Klengel - Suite Op. 56 for Cello Solo (Urtext Edition)

Julius Klengel was best known as a pedagogue and composer of short works for cello. His imaginative compositions have enjoyed a revival in recent decades, yet among his more than sixty opus numbers, only three works are for unaccompanied cello, apart from his scale and arpeggio books. His solo Suite in D Minor, published in 1923 and dedicated to his student Emanuel Feuermann, belongs to the early twentieth-century revival of neo-Baroque solo string writing and was clearly inspired by Bach, as well as by composers such as Reger.

The six-movement suite begins with a toccata-like Praeludium, similar in style to Reger’s G-major Suite and containing echoes of Bach’s D-minor Allemande and Keyboard Concerto, BWV 1052. The second movement, Siziliano, recalls the character of studies by Popper and Dotzauer. A pair of Gavottes follows, with the first drawing on Bach’s Fifth Suite and the second showing similarities to the Gavotte en Rondeau from the E-major Violin Partita, BWV 1006. The remaining movements are a Sarabande, an Intermezzo scherzando in the style of a gigue, and a grand final Fuga, more chromatic and expansive than the fugue in Reger’s G-major Suite. Klengel departs from the usual Baroque suite or sonata layout by placing the fugue at the end and setting the gavottes before the sarabande. Although he calls the work Suite in D Minor, only three movements are in D minor; the Siziliano is in B-flat major, while the second Gavotte, Sarabande, and Fuga are in D major.

This edition is based on the first edition of the suite, plate number 28602. All editorial changes are marked in brackets, and some misplaced fingerings have been corrected in italics. In the Fuga, measure 7, notes 5 to 6, we suggest omitting the slur to make the bowing work more naturally. We are grateful to the archive at Breitkopf & Härtel for providing the source for this edition.

The Suite in D Minor is suitable for advanced cellists and is useful for recital programming, auditions, and serious study of solo cello repertoire. It is especially valuable for players interested in neo-Baroque writing, Bach-influenced twentieth-century works, and the historical lineage connecting Bach, Reger, Klengel, and Feuermann.

ASTA level: 6