Excellent! From an old ex-cellist here, Sergey touches on the reasons why I have always had a distaste for the sixth suite. Or rather, the performances of the sixth suite that I have recordings of. Played on a normal cello, it sounds far more difficult than the other five, as well as sounding comically high (in pitch). Being played on a smaller instrument, with 5 strings, those problems are conquered.

Beautiful project...I'm kind of floating in mid air after watching the complete sixth suite video and this one...

Remarkable instrument, remarkable instrumentalist.

"I hope for a splendid result" (6:04) .... It is beyond splendid. Thank you.

Mr. Sergey Malov and Bach Society, thank you for existing :)

One of the most innovative and artistic proposals I have ever come across! Trully inspiring..

I would love to play around with this amazing instrument! I'm not nearly the same level as he is but I would spend many hours playing around with this unique cello.

I reject superlatives, but no one plays these pieces -better- than Sergey Malov, nor is there a greater master of the V da S , re-created by master luthier (and a wonderful player in his own right) Dmitry Badiarov. The Sarabande as Sergey plays it is sublime. Kudos to the NBS for creating this wonderful series of videos with these first-rate soloists.

@victoriamiskolczy6336

2 жыл бұрын

I concur, completely.

Восхитительно! Неет иных слов. Браво, Сергей Малов! Твой инструмент звучит!!!

I love the da spalla's perspective due to the absence of the boomy lows associated with a common cello; this gives midrange a prominence which translates into a clearer articulation.

This is a very interesting point of view on how this suite are meant to be played... I never heard such statements before and it's rather strange to think that in all these years since Pablo Casals the cello suites have always only be played on the standard cello (modern or baroque). I would like to know what Starker or Rostropovich would think about all that!

What a great sounding instrument!!

It's eye opening , truly musical educational lesson !

4:19!!!! Wow, what wisdom and insight: "The idea of having to overcome a resistance, and ideal that originated in the Romantic Era..."

@steveparsons5433

3 жыл бұрын

The arguments for a 5 string instrument are persuasive. But equally clear is that Bach did not have in mind the sound of a solo instrument in a vast space devoid of people. Why did the performer go to all the trouble of achieving and authentic performance in one way, only to abandon it in another? Nevertheless, I love the playing and the sound!

With this extra string Mr. Malov should be able to play not only all the Bach cello suites, but all the violin suites as well,(albeit an octave down)! Go for it Segey!

Monsieur Malov, c'est splendide, magnifique, émouvant.

It all turn out really beautifully!✨

Brilliant exploration

Very nice! Congratulations!

beautiful, wonder if a standard viola can be hold like this. Beyond Bravo!!!

He makes a compelling argment for the instrument. The piece (cello suite 6) holds its own on any string instrument, but on the da spalla it flies freely and effortlessy, while on the cello or viola it struggles and strains.

Now I know where my 1/4 size cello went

@yankeeromeoalpha

3 жыл бұрын

It's more equivalent to 1/10 size, but I get your feeling lol

Great performance and great sound! The explanation that Bach intended a 5 string instrument and thus this performance is closer to Bach's intentiins is persuasive. But if Bach's intentions matter, why play it in a huge empty space- surely Bach did not intend his chamber music to be played in an empty super-cathedral?

@MrInterestingthings

2 жыл бұрын

Exactly . But every new person has to find a reason for you to repurchase your 50th copy of this music .Time for an organ to take up these partitas ...

Super like to this project!

Spectacular performance and instrument. Can you tell us the exact scale length of this beautiful instrument? Thanks.

"...must sound easy-going. It is not the intention to saddle the musician with enormous technical difficulties."

Very interesting

Fascinating! Also the German bow with low tension allows one to play chords across more than two strings - part of the original intention. I agree that the cello sounds almost too dramatic due to it's large size - like it's moaning sometimes.

@vukken99

3 жыл бұрын

It is as if the whale learned how to perform ballet in the most exquisite sense..bravo....!!!

Please record all the suites and release it on blu-ray - I will buy it!

@warriormaiden9829

4 жыл бұрын

Sign me up as well!

@nainposteur55

Жыл бұрын

Me too ☃️

What is the tuning of the 5-string instrument? My guess is C G D A E. Is that correct? I notice in the Netherlands Bach Society the bass viol also has 5 strings. Again, what is the tuning?

