"In October 2014, because of the similarity between the bass viol and the cello, I tried to inverse the bowing technique of the violoncello in the Bach Cello Suites. I played the basses on the UP bow.  During this experiment, I instantaneously felt a better response from the instrument and by consequence, more resonance. 

This experience led me to start  a project including: a research about the origins, the setup, and the bowing technique of the violoncello, the making of a new Urtext edition, and the recording of this edition on the most authentic set-up. 

The sound was my guide. My goal was to reach a connection between the vibration of the violoncello and the harmony in order to let Bach's music make its magic. » 

MD 

Marianne began her researches in 2011. She first investigated the technique, posture and resonance of the instrument always using the Bach Cello Suites as a reference. In 2014, as she was still looking for more answers, Marianne moved to Berlin and started to work full time on her project. Once in Berlin, she first worked with makers of baroque instruments, had encounters with baroque specialists, made her research in libraries including the research institut for musicology of Berlin. Following this process, she wrote a publication about the violoncello, its origin, technique, set -up and evolution. She also made a new edition of the Bach Cello Suites and recorded it with the instruments of the project (full baroque set up).

I became aware of the fact that the baroque cello resonates far more when you reverse the bow strokes, which is very similar to the method of bowing on the viola da gamba.

(...) I then explored this idea and began playing the prelude of the First Suite on an up bow, which had seemd to me to be completely irrational. This experiment convinced me, I felt the vibration of the violoncello ad my arm followed the order of the strings in the arpeggios. The idea of reversing the bowing technique seemed to me illogical for a cellist but the more I experienced it, the more I became convinced I had keep exploring this topic.  

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