Rene Schiffer - 6 Cello Suite: Schiffer - Import 2 CD

Credits:

Rene Schiffer

Description:

René Schiffer, principal cellist of Apollo’s Fire, makes his solo debut with Bach’s Unaccompanied Cello Suites! She performs on a 1768 Benoît Fleury and a piccolo cello converted to five strings! She also uses the five-string cello for Suite No. 5, showcasing her own arrangements featuring unique harmonies and scordatura! As principal cellist of “Apollo’s Fire,” one of America’s leading Baroque ensembles, René Schiffer has earned worldwide acclaim for his passionate and energetic performances. This album features his complete recording of J.S. Bach’s “Unaccompanied Cello Suites.” For Schiffer, this marks his first solo debut album—a true culmination of his career. Having explored Baroque music for many years, Schiffer’s performances are underpinned by a meticulous historical approach while brimming with an improvisational and lively spirit of dance. Particularly noteworthy is his unwavering dedication to the instruments, chosen to bring out the full character and color of each suite. For Suites Nos. 1 through 4, he uses a 1768 Benoît Fleury cello. For Suites Nos. 5 and 6, he uses an anonymous violoncello piccolo made in the late 18th century—a carefully selected instrument to which a fifth string was added after it came into Schiffer’s possession. In Suite No. 5 in particular, while maintaining the scordatura (alternate tuning) specified by Bach as the foundation, he undertakes a unique experiment to reinforce and reconstruct the harmonies by effectively utilizing the added fifth string. At times, the arrangement goes beyond simply filling the gaps in Bach’s harmonies; it also includes bold, improvisational touches—such as deliberately adding seventh notes to heighten the sense of tension. This ambitious work, which reconstructs Bach’s musical world from a unique perspective, is a must-listen for early music enthusiasts. René Schiffer is a renowned cellist from the Netherlands. He has served as the continuo cellist for “Apollo’s Fire,” a top American Baroque orchestra and Grammy Award winner, since its founding in 1992, and is currently its principal cellist. He has also performed and recorded with world-renowned early music ensembles such as La Petite Bande, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, the Dutch Bach Society, the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, and Il Gardellino. In addition to his activities as a performer, he composes and arranges under various pseudonyms, such as “René Antoine Duschifru” and “Captain Hummus,” and is a maverick who combines a deep understanding of early music with a sense of humor—as evidenced by his composition of a fictional unaccompanied cello suite “No. 7” (assigned his own opus number, BMW 1013), he is a maverick genius who combines a deep understanding of early music with a sense of humor. Tokyo M Plus