I want one

3:46 I disagree. I've played the 6th suite on a five string cello, and I didn't have a problem reaching that chord. I don't have exceptionally large hands either, my left hand can at most only comfortably reach a ninth on the piano.

Please, if Sergey himself does not see this post can anyone else tell us about Sergey's 'by chance' first awareness of this wonderful cello da spalla. If Dmitry knows, please Dmitry tell us of this wonderful alignment. Was it Sergey's first discovery of your instruments?

Sigiswald Kuijken brought me here.

Does anyone know why they wet the floor? Acoustics?

@bach

3 жыл бұрын

This was done purely for aesthetic reasons.

плечевая виолончель это именно тот инструмент который я хочу освоить кроме Виолы да Гамба (я виолончелист)

So basically a small kids cello?

@dabeamer42

3 жыл бұрын

Not quite. Maybe in size, but this instrument has 5 strings, and that makes a tremendous amount of difference.

He speaks a Slavic language, is he russian?

@borntosleep5688

3 жыл бұрын

Yes, he is russian

It seems convincing to me that this was Bach's true intention. Now, I wonder why people "switched" to the standard cello though? Surely, people must have played these pieces on a five-string instrument back then but then (suddenly?) switched to only four strings. Was it because five strings were not common back then as well?

@Rh0mbus

4 жыл бұрын

Computer I'm guess here because of the evolution of instruments, the Cello became more popular due to their overall more violin sounding qualities that it was better for larger ensembles and as those became more popular, the spalla disappeared from that group and so most people didn't play it!

I miss heavy cello sound, not pointless dud. Different sounds. Malov: "G#EDB chord can´t be played on a cello." Santiago Cañón: Hold my bow.

@nainposteur55

Жыл бұрын

It can't be played without shifting, but indeed it is possible...

I think that Bach is a musician that is uniquely flexible across instruments, I’ve seen this Suite made to work by even double bassists. But, I do not agree with his argument regarding it’s authenticity. For one, judging by his judgements of playing the suites on the viola prior to picking up the spalla, it honestly sounds like he came to a musical conclusion that playing it on a smaller instrument was better a long time ago on an instrument where none of his historical arguments apply and then retroactively justified his musical instinct. That is to say, his thought process put the cart before the horse. But more to the point, it seems completely ridiculous to me to say with any degree of authenticity that this is definitively what Bach wanted when he makes no specific specifications (aside from 5 strings, which can be interpreted as a 5 string cello) in the manuscript and it would indicate a clear break from the intent of Suites 1-5. At the risk of trying to characterize a dead man’s intentions, it seems unlikely to me that Bach would write Suites 1-5 for what is probably a cello and then he decided to switch to the spalla for the last one only with absolutely no written indication of such. Is it possible? I suppose, but it seems far more likely to me that Bach didn’t specify because the instrument in question was still a cello but with 5 strings. Unclear terminology seems to me to be the only reason this argument has any merit, you essentially have to believe that Bach didn’t think to clarify what cello he meant and then assume he opted for the far less common spalla instrument. If Bach truly intended this instrument, and only this instrument, he probably would have clarified so cellists everywhere wouldn’t play it with the far more common model (da gamba). It troubles me that he says at the end he uses the instrument for the suites, as in the suites plural (all of them), because really the argument hinges on the da spalla being the intended instrument for all six suites and he provides us with absolutely no reason to believe that the da gamba couldn’t work for the first 5 of them (because there is none). Even if you could say his arguments hold up for number 6, and really they’re not very convincing seeing as the only concrete musical evidence is a single chord, none of his evidence applies to Suites 1-5. This sounds to me like he came to this conclusion about the sound being better, had some pretty flimsy justification for using it in number 6, and then decided to play them all on this instrument with his argument as more retroactive justification. A 5 string cello is very likely what Bach had in mind, and the suite is already playable on a 4 string so it goes without saying this is very much doable and easier than the challenge of the 4 string (provided that you care about how difficult it is for the performer). For this argument to work, you essentially have to believe that Bach chose not to specify, but he intended this instrument and definitively not the da gamba, for all six of the suites even though 1-5 are completely possible on a normal cello and number 6 only has the additional instruction of 5 strings. Granted, I don’t think Bach was ever a slave to the instrument he was writing for, the music sounds good even on something as unwieldy as a bass in the right hands, but really his one and only point which doesn’t fall apart immediately on closer examination is that one single chord. Suites 1-5 are more than playable on the da gamba cello, and number 6 is completely doable with a 5 string cello (except for perhaps one chord). To use somewhat unclear terminology to assert that this instrument was intended over it’s far more common counterpart requires a Herculean leap in logic, especially considering the only substantial musical evidence that is on the table is one single chord from one of the Suites. If you want to play the suites on the spalla, go for it. It still sounds good and gives a unique sound and insight into Bach’s music, but do not preach it as the new gospel truth, because it definitely isn’t.

