Sounds Heard: Michael Hersch—Sonatas Nos. 1 & 2 for Unaccompanied Cello

In delivery, music for a solo instrument has always carried a somewhat Shakespearian soliloquy vibe to me. The character of the instrument and the palette of sounds the composer draws from color the message, of course, but the intimacy of a shared confidence that is often projected in its performance is the trump card that wins my ear’s attention every time.

Michael Hersch’s disc of two sonatas for unaccompanied cello particularly attracted me both for how strongly it makes this kind of connection with the listener and because it showcases the kind of work that doesn’t miss the emotionally engaging forest for the technically sophisticated trees. Indeed, these are sonatas I would love to live with closely enough to be able to play myself (if I had studied the cello and not the violin, that is). Thankfully for everyone else, it is the cellist Daniel Gaisford who delivers the music on this recording, demonstrating a confident yet sensitive touch that remains attentive to the details.

Purchase:

Michael Hersch: Sonatas Nos. 1 & 2 for Unaccompanied Cello
Vanguard Classics

Performer:

Daniel Gaisford, cello

Particularly in recorded form, there is a kind of voyeurism that underlies this kind of performance experience, and in this case that element is particularly noteworthy given how prominently the breathing of the cellist was captured along with the notes. It adds a rich dimension to an intimacy already generously shared. The challenges of the pieces are clearly well in hand and Gaisford is at liberty to fully invest their execution with a sophisticated current of emotional grace. Sonata No. 1 in particular conveys the kind of “high heat under the surface” drama that characters appearing in BBC Masterpiece Theatre productions are so skilled in carrying with reserve for propriety’s sake. The second sonata, broken up into seven movements, draws the shades and ups the complexity, often fleshing out lines with the deep rumble of slow bow strokes and a great deal of double-stop work across registers.

Both works included here reach back somewhat into Hersch’s catalog (1994 and 2000, respectively) and the recording is actually a kind of part one in a series of three planned CDs that will capture a sampling of the composer’s lesser-known solo and chamber writing for strings. I, for one, and am very much looking forward to the next installment.