The Cello Suites for Guitar [Pure DSD]

As aptly demonstrated in this recording, Petrit Çeku is a gifted guitarist. He plays fluidly, graciously, and elegantly, with perfect control over subtle dynamic shading. This wonderful music, written by J.S. Bach originally for solo cello, has seen many very successful arrangements for other instruments. This performance by Petrit Çeku ranks among the very best (of many) that I've heard.

His guitar sounds wonderfully well in the superb acoustics of the 13th Century Spanish church of San Francisco in Àvila, Spain. This is a venue recording engineer Gonzalo Noqué has used in many of his recordings for good reason. As a listener, Gonzalo has positioned us at a respectful distance from the performer. One hears a lovely balance of detail balanced in the natural acoustic of the venue, enjoying both the direct sound of the guitar and the subtle acoustic reflections of the walls of the church. This subtle detail of the acoustic environment is fragile; it is often the first thing lost in the recording process. Gonzalo's pure DSD recording preserves this delicate information for us to savor.

"In short, Petrit Ceku has delivered a stunning performance of these shape-shifting works. These arrangements are a revitalization of the genius of Bach as a living tradition. The engineers have created a sound image that is life-like, immediate and deeply pleasing. This is a recording for the ages."

"It seems that guitarist Petrit Ceku has found the “voice” of his artistic soul so as to feel the music of the Leipzig cantor differently, with a new expressive force which subjugates and enchants at the same time. With playing that is astounding in its mastery, Petrit Ceku is sublime by playing on the dynamic contrasts, thereby bringing out emotion that is pure and profound."

"Exceptional playing captured with great clarity. I believe this could be one of those desert island discs you keep hearing about."

"This is a performance of a very high level, technically perfect, with great rhetorical skills and a deep understanding of the structure of this music."

"The recorded sound is excellent. The native DSD recording is extraordinarily natural and vibrant. Truly state-of-the-art and demonstration quality. This is the second Eudora SACD I've heard and both have demonstration-quality audio."

"[...] it becomes spectacularly clear that Petrit Çeku is such a gifted player. And not only that, his Ross Gutmeier guitar sounds marvelously in the acoustics of the San Francisco church in Àvila, Spain; richly captured by the Eudora recording team.
As far as I’m concerned, a clear recommendation for guitar lovers, and surely of unexpected interest for others as well.

"Çeku's playing [...] gripped me from his first few bars. His obvious love for Bach's music brings a self-effacing purity of tone from his six-string guitar; gracious, elegant, endearing, with perfect control of dynamics [...].
Çeku's [...] flying fingers of virtuosity and clear fluidity of thought sound almost as if all the Six Suites were played in a single recording session.
I have already put this 2-disc album into my list of Records of the Year. [...] HiRes SACD brings the Auditorio of San Fransisco to your music room so naturally that you can close your eyes and think you are there.
If you are a purist and abhor the idea of making arrangements of some of Bach's most emotional and at the same time amusing compositions, then just listen to Eudora's latest album, and don't miss this flourish of musical skill in demonstrating that this elevating guitar version actually complements the solo cello's original version."