A decade ago, Barbara Westphal hurtled into chamber music immortality with a superb disc of the Brahms viola sonatas. Now she joins a small company of brave violists who have recorded all the Bach cello suites on their instrument. At first, in the Suite No. 1, she sounds tense and aggressive, but don"t worry; that"s just her conception of that particular piece. Elsewhere, her performances are sleek and modern, but they don"t get on your nerves. She adapts the music convincingly for her instrument, and she takes all the marked repeats, although she passes up the opportunity for embellishments (like most cellists, alas). To encourage our exploration, Bridge offers this set as a twofer. Maybe this isn"t essential Bach (although the original cello versions are), but it"s a fascinating exploration of some very great music. --Leslie Gerber