Okay this guy can be my boyfriend imagine waking up to his tunes !!!!!! And speaking of his looks !!!! Hes hawt

The arrogance of this guy is something else. I like what he did and he's clearly talented but to say playing the sixth cello suite on a cello is pointless? That's silly, and disrespectful.

@games17818

3 жыл бұрын

It's demeaning honestly. The amount of skill that is required to play the sixth suite in particular on a normal cello is immense. As nice as his recording is, it sounds about as good as every other recording I've heard and there is certainly no massive difference like he seems to claim that there is.

@charliewootton8748

3 жыл бұрын

I agree. It is however fascinating that he created his own instrument to satisfy his vision, even if it is distasteful to other cellists and violists.

@jackcolson4745

2 жыл бұрын

@@charliewootton8748 He didn't create the instrument. It's a baroque period instrument. Still, he could have been more respectful to the big cellos.

This feels very sacreligious.

This man is seriously delusional. Another guy who claims authenticity based on simplistic analysis of history. The advantage of the 4 stringed cello is you can create far more tension, particularly in the upper register climax of the piece. There are advantages of the spalla that can show the potential of this piece, but also numerous disadvantages as well. This is simply another instance of how Bach's music doesn't cater to a particular instrument, look at how many transcriptions he writes for a given piece that he particularly likes. Much of his instrumental compositions are not even truly instrumental, they're rooted in vocal traditions. Likewise, even the dance movements are not true Baroque dance movements when one isn't blind and analyzes the music without historical bias.

@nextlifeonearth

3 жыл бұрын

I'm with Malov on this. Creating more tension because of 4 strings is much more subjective and with doubtful truth to it than actually being able to play the chords and having the score mention 5 strings should be conclusive. Fact is this instrument was used in the time, the piece is more playable because of the extra string and was historically named interchangeably with the "normal" violoncello. If your honestly think created "tension" because of one string less is sufficient to discard his arguments and warrants calling him delusional, then I dunno what to tell you. I see projection.

@s.l5787

3 жыл бұрын

@@nextlifeonearth There is ZERO historical evidence for the da spalla, only some 5 stringed instrument where most likely candidate is viola pomposa or violoncello piccolo. The only reason Bach specified 5 strings was most likely to extend the range of his composition, rather than some necessity due to the sound of a 5 string instrument. Writing it on 4 strings would have been too difficult for cellists in his era. Greater tension due to 4 strings is not a subjective thing, it's a fact that upper registers on the A string will be heavier than playing on an extended E string.

@nextlifeonearth

3 жыл бұрын

@@s.l5787 It's a subjective thing, because it being an advantage is not objective. It's not even significant and if you want your tension, you can just play the note on the next string, if you think that helps. I have read manuscripts (ie: Ferrara) mentioning a violoncello/viola da Spalla. It wasn't described much, so it has been "reinvented". They have historically been depicted in frescoes in Italy. There is plenty of historical evidence.

@s.l5787

3 жыл бұрын

@@nextlifeonearth There were a wide variety of 5 string instruments in Bach's time, hardly any were standardized. IN the most trustworthy manuscript of A.M. Bach, there is no indication, simply a tuning method is given. And no it's not subjective if you pay attention to why and how Bach shape his line at all. Go listen to Maisky play the 6th prelude, with his 'romantic' interpretation he gets far closer to the truth of Bach's structure than Malov ever will.

@nextlifeonearth

3 жыл бұрын

@@s.l5787 Maisky, who uses an endpin and modern bow with modern techniques? And you think you know better than people who dedicated their lives to researching these topics? And I seriously doubt your authority on "the truth of Bach's structure". It's fine if you prefer another interpretation, but don't pretend you know any better than these musical historians or what Bach intended. Just looking at the score through your musical lens will not match another's.