Fanfare 3. Review
Five stars: Henrik Dam Thomsen marvelous renditions of the Bach Cello Suites, beautifully recorded

BACH 6 Suites for Solo Cello, BWV 1007-1012  Henrik Dam Thomsen (vc)  OUR RECORDINGS 8.226921-22 (2 CDs: 133:53)

A new recording of the Bach’s Six Suites for Solo Cello features Henrik Dam Thomsen, principal cellist of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra since 2000. Thomsen plays these glorious works with marvelous technique and compelling artistry. With those attributes, Thomsen joins a long and proud list of fine cellists who have recorded the Bach Suites. But what sets this release apart, and indeed makes it essential, is that it presents Thomsen’s outstanding renditions in sonics that are breathtaking in their combination of realism and visceral impact. Thomsen chose to record the Suites in Copenhagen’s Garrison Church (Garnisons Kirke). In Jens Cornelius’s lovely booklet notes, Thomsen describes the venue: “It is a quite large Baroque interior with a wooden floor, which is not normal, and it has two levels with galleries. This produces acoustics that are large but also well-controlled, and the sound has both warmth and a crystal-clear descant – it is truly an acoustical gem in Copenhagen.” The symbiosis between Thomsen’s 1680 Francesco Ruggieri cello and the acoustics of the Garnisons Kirke is extraordinary. The combination of sonic beauty, presence, and sense of a warm concert hall space are as impressive as any solo instrument recording I’ve heard.
Thomsen’s performances merit being documented in such a fashion. In his liner notes, Cornelius quotes biographer J.N. Forkel’s 1802 description of Bach, the instrumental performer: “When he played his own music Bach usually adopted a brisk pace. He contrived [even so] to introduce so much variety that every piece became a sort of conversation between its parts. If he wished to express deep emotion, he did not strike the notes with great force, as many do, but expressed his feelings in simple melodic and harmonic figures, relying rather on the internal resources of his art than external dynamics.” Thomsen heartily approves of this quote, and it’s clear that Forkel’s description informs his own approach to the Suites. The tempi are indeed sprightly. In the previous issue of Fanfare, I reviewed an excellent Albany Records release of the Cello Suites, performed by Eric Kutz, in which I observe: “Kutz favors brisk tempos.” While I stand by that assessment, I note that Kutz’s recording has a TT of 147:08, while Thomsen’s lasts 133:53. Nonetheless, Thomsen’s approach never sounds hurried. Articulation is crisp, and the lively dance rhythms abound with gusto. As Thomsen comments: “Bach took part in the music at court and in the church, but musical life around him also took place out in the street, and this rubbed off on him.” Thomsen highlights most convincingly the contrast between the vigorous dances and the introspection of the great Sarabandes of each Suite. Thomsen plays a cello configured for modern performance—conventional bow, modern strings, and tuned to 442 Hz. Thomsen’s rich and focused tone, as well as his exploration of an arresting variety of colors and dynamics, are compelling. Thomsen employs vibrato as an expressive device, not a default method of sonic production. That, and his subtle deployment of rubato strike me as most apt for this Baroque repertoire. Sublime repertoire, beautifully and imaginatively performed, and reproduced in state of the art sound. A must. Ken Meltzer