Jacqueline du Pré - Her Early BBC Recordings, Volume 1: Bach, Britten, Falla (1989)

With the appearance of the excellent "les intouvables" collection of du Pre's EMI recordings, a codification which includes a sampling of most everything, why on earth would one opt to glance at the individual selections? The reasons are twofold: First, with the collection one may hear the works together, never fully appreciating their accomplishments individually and that in order to experience the mastery and history of the recordings one might choose to hear them separately. Second, the works as separately released also carry in addition to a complete chronolgic and historic arrangement (see e.g., the last Haydn concerto), the individual recordings coprise additional works meant to be included within their respective final format. Experiencing here individual recordings is something like carefully exmaning the chinks and flecks of crystal dust taken from a larger shard of quartz: they refract as much in their own brilliance disassembled and apart from the main as they do when seen together. Du Pre's early BBC recordings, while perhaps less exemplary of her larger talent (as with her Elgar), are instructive. Bach and the Suites for Unaccompanied Violincello, you ask? By someone not yet in her twenties? What of the mastery and excellence of Casals, Rostropovich, Mainardi? Why waste time on a demigod? The early recordings allow one to see exactly how du Pre interpreted the works at such an age before more fully maturing. Here -and one only catches glimpses and flashes of this brilliance- the young but very competent cellist displays artistry par with (or tempered by) her virtuosity where unaccompaniment (sans Barenboim) can reach levels of their own excellence. Part dramatic, part contemplative, the pace varies and offers some surprises. Luminous, near-clairvoyant sense of rhythym and eloquence.