For those unaware, anyone familiar with Apollo’s Fire will recognize the exceptional baroque orchestra’s engaging and entertaining principal cellist René Schiffer.

Featured on dozens of the Apollo’s Fire recordings, René steps into the spotlight for his solo debut recording with a meticulous rendering of that pillar of the baroque repertoire, J.S. Bach’s Six Suites for Solo Cello.

Deploying different instruments – a 1768 Benoît Fleury cello for the first four suites, an anonymous late 18th century violoncello piccolo with an added string for the fifth (in his own arrangement) and sixth – and multiple tunings, René’s distinctive interpretations are in harmony with his comprehensive and probing liner notes which abound with theories and intellectual insights.

Six Suites for Solo Cello

Disc 1:
Cello Suite No. 1, BWV 1007 in G Major
1. I. Prélude (2:35)
2. II. Allemande (5:19)
3. III. Courante (2:44)
4. IV. Sarabande (2:53)
5. V. Menuet I & II (3:15)
6. VI. Gigue (2:02)

Cello Suite No. 2, BWV 1008 in D Minor
7. I. Prélude (4:20)
8. II. Allemande (4:40)
9. III. Courante (2:12)
10. IV. Sarabande (4:41)
11. V. Menuet I & II (3:12)
12. VI. Gigue (2:44)

Cello Suite No. 3, BWV 1009 in C Major
13. I. Prélude (3:08)
14. II. Allemande (4:37)
15. III. Courante (3:13)
16. IV. Sarabande (3:59)
17. V. Bourrée I & II (2:55)
18. VI. Gigue (3:33)

Disc 2:
Cello Suite No. 4, BWV 1010 in E-Flat Major
1. I. Prélude (3:45)
2. II. Allemande (5:12)
3. III. Courante (3:37)
4. IV. Sarabande (3:53)
5. V. Bourée I & II (3:40)
6. VI. Gigue (2:54)

Cello Suite No. 5, BWV 1011 in C Minor
Arranged for five-string cello by René Schiffer
7. I. Prélude (6:08)
8. II. Allemande (5:33)
9. III. Courante (2:23)
10. IV. Sarabande (3:41)
11. V. Gavotte I & II (4:48)
12. VI. Gigue (2:07)

Cello Suite No. 6, BWV 1012 in D Major
Standard five-string tuning
13. Prélude (5:15)
14. Allemande (7:05)
15. Courante (3:56)
16. Sarabande (4:51)
17. Gavotte I & II (5:45)
18. Gigue (4:32)

Recorded at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, 4–6 November 2019 (Suites 3 & 4), 13–15 January 2020 (Suites 5 & 6), 6–8 February 2022 (Suites 1 & 2), this incredibly impassioned new recording begins with CD1 and Cello Suite No. 1, BWV 1007 in G Major: which itself opens on the sternly affecting Prélude, the cultured Allemande and the playful bounce of Courante, before we are gifted an earnest yearn that threads throughout Sarabande, the flirtatious Menuet I & II, and the final piece being the affecting elegance of Gigue.

Next up is Cello Suite No. 2, BWV 1008 in D Minor: which itself opens on a lonesome ode that pulses within Prélude, the concentrated Allemande and the spirited Courante, before we next hear the accomplished Sarabande, the striking Menuet I & II, the final work being the deliciously playful Gigue.

The comes Cello Suite No. 3, BWV 1009 in C Major: which opens on the nifty Prélude, the dancefloor swirls of Allemande and an arresting Courante, before we next get gifted the sterner fare of Sarabande, the buoyantly charged Bourrée I & II, the final piece being the salient Gigue.

Up next on CD2 is Cello Suite No. 4, BWV 1010 in E-Flat Major: which opens on the mesmerizing Prélude, the elegant demeanor of Allemande and the skittish Courante, with the robust Sarabande, the breathtaking Bourée I & II, and the final work, the rightfully self-assured Gigue all along next.

Then comes Cello Suite No. 5, BWV 1011 in C Minor: which opens on the prosperous Prélude and the steely Allemande before bringing us the authoritatively sculptured Courante, the demure Sarabande, the forthright Gavotte I & II, ending on the vigorous Gigue.

Lastly we get given Cello Suite No. 6, BWV 1012 in D Major: which itself begins on the melodious, at times Celtic-imbibed Prélude and the sweepingly ornate Allemande, which are backed by a flourishing Courante, a decadently debonair Sarabande, an unabashed Gavotte I & II, before we are finally graced with the dancefloor swirls and twirls within the regal Gigue.

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