Gabriel Martins
Cellist
Bach I
In Bach I, I have embarked on a journey of recording the cello repertoire, searching diligently for the most ideal interpretation of each piece. The Bach Suites are the greatest cello music we have, and also represent the origin of great solo cello music. There was no better place to start than the First Suite in G Major. The album is entirely self-produced.
1. Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007 - Prelude
2. Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007 - Allemande
3. Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007 - Courante
4. Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007 - Sarabande
5. Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007 - Menuet I & II
6. Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007 - Gigue
Released Nov. 2023
Bach II
In the second installment of my Bach Cello Suites recordings, we explore the D Minor Suite, BWV 1008. This recording is one very different than the first in G Major, entering a much darker emotional landscape. From the opening Prelude, the solitude of the singular cello line is at its most poignant: a voice, alone in the world, finds its peace. Like the first one, it is entirely self-produced.
1. Cello Suite No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1008 - Prelude
2. Cello Suite No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1008 - Allemande
3. Cello Suite No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1008 - Courante
4. Cello Suite No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1008 - Sarabande
5. Cello Suite No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1008 - Menuet I & II
6. Cello Suite No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1008 - Gigue
Released Mar. 1, 2024
Bach III
The Third Suite in C Major embodies the purity of its key, with no sharps or flats. In the opening measures of the Prelude, the low open C of the cello provides a foundation for a story of virtue.
1. Cello Suite No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1009 - Prelude
2. Cello Suite No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1009- Allemande
3. Cello Suite No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1009 - Courante
4. Cello Suite No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1009 - Sarabande
5. Cello Suite No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1009 - Bourrée I & II
6. Cello Suite No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1009 - Gigue
Released Apr. 19, 2024
Bach IV
The Fourth Suite in E-flat Major is perhaps the least known to general audiences, but the most beloved to serious fanatics. The increasing complexity of each Suite begins to be made clear here, with the most obscure key of all of them. Rather than centering around the open G, D, and C strings of the previous Suites, JSB instead selects a rich key that requires much more from the cellist's technique. When mastered, it produces a unique timbre: one that gives us a deep feeling of the concrete earth below us, and the infinite sky above.
1. Cello Suite No. 4 in E-flat major, BWV 1010 - Prelude
2. Cello Suite No. 4 in E-flat major, BWV 1010 - Allemande
3. Cello Suite No. 4 in E-flat major, BWV 1010 - Courante
4. Cello Suite No. 4 in E-flat major, BWV 1010 - Sarabande
5. Cello Suite No. 4 in E-flat major, BWV 1010 - Bourrée I & II
6. Cello Suite No. 4 in E-flat major, BWV 1010 - Gigue
Released Jun. 14, 2024
Bach V
In the Fifth Suite we explore the darkest and most complex music yet. The Prelude of this Suite includes the only fugal section in all of the Cello Suites. Bach also indicated a scordatura tuning for this Suite, lowering the bright A string to a much darker G. Given the sonority and gravitas, some have likened this C minor suite to a representation of the death of Christ.
1. Cello Suite No. 5 in C Minor, BWV 1011 - Prelude
2. Cello Suite No. 5 in C Minor, BWV 1011 - Allemande
3. Cello Suite No. 5 in C Minor, BWV 1011 - Courante
4. Cello Suite No. 5 in C Minor, BWV 1011 - Sarabande
5. Cello Suite No. 5 in C Minor, BWV 1011 - Gavotte I & II
6. Cello Suite No. 5 in C Minor, BWV 1011 - Gigue
Released Aug. 2, 2024
Bach VI
The final installment of the Bach Cello Suite Cycle. The Sixth Cello Suite was originally composed for the Violoncello Piccolo which has an added upper E-string. This brings a unique register to this Suite, giving it a specific angelic quality and an uplifting character. I have always believed that these Suites are sacred music, not in the literal sense as with his Cantatas and Passions, but in their spirit.
