The cello has always been favoured by French musicians, ever since its invention in the 1660s in Italy, where it gradually supplanted the viola da gamba. Two Parisians, the Duport brothers, wrote the first sonatas for the new instrument and published an Essai sur le doigté (Essay on Fingering) which laid the foundations of cello technique. It is still a touchstone work today. And so, the "French cello school" conquered the world, with, in the 20th Century, figures like Maurice Maréchal, Pierre Fournier, André Navarra, Paul Tortelier and Maurice Gendron: and today it is doing if possible even better, as many new talents hatch. An heir to this long line and herself a radiant and warm character, Emmanuelle Bertrand is passionate about all music: she worked on Tout un monde lointain with the composer (Dutilleux), and is inspiring and creating new works. For this recording, she has chosen a baroque cello, with gut strings, and a 415 Hz tuning. Here it is the instrument that sets the agenda, not the performer. She has discovered a new freedom in this approach to the pages that she has played, like all cellists, since her childhood. Matured over long years, her performance of Six Solo Cello Suites crystallises perfectly around this fine Venetian instrument of the early 18th Century. © François Hudry/Qobuz