MUSIC
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Audience Information
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Cover Design: Lisa Baron | Cover Photo: Mark Teague | Roee Harrán Photo: Rachel Linkwald
MUSIC
Saturday, September 7, 2024, 4:00 p.m.
Emerson Concert Hall
Schwartz Center for Performing Arts
Program
Roee Harrán performs works by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007
Prélude
Allemande
Courante
Sarabande
Minuet I/II
Gigue
Suite No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1008
Prélude
Allemande
Courante
Sarabande
Minuet I/II
Gigue
Intermission
Suite No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1009
Prélude
Allemande
Courante
Sarabande
Bourée I/II
Gigue
Suite No. 5 in C Minor, BWV 1001
Prélude
Allemande
Courante
Sarabande
Gavotte I/II
Gigue
Roee Harrán, cello
Born in Israel, Roee Harrán began playing cello at age seven with David Sella and later with Uzi Wiesel. Harrán received scholarships from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation. After three years of military service as “Outstanding Musician,” playing in the Israel Defense Forces String Quartet, Harrán studied at the Rubin Academy of Music at Tel-Aviv University (Bachelor of Music, magna cum laude). He went on to receive a Master of Music from the Eastman School of Music at University of Rochester where he studied with Paul Katz and Steve Doane.
Harrán has played solo recitals and appeared as a soloist with various ensembles in Israel and the United States. He has also performed with several chamber ensembles and orchestras in Israel, Europe, Asia, the United States, and Canada, including the Orchestre Mondial des Jeunesses Musicales. Harrán has participated at Tanglewood Music Festival, Manchester Music Festival, Pacific Music Festival, HighlandsCashiers Chamber Music Festival, Fringe Atlanta, and Wintergreen Music Festival. He was a founding member of the Rochester Piano Quartet and has played with various groups, including the Vanbrugh String Quartet. After several years as principal cellist in the New World Symphony, Harrán became a member of the Savannah Symphony before joining the faculty of Radford University and the Renaissance Music Academy in Virginia, where he was a member of the Avanti Trio.
Harrán freelances in Atlanta and plays with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Opera, and Ballet. He founded the Temple Chamber Players in 2023 and received highly favorable reviews as its artistic director during its inaugural 2023–2024 season. Harrán has been a faculty member at Agnes Scott College and currently serves on the Emory University music faculty as an artist affiliate. He plays a Garimberti cello.
Program Notes
More than three centuries later, Johann Sebastian Bach’s cello suites remain the most celebrated pieces in the cello literature for their emotional depth and wide-ranging technical demands.
Johann Sebastian Bach wrote his six suites for unaccompanied cello at Cöthen about 1720. It is thought that the first four were written either for Christian Ferdinand Abel, bass viol player at Cöthen, or for Christian Bernhard Linike, more probably the latter. Abel, appointed to Cöthen in 1715, is not known to have been a cellist, while Linike was in fact distinguished as a player of the cello and in this capacity had been appointed to the musical establishment of the court in Cöthen in 1716. The original autograph of the suites is lost, and the earliest copy is that made by the Gräfenroda organist and composer Johann Peter Kellner in about 1726. This is followed by the copy in the hand of Bach’s second wife, Anna Magdalena, made probably in 1727 or 1728.
Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007
The Prélude is the most widely recognized movement from the cycle; the breadth of harmonic inflection generates a resplendence that ends in the grand elements of its closing measures. The Allemande, a slow dance, is notable for its wide-ranging phrasing and flowing rhythms, whereas the Courante is a rapid dance marked by jumping. The dignified Sarabande is followed by a Minuet pairing, the second of which is characterized by an evocative listlessness with its minor key. The Gigue closes with a spirited mood.
Suite No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1008
The Prélude of the second suite has two distinct sections: the first has a strong repeated theme, introduced from the first three ascending notes, and the second part is a scale-based cadenza movement, culminating in dominant chords. The Allemande has a rambunctious, vibrant character that is technically brilliant. Increasing the intensity, the Courante gives the impression of breathlessness in this toe-tapping section. Set in the deepest register of the instrument, the Sarabande conveys a longing through long-held dissonances and trills. The first Minuet, in D minor with its dancelike lilt, requires demanding string crossings and chord
shifts and is contrasted with Minuet II, in D major, notable for its simple line of melody. As in the first suite, the Gigue is exuberant and reminiscent of an English or Irish jig.
Suite No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1009
The Prélude begins with a two-octave descending scale, passing through multiple key areas, utilizing pedal tones, and bringing us to a remarkable climax of chords, rests, and harmonic triumph. The Allemande follows the descending C major scale shape that defines the start of the Prelude, albeit in a different rhythmic pattern. The Courante has a melodically descending major arpeggio. It is characterized by continuous eighthnote motion throughout—very spirited and uplifting. This Sarabande opens with rich, inviting, and very pure chords, showcasing the natural warmth and resonance of the cello with a clear emphasis on beat two of the measure. Bourrée I is highly energetic and bouncy. Bourrée II is a direct minor key complement to the first. The Gigue is lively. It is filled with conversational elements—melodic and rhythmic figures that bounce between the upper and lower cello registers.
Suite No. 5 in C Minor, BWV 1011
An autographed manuscript of Bach’s version of this suite exists for the lute and has been adapted in this program for cello to include the more elaborate elements, additional notes, and flourishes. The Prélude is in a French overture form and opens by establishing a sense of gravitas that gives way to a bouncy single-line fugue that gives the impressive sense of multiple voices. Continuing in the French style—setting it apart from the Italian form of the other five suites —the Allemande is stately and majestic with dotted rhythms. As in the Prélude, the Courante uses chords on downbeats with “running” notes that tie together the points of rhythmic emphasis, creating a more dance-like effect. The intimate Sarabande has been described by Mstislav Rostropovich as the essence of Bach’s genius for its simplicity and simultaneous complexity. The two strong upbeats in Gavotte I give the sense of country dancing, while Gavotte II offers a catchy 1–2 rhythm. The final Gigue with dotted rhythms and repetitive sequences ends the suite on a joyful note.
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