Hi David -

these transcriptions should be heard as harpsichord music. rather than as
cello music played on the harpsichord - see e.g. Minuet 2 which was the
first one I completed.  They should not *sound* like the cello pieces.
though the harmonic and (mostly) the melodic structure remains the same.
Writing it as harpsichord music required a considerable amount of extra
content in many cases ...

For example if one were to look at the first few bars of the D minor
suite's prelude, they start with upwards arpeggios over a narrow range of
pitch - now if one were to consider the piece as *written for* harpsichord
it would almost inevitably have contained arpeggios over both LH and RH
going beyond an octave range.  Simply to play the written notes on the
harpsichord would lose expression relative to the cello version - assuming
the player was able to use the possibilities of the long-held note.

The same applies to the beginning of the G major Allemande .. the presence
of two hands on the keyboard should compensate for (though does not
replace) what the cellist can do with bowing just the first two notes in
terms of articulation, emphasis and shaping.

I think there are editions online which reproduce various slurs from
manuscript, but these look more like bowing marks to me; they have phrasing
implications, but as usual determining how the music's figures will sound
is largely up to the player.

T

> It is too late at night here to play it through,
> which I will do tomorrow; but reading:
>
> I am sorry, but dont think I could get used to it
> in C.  I play the Minuet and the Gigue in G at
> pitch, holding notes as appropriate to complete
> the implied harmonies.  The Dover Edition (Bach
> Gesellschaft) from which I play has interesting
> phrasing marks, which I think are authentic.
>
>
--

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