I will confidently say Bach is king of writing a good melodic line. In his most famous cello suite he keeps the listener’s attention by giving us a simple melodic line to follow while keeping things interesting with his iconic harmonies. Minuet 1 is cheery, light, and playful. Bach opens the dance floor in G major and keeps the waltz smooth and bright without much harmonic interruption. He begins to create tension in the B section by slipping into e minor territory, but quickly brings us back to our airy dance ending with a curtsy on tonic.
In Minuet 2, Bach hits us with melodrama straight out the gate in g minor. Tension builds as Bach frequently switches between octaves. In the B section Bach keeps us suspended in the tenor register, which on both cello and Bassoon is considered the most human voice like range of these instruments. Just as the harmonies get more intricate Bach expertly brings us back to “home base” ending on a low G. The emotional ride is over. We head back to Minuet 1 for a quick revisit and end our journey just as we began.
Bach creates such amazing sound spaces with very few tricks and that is why I will always enjoy performing his music. Hope you enjoy!
