J.S. Bach’s cello suits are iconic. Play the prelude to the first movement (in G Major), and almost everyone recognizes it. The sonorous resonance of the large instrument strikes an easily accessible emotional depth.

Eric Silbin’s book is three stories in one. About half the book is a biography of J. S. Bach, focusing on small details in his life that may give clues to the origin of the cello suites. Another chunk of the book is devoted to Pablo Casals, the Catalan cellist who first discovered the cello suites and recorded them. Despite their current popularity, these works were lost for decades following the death of J.S. Bach. Finally Siblin narrates his own journey with Bach and his search to uncover the mystery of these pieces.

The organization of this book is worth noting. It unfolds in six chapters, following the organization of the suites themselves.

The six Cello Suites each contain six movements, starting with a prelude and ending with a gigue. In between are old court dances—an allemande, a courante, and a sarabande—after which Bach inserted a more “modern” dance, either a minuet, a bourée, or a gavotte. In the pages that follow, Bach will occupy the first two or three movements in each suite. The dances that come afterwards are earmared for Pablo Casals. And the gigues that close each suite will be reserved for a more recent story, that of my search. (9)

With roots as a pop music critic at the Montreal Gazette, Siblin knows how to describe music. Bach comes alive in his prose. You’ll want to read this one with one of the recommended recordings of Bach’s masterpieces playing in the background. You won’t be disappointed.

Siblin, Eric. The Cello Suites: J.S. Bach, Pablo Casals, and the Search for a Baroque Masterpiece. Anansi, 2009.