1. Cello Suite No. 6 in D Major, BWV 1012 - Prelude
2. Cello Suite No. 6 in D Major, BWV 1012 - Allemande
3. Cello Suite No. 6 in D Major, BWV 1012 - Courante
4. Cello Suite No. 6 in D Major, BWV 1012 - Sarabande
5. Cello Suite No. 6 in D Major, BWV 1012 - Gavotte I & II
6. Cello Suite No. 6 in D Major, BWV 1012 - Gigue
Released Sep. 27, 2024
Cassadó
In a brief repose before continuing on with the Bach recordings of the Violin Sonatas and Partitas, we visit a cherished work of the 20th-century solo cello repertoire. Gaspar Cassadó was a prominent Spanish cellist and composer. His Solo Suite is by far his most played work, and has now been accepted as a standard work in the cello repertoire. Being written by a cellist, it uses the instrument in a natural way, allowing for the performer to freely explore many aspects of color, sound, dance, and soul.
1. Suite for Solo Cello: I. Preludio-Fantasia
2. Suite for Solo Cello: II. Sardana
3. Suite for Solo Cello: III. Intermezzo e Danza Finale
Released Nov. 15, 2024
Bach Violin Sonata I
Following the completion of the Six Cello Suites, we move in to the second half of the project: the Bach solo violin works. In my arrangements I have transcribed the keys down a fifth in order to honor Bach's original use of the open strings on the violin. These works offer a different perspective into Bach's style from the Cello Suites, often more complex and challenging for the performer.
1. Violin Sonata No. 1 in G Minor, BWV 1001: I. Adagio (Arr. Martins)
2. Violin Sonata No. 1 in G Minor, BWV 1001: II. Fuga (Arr. Martins)
3. Violin Sonata No. 1 in G Minor, BWV 1001: III. Siciliana (Arr. Martins)
4. Violin Sonata No. 1 in G Minor, BWV 1001: IV. Presto (Arr. Martins)
Released Dec. 24, 2024
Bach Violin Partita I
Bach’s First Violin Partita, BWV 1002 has a unique format, where the four primary movements are each “doubled” by an extra movement serving as a skeleton of its predecessor. In this sense, the human ear will experience a ghost, or memory, of what has already been.
1. Violin Partita No. 1 in B Minor, BWV 1002: I. Allemanda (Arr. Martins)
2. Violin Partita No. 1 in B Minor, BWV 1002: II. Double (Arr. Martins)
3. Violin Partita No. 1 in B Minor, BWV 1002: III. Courante (Arr. Martins)
4. Violin Partita No. 1 in B Minor, BWV 1002: IV. Double (Arr. Martins)
5. Violin Partita No. 1 in B Minor, BWV 1002: V. Sarabande (Arr. Martins)
6. Violin Partita No. 1 in B Minor, BWV 1002: VI. Double (Arr. Martins)
7. Violin Partita No. 1 in B Minor, BWV 1002: VII. Tempo di Bourrée (Arr. Martins)
7. Violin Partita No. 1 in B Minor, BWV 1002: VIII. Double (Arr. Martins)
Released Feb. 7, 2025
Bach Violin Sonata II
One of Bach’s most distinctive compositional hallmarks—the fugue—is prominently featured in this Sonata. Writing fugues for solo string instruments presents considerable challenges, primarily due to the technical difficulty of articulating multiple contrapuntal voices simultaneously. This likely explains why Bach largely refrained from employing fugue in his Cello Suites (with only a hint of one in the Prelude of the Fifth). In the Violin Sonata No. 2 in A minor, however, the substantial Fuga serves as the centerpiece, flanked by two slower movements whose lyrical qualities translate naturally to the cello. The sonata concludes with a vigorous Allegro that features the use of the “echo” technique—a rare instance in which Bach explicitly notates dynamic contrasts for the performer.
1. Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Minor, BWV 1003: I. Grave (Arr. Martins)
2. Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Minor, BWV 1003: II. Fuga (Arr. Martins)
3. Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Minor, BWV 1003: III. Andante (Arr. Martins)
4. Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Minor, BWV 1003: IV. Allegro (Arr. Martins)
Released May 30, 2025