Cello Suite No. 1, BWV 1007

1. 0:01
   Opening arpeggio, bars 1–⁠4

   The cello plays the notes G, D and B one at a time. The low G returns throughout bars 1–⁠4 while the bow moves through the notes above it. There is no accompaniment, so the cello plays both the bass and the upper line.

2. 0:30
   Anna Magdalena Bach’s copy

   Bach’s own manuscript of the cello suites is lost. They survive in copies, one of them made by his wife, Anna Magdalena. Her slurs are inconsistent, so cellists must choose their own bowings for these broken chords.

3. 0:60
   Fermata on D, bar 22

   A rising arpeggio reaches D and stops on a fermata. The cello then continues in freer semiquaver scales, leaving the repeated pattern of the opening. D belongs to the dominant of G.

4. 1:47
   Pedal D under a chromatic ascent

   A repeated D alternates with a line rising by semitones, and the cello keeps returning to the D as the upper notes climb past it. One last round of broken chords leads to a full G major chord.

Joins

1. 1:04
   Fermata on D, then a rising scale

   In bar 22 the cello climbs to a D marked with a fermata. After the pause, semiquavers run up the scale and spread across a wider range. The bass and upper notes are still played by a single bow. D is the dominant of G, and the harmony does not yet resolve to the tonic.

2. 1:46
   Dominant pedal on D, rising line

   The cello alternates D with a rising chromatic line. The repeated D is a dominant pedal, and the upper notes rise above it. Broken chords then lead through the final cadence to G major, which is held under a fermata.