Sara Lovell. Bach Cello Suites. Vienna SLWL3. Released 2005.
Recorded at Jonathan recordings studio.
Cello made by Colin Irving (contemporary English luthier).
The Cellist.
Sara Lovell is an English cellist born 1963. She sadly died in 2017. There is little information available on the web, but she appears to have successfully combined work as a soloist and teacher. This link relates to a personal tribute from a former pupil.
https://www.pennybrohn.org.uk/fundraiser-stories/keiths-story/
Of interest is a motivational book she authored called “Cellotude-a fast track to brilliance” which has been well received.
Her recording of the Cello Suites appears to be her only release. The reader may struggle to find a copy. I came across a copy on ebay during an intermittent search I carry out looking for new releases. It bumps the total listed on the recording lists of complete Suites on this web site to 262.
The Recording.
Immediately, I was struck as to how different this recording sounds from every other one I have so far reviewed. The cello sounds very bare and exposed! There is no sense of room acoustic. Certainly not the ringing reverberation of Churches and chapels often used as recording venues. The cello is bang in the centre of the sound stage and it could even be a mono recording. The instrument has a fair amount of presence. By this I mean is stands out from the background and sounds forward in the acoustic image.
Although the cello is presumably close miked there is minimal intrusion from the finger board or the performer which is welcome.
Being brutally honest, this is clearly a low budget recording. It has the kind of sound only slightly better than I can produce in my own home. That is, using a reasonable microphone and analogue to digital converter coupled with Audacity software on an I Mac.
Having said that, it does the job. The lower registers of the cello are well produced and with a pleasing resonance. The top registers are a little strained, but the cello used is not a Stradivarius!
The music.
I enjoyed listening to this recording. It has an honesty and sincerity about it. The style of playing is very mainstream and possibly a bit “old school” with vibrato used to generate a full tone. There is plenty of clear phrasing, use of dynamics together with a clear rhythmic pulse. Cross string work in the first and third Suites was very neat and orderly. The Sarabandes in general particularly the fifth were sensitively played.
It was evident, particularly in the later Suites that there were some technical limitations. The fourth and sixth Preludes were taken very slowly. There were some inaccuracies and there may have been some subtle changes of notes to overcome the most challenging aspects in the higher registers. None of this detracted from the musicality of the performance which indeed had an almost live quality. It may have been recorded in single takes.
Summary.
An interesting recording, not one to recommend as a “one to buy” but worth a listen if you come across a copy and are an avid listener and collector of the Suites.
Charles