Dancing With Bach: A Tactile Deconstruction of the Sixth Unaccompanied Cello Suite

Abstract

The Bach Cello Suites are a foundational part the modern cellist’s repertoire, and are therefore a recurring subject within academic discourse. The Sixth Suite in D Major (Suite VI) presents unique issues in both performance and academia, as it was not written for the standard modern four-string cello, but for an instrument with an additional upper E string. This project is born from a similar intent to researchers who have come before me: seeking to better understand the enigmatic suites, and Bach’s authorial intent. This informs my first research ques- tion: how can I reimagine Bach’s Original Thoughts from a tactile perspective? During the course of this pursuit, I discovered that I could not gain a holistic understanding of Suite VI as a performer and composer until I understood the performance experience as an intricate choreography. This project is concerned with the physicality of Suite VI, but also with the consequent understand- ing of music as being tactile as well as aural. In likening the tactility of playing the cello to a ‘dance’ for the left hand, I describe my own experience of performing the Suite - a highly complex ‘dance' on the four-string cello - as a series of physical gestures strung together into a micro-chore- ography. A process of data collection and analysis to do with my own left hand’s performance was aided by the comparative use of a five-string cello. This is documented throughout this project in the form of both practice video diaries, and a new notation system that depicts physical gesture. The research presented in this exegesis manifests in a new composition that explores the notions of both touch and sound as equal partners within the music, using the physicality of Suite VI itself as a palette of physical gestures from which I draw. The process of writing this work addresses my sec- ond research question: how can I apply an understanding of music performance as physical gesture to a compositional methodology? The resulting composition, presented through live performance, aims to achieve a choreographed solo cello performance that has been designed with physical intentionality. It is aurally distinct from Suite VI, but is tactually reminiscent of it.