Benjamin Krug, cello, one of our OG CMAC Artists and husband of harpist Grace Browning, performed the Cello Suite No. 2 in D Minor by Johann Sebastian Bach on June 16, 2023, in the Sunnyside Chapel in Creede, Colorado. It was a transcendant experience.
This music episode features our full recording of his performance, in which Ben features three of the six movements of the suite: The first movement “Prelude,” the second movement “Allemande,” and the fourth movement, “Sarabande.” Allemande and Sarabande are both Renaissance and Baroque dances - The Allemande is originally French, and the Sarabande, while it eventually became a slow, courtly French dance, originated from a wild Spanish dance with Arab influences.
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 -1750) was a German composer whose music has become synonymous with the Baroque era of music. He likely wrote the six cello suites between 1717 and 1723 when he served as Kapellmeister - or the music director - of the church in Köthen, Germany. They have become some of the most frequently performed solo compositions ever written for cello and have been transcribed for full orchestra and for over 21 different solo instruments.
SHOW NOTES and QUESTIONS:
* Leave a comment [the online equivalent of raising your hand] if you have ever played one of Bach’s cello suites on any instrument. When did you play it, and what was your instrument?
* Were you in the audience on June 16, 2023, for this performance? What do you remember about it?
* More about Benjamin Krug on the Rochester Philharmonic’s website - Ben is a tenured cellist with this orchestra.
* Find out about the 2025 season of Creede Musical Arts Collective on our website.
Benjamin Krug performing at the Creede Musical Arts Collective concert in Sunnyside Chapel with wife Grace Browning listening behind him. (Photo, 2023, Brooke Ashlee Photography)
Grace Browning, harp, and Benjamin Krug, cello, performing together at the CMAC concert in Sunnyside Chapel. (Photo: 2023, Brooke Ashlee Photography)
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