Problematic Sources, Problematic Transmission: An Outline of the Edition History of the Solo Cello Suites by J. S. Bach

Abstract

Over one hundred editions (excluding reprints) have been prepared of the Solo Cello Suites of J. S. Bach, and the reasons for this extraordinary number have never been properly investigated; nor have these editions ever been collated, catalogued and analysed. Due to the lack of a surviving autograph we have to rely on four highly problematic manuscript sources which have over time been interpreted in a myriad of ways. This may be in part the explanation for the multiplicity of editions spanning almost two centuries. The first half of this thesis reviews the source history of the Suites. Not many cellists or scholars would argue with the view that Anna Magdalena Bach’s copy is considered to be the most trustworthy of these manuscript copies, despite its numerous copying errors. This study, however, provides evidence proposing that the very first copy of the Suites, made by Johann Peter Kellner, might have been based on a revised autograph, which could be of a higher quality than the model of any of the other copies. This evidence suggests that a significant number of previously accepted primary parameters (pitches and rhythms) in the Suites have to be revisited, and the alternatives transmitted through Kellner’s copy newly considered. Changes to the musical text in various editions are often due to changing editorial methodologies. The diverse approaches can be best observed through a transparent categorisation system, which can place any edition into its appropriate place within the temporal and editorial spectrum. One of the most important categories, that of the critical editions, seems to be defined historically in loose and somewhat contradictory terms; in order to assist this investigation, a robust definition for a critical edition is provided. The wide range of alternative readings in all areas of the musical text is apparent in most categories. To demonstrate this, the second half of the thesis analyses a number of detailed examples from the various categories. The surveyed examples suggest that repeating the efforts of the past with minor differences will not produce a single ‘ideal’ edition. In the concluding chapter I propose a completely different editorial approach: a digital edition, collating the existing sources and selected editions, in which the discrepancies are transparently overlaid, and easily identified, could offer an educated choice to future readers.