Truls Mørk - J.S. Bach: Cello Suites (2005)

Truls Mørk, you have to admit, is a very cool name for a cellist. A native of Norway, Mørk is a cellist whose tone ranges from intimate pianissimos to immense fortissimos without ever losing its essential combination of passionate lyricism and cool lucidity, a cellist whose interpretations range from blissful joy to endless despair without every losing its fundamental balance of total dedication and cool objectivity, a cellist, in short, who lives up to his name. In this 2005 recording of Bach's Suites for solo cello, Mørk's performances are, as always, technically impeccable, and his interpretations are, as always, very hot and very cool at the same time. Mørk's technical command and interpretive intensity almost make it seem as if he is improvising the music as much as he is performing it, but his emotional control and expressive clarity are testimony to his forethought. Less brilliantly polished than Pierre Fournier, Mørk is also more directly expressive. Less forcefully expressive than Mstislav Rostropovich, Mørk is also more clearly expressive. In Mørk's Suites, one always gets the sense of a strong intelligence coolly articulating the deepest feelings of the human heart. Virgin's sounds is open, direct, and honest.