The Suite for Solo Cello was written in 1926 by

Gaspar Cassadó Gaspar Cassadó i Moreu (30 September or 5 October 1897 – 24 December 1966) was a Catalan cellist and composer of the early 20th century. Biography Gaspar Cassadó i Moreu was born in Barcelona to a church musician father, Joaquim Cass ...

. This suite for violoncello, like the

Cello Concerto A cello concerto (sometimes called a violoncello concerto) is a concerto for solo cello with orchestra or, very occasionally, smaller groups of instruments. These pieces have been written since the Baroque era if not earlier. However, unlike instru ...

and the Piano Trio, came from one of Gaspar Cassadó's most prolific periods, in the mid-1920s. It was dedicated to

Francesco von Mendelssohn Francesco von Mendelssohn (born Franz von Mendelssohn; 6 September 1901 – 22 September 1972) was a German cellist and art collector. He also became known during the 1920s as a stage actor and theater director. He acquired additional notability w ...

, "a ''Francesco von'' ''Mendelssohn con affettuosa eprofonda amicizi''."

History

Cassado may have been influenced by the Bach Cello Suites when composing the solo suite in 1926. Cassado's teacher was

Pablo Casals Pau Casals i Defilló (Catalan: ; 29 December 187622 October 1973), known in English as Pablo Casals,Catalonian background contributed to the Catlan Cello School and is evident of the virtuoso movement of the 19th century. There may be connections between the Bach Cello Suites and the Cassado Solo Suite. The three dance movements reflect elements present in the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

dance movements, such as adding embellisments as a common practice in baroque performance.

Movements

# Preludio-Fantasia - a

Zarabanda The sarabande (from ) is a dance in triple metre, or the music written for such a dance. History The Sarabande evolved from a Spanish dance with Arab influences, danced by a lively double line of couples with castanets. A dance called ''zaraba ...

Sardana The ''sardana'' (; plural ''sardanes'' in Catalan) is a Catalan musical genre typical of Catalan culture and danced in circle following a set of steps. The dance was originally from the Empordà region, but started gaining popularity through ...

(Danza) #

Intermezzo In music, an intermezzo (, , plural form: intermezzi), in the most general sense, is a composition which fits between other musical or dramatic entities, such as acts of a play or movements of a larger musical work. In music history, the term ha ...

e Danza Finale The Suite consists of three dance movements. One of Cassado's cello students, Marcel Cervera attributes the movements, "to depict three regions of his home country: Castilla y La Mancha (the centre of Spain), Catalonia (his home in the north-east) and Andalusia (the south)." The suite first starts with a Prelude, just like the introductory Prelude to a Baroque suite. The Preludio-Fantasia is a

representing the central region of Spain, Castilla-La Mancha. This movement expresses the Spanish musical style. The ¾ meter gives the sense of a Zarabanda with "dramatic dynamic surges, Spanish chords and gestures contrasting impressionist colors," Eunice Koh Kai’En writes about measure 1-5: Marcel Cervera suggested that the first movement quotes two literary characters from old Castille: Don Quixote, quotes in the forte passage, and Dulcinea, in the following dolce passage. Additionally, the dolce theme representing Dulcinea quotes the famous

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

solo from

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

's ballet ''

Daphnis et Chloé ''Daphnis et Chloé'' is a 1912 ballet and orchestral concert work, subtitled ''symphonie chorégraphique'' (choreographic symphony), for orchestra and wordless chorus by Maurice Ravel. It is in three main sections, or ''parties'', and a dozen s ...

''. This can be supported by the fact that Cassado's upbringing in Paris was while the French Impressionistic period was happening. The second movement is a Sardana representing Catalonia. Cassado's Sardana harkens back to the genre-specific folk dance in Catalonia, which uses unique Catlan instruments like the '' tenora'' and '' flaviol''. The harmonics at the beginning of the movement imitate the ''flaviol'' flute. Other details characteristic of the traditional Sardana form include the rhythm of two quarter notes and two eighth notes. Overall, the second movement establishes D major writing many open fifths to follow the natural resonance of the cello. The final movement, Intermezzo e Danza Finale, is a

Jota Jota may refer to: __NOTOC__ * Iota (Ι, ι), the name of the 9th letter in the Greek alphabet; * (figuratively) ''Something very small'', based on the fact that the letter Iota (lat. i) is the smallest character in the alphabet; * The name of the ...

, representing the southern region of

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

. The movement suggests a strong influence from Andalusia's musical heritage from Spanish guitar technique and

flamenco Flamenco () is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the Gitanos, gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and Region of Murcia, ...

harmonies. Cassado notates strummed chords represent rhythmical strumming of a guitar and castanets of the fandago. The movement is emulative of a fandago with the third movement's slow indtroduction, then gradually moving through tempi of increasing momentum until reaching a great finale.

Influence

This Suite was popularized by the cellist

János Starker János Starker (; ; July 5, 1924 – April 28, 2013) was a Hungarian-American cellist. From 1958 until his death, he taught at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he held the title of Distinguished Professor. Starker is conside ...

. Janos Starker recorded and popularized the Suite in 1988. Cassadó never recorded it himself. The lasting impact of the Solo Suite reflects Cassado's contributions towards experimental technique and extended technique on the cello, evident through quadruple stops (when four notes are played at once across all strings) and notating extreme dynamic markings. Many view Cassadó's suite as evidence of his legacy as a Catalonian cellist, and is "imbued with Spanish and particularly Catalonian intonations and rhythms; they feature expressiveness and vividness of content, clear form, a wealth of melody, colorful harmony and mastery of polyphony." Traditional dance structure is taken and applies it to the solo cello by use of range, double stops, and contrapuntal writing in the Suite. The suite achieves resonance and brilliance relating keys to the open strings.Seward, Dawn. "Gaspar Cassadó: Suite for Solo Cello." Order No. 1481774 California State University, Long Beach, 2009. United States -- California: ''ProQuest.'' Web. 27 Feb. 2025. While Cassado did not record his composition himself, there is evidence from his musical life and editorial markings of how to approach the performance practices. There is still interpretational variation that exists across recordings.

Recordings

* 1982 - George Keikrug; Boston University. School of Music., Neikrug, G., Kodály, Z., Neikrug, M., & Cassadó, G. (1982). ''Twentieth century works for unaccompanied cello''. * 1988 - Janos Starker, "Cassadó: Suite for Unaccompanied Cello" * 2014 -

Alisa Weilerstein Alisa Weilerstein (born April 14, 1982) is an American classical cellist. She was named a 2011 MacArthur Fellow. Life and career Weilerstein was born in Rochester, New York. to a secular Jewish family. She started playing the cello at age four. ...

, ''Solo''Decca CD 0289 478 5296 * 2019 –

Marina Tarasova A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : "related to the sea") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo fro ...

, ''Gaspar Cassadó: Romantic Cello Music & Transcriptions''Alto CD ALC 1391

References

{{Authority control Compositions by Gaspar Cassadó Solo cello pieces Suites (music)