Since the mid-1960s, when Nikolaus Harnoncourt made the first recording of the Bach Suites on a “Baroque cello” (not released until 1978), only a small number of other early music specialists have stepped forward to offer their perspectives on these works, among them Anner Bylsma (1981), Jaap ter Linden (1997), Susan Sheppard (2000) and Sergei Istomin (2005). The intrepid viola da gamba player Paolo Pandolfo’s adaptation appeared in 2001. The latest period player to take up the challenge is Tanya Tomkins. She has recorded the first five on her 1798 Hill (technically not a “Baroque” cello) and the Sixth on a copy of a five-string instrument after Gofriller by Dominik Zuchowicz in a delightfully intimate acoustical setting.

A knowledgeable and stylish player, Tomkins varies the treatment of chords imaginatively and avoids the slavish ornamentation of every repeat. There are moments of genius in the demanding Sixth Suite, in the repeats of the second section of the Sarabande, where she artfully deconstructs the chords, and in the Gavotte II, where she substitutes a delicately plucked petite reprise.

Her performances are characterful and heartfelt: the Preludes expressive, the dances carefully articulated. She does, however, take liberties with the underlying rhythmic pulse. In some of the Preludes (of Nos 3 and 4 in particular) she carries it off by making them sound improvised, and in the epic Fifth, she signals the return to the opening material with an unmarked change in tempo. The dances, though, are a different matter. Too often Tomkins trifles with the inherent rhythmic character, revelling in rubato, especially in the Allemandes – notes are stretched and ritards are inserted (No 2) while repeats are perhaps too freely interpreted (Nos 1 and 3). As a group, the Sarabandes are threatened by slow tempi: at her best, Tomkins conveys a palpable sense of private reverie (No 3) and even tragic lament (No 2), even if she does sap the musical momentum elsewhere (Nos 1, 2 and 5). An enormously enjoyable set of discs nevertheless.