Overtures to Bach Matt Haimovitz

• Philip Glass (1937- ):
• 1 Overture 05:36
• J.S. Bach (1685 - 1750):
• 2 Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007: I. Prélude 02:15
• Du Yun (1977- ):
• 3 The Veronica 11:57
• J. S. Bach:
• 4 Cello Suite No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1008: I. Prélude 03:56
• Vijay Iyer (1971- ):
• 5 Run 07:28
• J. S. Bach:
• 6 Cello Suite No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1009: I. Prélude 03:20
• Roberto Sierra (1953- ):
• 7 La memoria 09:09
• J. S. Bach:
• 8 Cello Suite No. 4 in E-Flat Major, BWV 1010: I. Prélude 03:08
• David Sanford (1963- ):
• 9 Es War 08:34
• J. S. Bach:
• 10 Cello Suite No. 5 in C Minor, BWV 1011: I. Prélude 05:27
• Luna Pearl Woolf (1973- ):
• 11 Lili'uokalani 10:28
• J. S. Bach:
• 12 Cello Suite No. 6 in D Major, BWV 1012: I. Prélude 04:28
• Total Runtime 01:15:46

Info for Overtures to Bach

Matt Haimovitzs continuously-evolving and intense engagement with the Bach Cello Suites reaches a new zenith with Overtures to Bach, six new commissions that anticipate and reflect each of the cello suites. The new overtures expand upon the multitude of spiritual, cross-cultural, and vernacular references found in the Bach, building a bridge from the masters time to our own.

The new album, Overtures to Bach, pairs each new work with the Prélude from the suite it introduces, with Haimovitz performing on cello and cello piccolo. Philip Glass simply and eloquently prepares the audience for the first Suite with his Overture, encouraging an open and calm frame of mind. For the second suite, Du Yun creates a heartbreaking quilt of cries in The Veronica, mingling a Russian Orthodox prayer for the dead, Serbian chant, and central European gypsy fiddle music. Vijay Iyers Run responds to Bachs third suite with infectious energy and kinesthetic rhythms that celebrate the natural resonance of the instrument as well as the composers jazz roots.

Then, Roberto Sierras La memoria plays on our memory of Bach's Suite IV, seamlessly referencing motivic fragments and creating a kaleidoscopic mirage with the exotic flavors of Caribbean bass lines and salsa rhythms. David Sanfords Es War, a response to the fifth suite, opens with a tour de force of pizzicato, then wrestles with Bachs epic fugue with a saxophones wails. For the sixth and final suite, Luna Pearl Woolf is inspired by pre- Western Hawaiian chant, taking full advantage of the virtuosic properties of the cello piccolo and treating it operatically, from the low bass to the soprano stratosphere.

Matt Haimovitz, cello, cello piccolo

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Booklet for Overtures to Bach