Mr. Neher,

I'm writing a paper about the different transcriptions for bass of the 2nd Suite for Solo Cello by Bach.

The big question I have is:

should it be played in the same key/pitch as the original, or should one play it transposed, in order to be able to play more with sound/style?

I would really appreciate your help!

Fabienne Kramer

You play Bach on the Bass? :hmm: Ha! :) just kidding... of COURSE we play Bach on the bass, and any other instrument too. So, I NEVER say one SHOULD play it in a particular key. And every player may choose what key will be comfortable to play in. I don't think it is necessary to specify that it MUST be in the original key, however, I do believe that Bach chose his keys very carefully, especially for the cello suites, because each, on the cello, has a certain sonority and in Bach's time each key had certain emotional and even spiritual meanings (d minor, vs c major etc). So, if one keeps that in mind, one would do well to keep in the orginal key and octave. But the bass sounds SO MUCH different than the cello, so I think one could argue that, say D instead of G or E minor instead of G minor, might lend the mood, on the bass, more closely to what Bach intended for mood. But ALL that is subjective. What a player SHOULD do is pick a key that fits with how he/she is interpreting the work... not whether one key is "easier" than another. Frankly, for me and my bass, I find the sonorities of all the original keys and octaves work best (except the sixth suite which I prefer transposed to G). Hope this seems to help. Good Luck! :hyper:
PN

Thank you for your answer!
the reason why I question the key is, that when I listen to a recording by Starker, and then compare it with a recording by a bass player that uses the same octave, the version by the bass sounds "shallow" and not "bassy" enough.(don't know any other word, this isn't supposed to sound so negative.)

Unfortunately, I don't have a recording in a different key to compare it to the cello version. Now I am not sure if a different key would make it sound "rounder" or not!
However, when I play the prelude I am not so sure whether the d-minor sounds less then the a-minor, and most of the really good bass players seem to play it in the original key....

Thank you again.
Fabienne