone bow.
The performance of this six-movement work was recorded and filmed at the Evangelic-Lutheran Church in Haarlem, The Netherlands. The recording will be released as an audio album on 17 June 2023 on all regular streaming platforms. The video performance has been made available this week as six individual movements on both YouTube and the String Virtuoso platform.
Here is Luis playing the Prelude from the Cello Suite No. 1:
In preparing for this recording, Luis Cabrera studied the three most important known manuscripts of the work – by Anna Magdalena, Johan Kellner and an anonymous version. He then created his own edition for double bass, informed by extensive research of these three manuscripts.
This new edition will be available to download later this year as sheet music from String Virtuoso.
Here is the Allemande:
Luis Cabrera performs on a Pietro Pallota double bass (c. 1815) using a baroque violone bow, which is much lighter than a standard double bass bow. He also performs in a Baroque style, with reduced use of vibrato.
‘I have played a lot of baroque music with original instruments, gut strings and baroque bows, but always in an ensemble role, which I love and feels like the purest way of understanding the foundation of the music,’ says Cabrera, who has been principal double bass for the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra for the last 17 years.
‘However, in order to play the solo works, I decided to embark on this journey of exploring manuscripts, analysing harmonies and motifs and finding a language to bring them out in an authentic way on the double bass.’
Luis Cabrera performs the Menuet from the Cello Suite No. 1:
‘I tried to play Bach with a modern bow and although the notes are the same, the sound wasn’t right. For this music you don’t need the strong attack and big sound of modern bows, but clarity and articulation in a more elegant way which I hoped to have achieved with this recording.’