THE BAROQUE VIOLONCELLO AND THE UNACCOMPANIED CELLO SUITES OF J. S. BACH, B.W.V. 1007-1012

The purpose of this dissertation was to determine the ways in which characteristics of the Baroque Violoncello influence the performer's interpretation in J. S. Bach's Six Unaccompanied Suites for the instrument. The study proceeded by examining the performance characteristics and construction (form and fittings) of the Baroque Violoncello and by investigating the creation, performance history, and relevant Baroque performance practices of the Bach Cello suites.;Bach wrote for what was historically a new instrument when he composed his cello suites at Cothen. He possibly had didactic intentions in this music which explores the coloristic potential of the instrument. The likelihood that Bach was aware of Italian string performance style had implications for performance in the Cello Suites, because Italian string players performed with freedom and brilliance.;Assessments such as this are relative to a given period, and even a brilliant Baroque Violoncello sound was mellower, softer, and darker than that of the modern cello. The Baroque instrument's fittings (including the neck, bass bar, bridge, and sound post) and convex bow promoted these tonal characteristics by decreasing string tension. The degree to which string tension was reduced is difficult to ascertain because the entire eighteenth century was a period of transition in string instrument adjustment.;Qualities of the Baroque Violoncello illuminate polyphonic textures in the Bach Cello Suites. Control provided by the instrument over articulations and bow changes enables performers to follow bowing patterns set forth in the eighteenth century manuscripts and to delineate musical gestures suggested by choreography in the dance movements of the suites. The Baroque Violoncello can compensate for its softer dynamic capability (relative to the modern cello) by the degree to which it stresses rhythms and contrasts textures.;Changes that occurred in cello construction from 1600 to 1750 make a dogmatic concept of the Baroque Violoncello untenable. Before 1700, many cello types were used. The instrument gained its identity as a single instrument in the eighteenth century when the development of wire-wound gut strings correlated with the production of smaller cellos.