Bach's cello suites in a new light. Alon Sariel makes his PENTATONE debut with Plucked Bach, a program that plays Bach's cello suites on a variety of mandolins, lutes, baroque guitars and oud, ending with Sariel's own Bach-inspired mandolin partita. Bach's suites are often considered the "cellist's bible," but the transferability of his music between instruments - a practice to which the composer himself often contributed - seems to justify this new approach. Sariel's goal is to realize the timeless and universal character of Bach's music in a diverse sound world of plucked instruments, through a program that employs an interplay of light and dark, epitomized by the first and second suites, respectively. Another goal was to bring out the youthful verve of this music, composed years before Bach's Passions. All in all, this album presents Bach's music in a new, enticing light. Alon Sariel is one of the most versatile performers of his generation, whose leitmotif is a change of perspective that both breathes new life into existing material and creates entirely new works.