Bach’s cello suites played on the instrument for which they were conceived: the shoulder cello (violoncello da spalla). This recording casts a completely new light on these pieces and their origin.

“…Sigiswald Kuijken… now brings us the Cello Suites on the violoncello da spalla, or shoulder-cello. The sound, perhaps not surprisingly, sits somewhere between those of the cello and the viola, achieving a happy combination of the former’s depth of tone and the latter’s melodic lucidity. There must be few players who start their relationship with these wonderful pieces so late in life, and there is much wisdom and fine Baroque sensibility on show here; Kuijken’s secure momentum and gentle grasp of the music’s dance rhythms are something any player could learn from. However much it may look like an eccentric experiment, this questing release from one of the great figures of the period revival is one of major interest.” Gramophone Magazine, September 2009