Bach: Complete Solo Cello Suites

“McDonagh’s recording is clearly that of a performer at once highly skilled from a technical standpoint and highly thoughtful from an expressive one. Her rendition of the suites is quite convincing on its own terms – and certainly compares favorably with the many other first-rate recordings of these unsurpassed works. McDonagh plays as if the cello is an extension of her thinking as well as her body: there is a sense of unity of player and played that gives the suites a wholly pleasurable sense of cohesion. McDonagh handles the suites’ technical demands with apparent ease ... the elegance and warmth of the performances come through as well.”

“Bach may be universal, but until now no Irish person had recorded these Suites: almost an oversight since each concludes with a jig! McDonagh convinces with her clear articulation, her drive and vigour, and her very meticulous phrasing. In a very clear recording, she progresses in a firm and resolute manner to the truth and solidity of the discourse, without the interpreter's, or the composer's, ego becoming excessively prominent.”

“McDonagh’s straightforward yet subtly inflected Preludes are good examples of her approach, as are the fluidly shaped Courantes. The D minor Minuets convey a leisurely lilt, while the cellist’s inner “swing” and carefully scaled dynamics throughout the E-flat Bourées simply delight. These are fine performances marked by un-selfregarding simplicity, and they’re well-engineered too.”

“There’s a wonderful openness to Ailbhe's performances that allow the genius of Bach to shine through. This album, it is beautifully done, exquisitely rendered, warm sound, and you will treasure it in your collection, trust me. [ ...] Ailbhe McDonagh, she’s marching to a different drum. This reading itself, this one here is so beautifully balanced between the classical and the melodic approach: dance, poetry, imagery - it’s all here in this recording. And Ailbhe doesn’t flinch the challenges of this second suite in particular. Very rich cello sounds sure, but also passionate, highly charged playing: it’s intellectual in a sense.”

“McDonagh's light, breathy cello tone helps give her cycle something of a pure or transparent character, as if McDonagh is deferring to Bach rather than placing herself between him and us. McDonagh gives us a minutely felt and delightful musicality. In her choice of how exactly to weight a fermata or how to handle a miniscule accelerando, in her charting of a path between sentimental and showy, she consistently makes quietly tasteful choices. McDonagh’s cycle is a humble one, but it is precisely therein that the success of this recording lies. McDonagh doesn’t draw attention to herself but instead to the musical line.”

“Bach: Complete Solo Cello Suites - "CD of the Week" February 2024”