[On Stage] Cellist Moon Taeguk's New Album "I'm Captivated by Baroque Music"

Complete 6 Bach Cello Suites on 2 CDs
Efforts to Reproduce Baroque Sound with Gut Strings, Baroque Bow, and 5-String Cello

"I think in my first album, I pursued a soft, clean, and refined sound. It felt too polished, which was a bit disappointing. This time, I thought about a more natural sound, one that might be rougher but warmer and more human."

Cellist Moon Taeguk explained this at a press conference held on the 7th at Credia Classic Club in Jongno-gu, Seoul, describing how his second album, released after five years, differs from his first album.

Cellist Moon Taeguk is performing Bach's Cello Suites at a press conference for the release of his new album held on the 7th at Credia Classic Club in Jongno-gu, Seoul.
Photo by Credia

The second album contains all six suites of Bach's Cello Suites on two CDs. Unlike the first album, which included pieces by various composers such as Bach, Beethoven, Schumann, and Schubert, this time he focused solely on Bach. The first suite of the unaccompanied cello suites was also included in the first album. Moon Taeguk, who felt the sound was too refined back then, made great efforts this time to recreate the sound of the Baroque era when Bach lived.

Instead of steel strings, he used gut strings made from sheep intestines, which were used in Bach's time, and played with a Baroque bow. When recording the sixth suite, he even changed the instrument itself. He recorded playing a five-string cello, not the modern four-string cello.

"Since the sixth suite was written for a five-string cello, I thought it would be more appropriate to perform it on a five-string cello. I searched for one and drove 10 hours in the U.S. to obtain it with difficulty. Nowadays, most cellists perform the sixth suite on a four-string cello, but playing it on a five-string cello seems to have a more attractive tone and resonance. I think performing on a five-string cello gets closer to Bach's intention, so I have been recommending five-string cellos to cellists recently."

Bach's unaccompanied cello suites are pieces that showcase everything about the cello and are both a dream and a challenge for cellists. The nickname "Old Testament of cello music" well reflects the stature of these pieces.

Bach is believed to have composed the unaccompanied cello suites around 1720. These pieces remained hidden for nearly 200 years until the legendary Spanish cellist Pablo Casals (1876?1973), known as the "Saint of the Cello," accidentally discovered the sheet music in a bookstore in Barcelona when he was 13 years old. Casals studied the performance methods for 12 years and only performed them publicly at age 25, bringing the suites to the world’s attention. Moon Taeguk has a close connection to Casals, as winning the Pablo Casals Competition in 2014 was the turning point that made his name known worldwide.

Usually, string players perform recitals accompanied by piano. However, these suites are unaccompanied, meaning the cellist must fill the stage alone without a pianist. This gives the cellist a feeling of being exposed or "naked."

Moon Taeguk said, "Standing alone on stage and leading the performance from start to finish gives a feeling of being naked." He also mentioned that although he has studied these pieces since he was very young, there is still much to learn, which adds to that feeling. "I have studied these pieces since I was very young, but while recording this time, I kept wondering what a performance closer to Bach's intention would be. That made me want to learn again a lot. So, I felt that naked feeling again."

Moon Taeguk said, "I think the pieces themselves are very good and perfect. They show joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure, and are vast in scope. The tone is rough, warm, and human, and the religious aspect cannot be ignored."

Cellist Moon Taeguk is introducing his new album, which features recordings of all six of Bach's Cello Suites, at a press conference held on the 7th at Credia Classic Club in Jongno-gu, Seoul.
[Photo by Credia]

The total performance time for all six suites is about two hours and 30 minutes. Moon Taeguk will hold a solo recital to commemorate the album release on October 26 at the Concert Hall of the Seoul Arts Center. He plans to perform all six suites in two concerts in one day. The first concert at 2 p.m. will cover suites 1 to 3, and the second at 8 p.m. will cover suites 4 to 6.

Moon Taeguk said he has not yet decided whether to use gut strings or steel strings for the recital.

"I have been thinking about it a lot over the past month. The tone and texture of steel strings feel somewhat alien to the Bach I imagine. Ideally, I want to use gut strings, but I think it’s better to prepare more thoroughly for the sake of both myself and the audience, so I am still considering."

He said he is leaning slightly toward steel strings because he is not yet confident with gut strings, but he expects to continue deliberating until a week before the performance.

Next week, he plans to visit Japan to seek advice. He will take lessons and consult with Japanese Baroque cellist Hidemi Suzuki.

Moon Taeguk said that this recording project has increased his interest in Baroque music, and he plans to study it diligently going forward. "I am very interested in historically informed performance. When I was in school, I took all the Baroque classes and even listened to Renaissance music to better understand Baroque music."

Baroque music generally refers to Western music from the 17th to 18th centuries, while Renaissance music refers to Western music from the Renaissance period between 1420 and 1600.

"Playing Baroque music is quite different from what I learned. I have been interested for a long time, and although I cannot yet call myself a Baroque cellist, I am very eager to study it in the future."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.