Alexander Suleiman and Antonio Clavijo Rojas, cellos

BACH REGROUNDED I
Bach: "Bourrée+" – Bourrées newly heard
Loboda: Meditation on Bach's Prelude (World Premiere Recording & First Release)

With BACH REGROUNDED, cellists Alexander Suleiman and Antonio Clavijo Rojas open a new soundscape; in the Bourrées from Bach’s Third Cello Suite they unite their expertise of historically informed performance and contemporary music, each adding an improvised bass line in turn. This release also contains the moving world premiere recording of Igor Loboda’s “Meditation on Bach’s Prelude” for solo cello, which the composer has dedicated to Alexander Suleiman.

The Bourrées from Bach’s Third Suite for Solo Cello are among the most charming and beloved pieces of the entire cycle. In usual performance practice one follows the classical da-capo form: after the second Bourrée the first is repeated once more.
For this recording, which forms one of the inaugurations of the new BACH REGROUNDED series, we have consciously chosen a different path. Since we had multiple versions of each movement available — each with its own improvised bass line generated in the moment of making music — it seemed appealing not to reduce this diversity, but to make it perceptible. Thus the first Bourrée is heard in three different guises, the second in two: five little “snapshots” of the same music, each time newly colored by the spontaneous invention of a bass line.
This approach opens up a special experience for the listener. Repetition does not become mere confirmation of the familiar, but a journey of discovery: one recognizes the familiar themes, but at the same time senses transformation through new harmonies, embellishments, rhythmic accents, and tonal shading. Especially in the contrast of multiple versions it becomes evident how adaptable Bach’s music is — how it breathes, dances, and repeatedly finds new forms of expression.
Our decision to depart from the traditional da-capo form is thus less a break with tradition than a return to its spirit: Bach wrote dance movements that live through vitality and motion, not through static repetition. In this sense BACH REGROUNDED is an invitation to hear what is familiar multiple times — and each time to discover it anew.

With “Meditation on Bach’s Prelude” by the Georgian composer Igor Loboda, played by cellist Alexander Suleiman, the new series BACH REGROUNDED began on the TYXart label, and presents another milestone in the artistic dialogue between composer and interpreter. The work is based on the Prelude of the Second Suite for Solo Cello by Johann Sebastian Bach: initially it follows its harmonic development, before unfolding into Loboda’s own musical language. This world premiere recording is exemplary for the idea of the series:
first to illuminate Bach’s music from new perspectives — whether through improvised extensions or through contemporary works that draw on his compositions, followed by other composers.

Igor Loboda (b. 1956, Tbilisi) is a Georgian violinist and composer who has been a member of the Georgian Chamber Orchestra since 1981. His music artfully blends Georgian and Russian folk traditions with touches of jazz and neoclassicism, characterized by a distinctive fusion of mischievous wit and profound emotional depth, conveyed through a richly narrative tonal language. Loboda’s prolific output—comprising approximately 150 compositions—spans symphonies, concertos, chamber music, piano pieces, and vocal works, and is published in Germany by Edition Schott. His works have been performed by celebrated artists such as Gidon Kremer and Lisa Batiashvili in illustrious venues including the Berlin Philharmonie and the Elbphilharmonie.

Alexander Suleiman is an internationally acclaimed cellist who has appeared with leading orchestras worldwide. He combines historical performance practice with contemporary music, has premiered compositions by composers such as Franz Hummel and Anlun Huang, and has been honored with the “Opus Klassik” award among others. Together with violinist Corinne Chapelle and the Georgian Chamber Orchestra Ingolstadt under the baton of Markus Poschner, he did the world-premiere recording of Loboda’s Concert Ballade for Violin, Violoncello and Chamber Orchestra.

Further recordings at TYXart's new series BACH REGROUNDED are in planning already.

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