Lynden Cranham (baroque cello)

Lynden Cranham's very earliest memories of Bach were overwhelming, sitting in the huge, resonant space of Westminster Cathedral listening to an organ recital. She subsequently became fascinated (as a listener and player) by the Bach Cello Suites. It was especially poignant for her, as part of the orchestra during John Eliot Gardiner’s Bach Cantata Pilgrimage, not only to play near the font where Bach had been baptized, in the Georgenkirche in Eisenach, but also to play in Köthen, where he probably composed the Cello Suites. The idea of recording the Suites had been at the back of her mind for most of her career, and when playing part of one of them in a chamber music concert a few years ago she realized that she’d found an ideal venue for doing such a recording: the beautiful small church of St Peter and St Mary in Fishbourne, West Sussex, complete with its warm, intimate acoustic. The arrival of COVID-19 meant that this normally busy church was much more available than usual. As one concert after another had to be cancelled it gradually became clear to the recording engineer, the producer and the artist that, dire as this situation was, it provided the perfect opportunity to begin recording the Suites. So, braving the cold (and maintaining strict social-distancing) Suites I and II were recorded at the church in December 2020; soon after that, in April 2021, Suite V was recorded. As the world gradually opened up again, and “normal” life returned, it became more complicated to find opportunities to continue with the recordings. However, Suites III and IV were recorded in January 2022, and Suite VI completed volume 2 in March 2023. This sixth Suite involved playing a five-string cello especially made for the artist by the wonderful instrument maker Shem Mackay.