Product Description

J. S. Bach's Suites for Unaccompanied Cello are among the most cherished and frequently played works in the entire literature of music, and yet they have never been the subject of a full-length music analytical study. The musical examples herein include every note of all movements (so one needs no separate copy of the music while reading the book), and undertakes both basic analyses--harmonic reduction, functional harmonic analysis, step progression analysis, form analysis, and syntagmatic and paradigmatic melodic analysis--and specialized analyses for some of the individual movements. Allen Winold presents a comprehensive study intended not only for cellists, but also for other performers, music theorists, music educators, and informed general readers.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #299827 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-19
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 280 pages

Review

"... these volumes are a fascinating, comprehensive, and incredibly detailed look into the solo cello works of Bach. Recommended for those who like theory and in-depth, analytical discussions of Bach's music." -- G. P., Strings Magazine, April 1, 2009

From the Publisher
"Dr. Winold's book is unlike any other I have read and is...a uniquely effective blending of the analytic, historical, and performance realms....it will prove to be an invaluable resource for teachers and students alike, and should be of interest to any serious music lover." -- Robert Dodson, Provost, New England Conservatory

About the Author
Allen Winold, Professor of Music Emeritus at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music, has written numerous books on music theory and history. He has been an active composer, arranger, violinist, and conductor, and has given master classes and seminars throughout the world.

Customer Reviews

An Introduction to Music Theory and Composition
I do not play cello; nor do I have any background in music theory. Rather I have been trying to learn classical guitar and eventually the Prelude to the First Cello Suite was assigned. I found about a half dozen different guitar transcriptions that all varied and I could not understand why nor put together enough understanding of the piece to make it more than many measures of moving notes to try to memorize - and forget about being able to do any nice phrasing or dynamics. So I jumped at the chance to purchase this when I saw it for sale.

What Dr. Winold has done in this pair of books - one text, the other annotated musical examples keyed to the text and including all six suites in their entirety (note to guitarists - in bass clef and in the original cello keys, of course!) - is provide a miniature course in music theory and composition. He walks through each suite movement by movement and defines the overall structure of the dance forms Bach used for the suites; he compares what is here by Bach with other music of the same time frame; he goes over how musical tension can be created and then resolved within the music; he describes how groups of notes can be repeated in a piece and ways that the patterns can be varied as phrases are developed; he shows how various harmonies and counterpoints are implied rather than fully stated since the cello can typically only play one note at a time. (It is in how they convert this implication of harmony for cello into the multiple notes that a guitar can play at once that the guitar transcriptions all seem to differ - with precedent since Bach did the same thing when he transcribed such music to lute or keyboard.)

I find it fascinating. The books may be a broad overview of music theory with not quite enough material to fully cover any one topic, but there are enough references to additional information that it enables you to get excited about something here and then go learn more - and not so much info presented that you forget that you started looking into all this to better appreciate what are really some wonderfully sounding pieces of music!

If I knew how I'd send a thank you note to Dr. Winold for the month of pleasure I've had with these books.

Excellent and thorough analysis of the Bach Suites
I purchased this book to aid in my graduate theory project. I am a cellist and a graduate of Indiana University. Dr. Allen Winold was my music theory/history professor freshman year. His wife, Helga Winold, was my private teacher all four years. I knew from the moment I saw this book on Amazon that nothing would compare. It is the most clear and thorough analysis of the suites that I have encountered. The book is divided into two volumes in order to appropriately reference the compositional material without trying to squeeze it all in one place or fragment it. I highly recommend this book to all cellists, especially if you are studying the suites.

Whole Lotta Bach
As a beginning cellist just learning the Cello Suites, these books gave me good insight into the background of the composer & his milieu whilst writing them, as well as a thorough analysis of each movement. I figure with these books and years of practice, I may be able to speak with some knowledge of the Suites.

If you're a cellist or music student and want to know an awful lot about the Bach Cello Suites, Winold has the answers for you.