My friends know that I have a particular affinity for the key of E-flat major. A number of my favorite pieces are in the key or have movements or sections in it: Beethoven 3, Beethoven 4, Beethoven Septet… lots of Beethoven I guess. In any case, I was inspired by Sean’s arrangement of the Bach Violin Partita prelude (albeit originally in E major), to dive into the E-flat major cello suite.

The fourth of Bach’s six cello suites, it is, in my opinion, the most readily playable on the bass clarinet for a couple of reasons. First, save for the sarabande and the second bourrée, it rarely makes use of double/triple-stops, which can be awkward to approximate on wind instruments. Second, the key of E-flat major—which I understand is a particularly tricky one on stringed instruments—is one that a B-flat instrument like the bass clarinet is ideally suited for, sounding brilliant and resonant while easy in the fingers.

That being said, the bourrées certainly present a challenge on the bass clarinet, an instrument that can easily sound clunky and plodding where a light energy is absolutely key. I like to play the solo works of Bach for this very reason, with the goal of overcoming the technical idiosyncrasies of the clarinet in order to better communicate musical thoughts.

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!

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