Overview

One autumn evening, not long after ending a stint as a pop music critic, Eric Siblin attended a recital of Johann Sebastian Bach's Cello Suites - and fell deeply in love. So began a quest that would unravel three centuries of mystery, intrigue, history, politics, and passion. The Cello Suites weaves together three dramatic narratives: the first features Bach and the missing manuscript of the suites; the next, the legendary Spanish Catalan cellist Pablo Casals and his historic discovery of the music; and finally, Eric Siblin's own infatuation. From the back streets of Barcelona to archives, festivals, and conferences, and even to cello lessons, Siblin attempts to unravel the enigmas that continue to haunt this mesmerisingly beautiful music.

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9780099546788

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Reviews

In Siblin's world, Bach and Casals have real, beating hearts... He brings an unstuffy freshness to the often staid world of classical music writing... This book reminds us of the joy of exploration, of finding glorious things in the least likely places -- Suzy Klein * New Statesman * Bach and Casal's stories are lucidly, even grippingly, told * Daily Telegraph * A passionate ode to the joy of discovery... He doesn't patronise and writes about Bach for a reader like himself - who wants to know more but doesn't know where to start... What a gift -- Natalie Clein * The Times * A work of ever-percolating interest...tirelessly enthusiastic * New York Times * One of the most extraordinary, clever, beautiful, and impeccably researched books I have read in years * Simon Winchester *

This is one of the most extraordinary, clever, beautiful, and impeccably researched books I have read in years. A fascinating story deftly told--and, for me at least, ideally read with Bach's thirty-six movements playing softly in the background; a recipe for literary rapture. --Simon Winchester, author of the New York Times best-seller The Professor and the Madman <br> Vividly chronicles [Siblin's] international search for the original, and unfound, Bach score...Mr. Siblin's book is well researched, and filled with enough anecdotes to engage even the classical-music aficionado...but the book is best distinguished by its writing. To vivify music in words is not easy. But Mr. Siblin...rises to the task...Read The Cello Suites --preferably with their melodious hum in the background--and you will never look at a cello in quite the same way again. -- The Economist <br> This is rich terrain, and Siblin's book is an engrossing combination of musical and political history spiced

Author Information

Eric Siblin is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker, and was the pop music critic at the Montreal Gazette. The Cello Suites is his first book. www.ericsiblin.com

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