In preparing to publish this arrangement score, I revisited the renowned arrangements by predecessors like Tarrega, Llobet, and Segovia. However, I also felt a certain discrepancy—that these arrangements somehow diverged slightly from the musical ideas J.S. Bach likely envisioned for the cello as an instrument.

Therefore, I attempted to return my previous guitar arrangement ideas to as blank a slate as possible. I proceeded with my own arrangement work, re-examining the material from the perspective of what Bach might have done had he possessed a six-string guitar.

Considering the strengths and weaknesses of each instrument—the cello as a melodic instrument and the guitar as a harmonic instrument—I respected the notes Bach wrote as much as possible. Yet I made changes: lowering clearly bass-treated notes an octave, adding bass where needed, transposing the entire suite from its original cello key to keys optimal for guitar performance while mindful of overall range and related keys, I made various multifaceted considerations, such as transposing the piece from the original cello key to keys I deemed optimal for guitar performance, while carefully respecting the notes Bach wrote.

I don’t claim this arrangement is definitive, but I hope this score serves as a foundation for future guitarists to further refine arrangements that harmonize the guitar’s characteristics with the suite’s original essence.

Based on this score, we have also released the CDs “Bach on Guitar 3” and “Bach on Guitar 4.” We aimed to stay as close as possible to Bach’s original intent and to bring out the beauty of the music on the guitar. We hope these arrangements become standard favorites among guitar enthusiasts.

Related Products:
[CD] Bach on Guitar 3 “Unaccompanied Cello Suites Nos. 1–3”,
[CD] Bach on Guitar 4 “Unaccompanied Cello Suites Nos. 4–6”