What do Jimmy Page and J.S. Bach have in common?

What indeed?  Well, as Eric Siblin writes in The Cello suites: J.S. Bach, Pablo Casals, and the search for a Baroque masterpiece, they could both compose a pretty heavy riff!

Led Zeppelin is only mentioned briefly in Siblin's book: the focus is on Bach and Casals, the famous Catalan cellist who happened upon a dusty copy of Bach's Cello Suites in 1890, and made the interpretation of what is now every classical cellist's bible, his life's work.

I once read somewhere that writing about music (and reviewing it) is difficult to do well, because our response to music is so subjective, so emotional, that words alone can't create an accurate aural picture. In fact, it was suggested that writing about music is a futile endeavour. This might have been true years ago, but it's not the case any more. Now there are many ways we can instantly compare how a piece is described with how it sounds, and one of my favourites is Naxos.

Using this online music library definitely increased my enjoyment of Siblin's book.  Bach wrote 6 suites, and Siblin divides his book into 6 sections, with chapters based on the movements within each suite.  So, when he describes the moment, about 2 minutes into the Prelude of Suite No.4, where "a trap door opens to reveal a swirling cluster of exotic semitones," rather than simply imagining it, you can look it up on Naxos and listen for yourself.

Another way to use Naxos is to listen to different artists' interpretations of the pieces.  Countless cellists have made recordings of the suites, including Mischa Maisky, Peter Wispelwey, Yo-Yo Ma and Phoebe Carrai.  Mario Brunello played them at the top of Mount Fuji!

Siblin's book is a great read, for serious musicians and armchair listeners alike. Although a lot of research went into The cello suites, the end result is anything but dry. To further entice you, here's a rare film recording of Casals playing Suite No.1 in 1954 at the age of 78.  Enjoy!