Edgar Meyer - J.S. Bach: Unaccompanied Cello Suites Performed on Double Bass (2000)

The versatility of Bach's music has been explored in a number of recordings. Most often the music survives the transition, for with Bach, composition was a universal language, something sublime and expressive which was not connected with particular instruments or idioms. In this recording Edgar Meyer performs the Cello Suites of Bach on a double bass, which is a less radical choice than some other transcriptions, but nonetheless an interesting one. The bass provides a deeper, more substantive sound than the cello, and in this case, a surprising nimbleness of touch. Meyer is the kind of virtuoso that makes one forget the difficulty and hear only the music. The Suite No. 5 in particular takes on a rangier sound, and permits some emotional ideas not typically heard from these pieces. The beauty of these solo pieces remains intact, and we are able to glimpse them as such from a unique and fresh angle.