Sublime

Today's video is an extraordinary installment from an extraordinary series. The Netherlands Bach Society has an ongoing project to film performances of all of Bach's compositions, and to post them online, free of charge. That in itself sounds like an incontestably worthy intention, but if you've run across any of the videos they've made to date, you'll have noted the magnificence of the recording and cinematography, heaped on the virtuosity of the musicians. There is no quality versus quantity dichotomy here, to put it mildly.

I'm far from being a qualified commentator on Bach's music, but perhaps, then, it is even more of a tribute its transcendence that the Philistine likes of me should take so much enjoyment therein. I can't explain to you anything worthwhile about form, construction, or even historical context, but I can tell you in plain English, listening to it makes me feel like I am flying. This is especially true of Bach's works for solo string instruments, and of the cello suites above all. When I discovered that the All of Bach project had a playlist that included all six of the suites, I felt as though somebody had handed me a gift of gifts. The striking cinematography that I already mentioned adds to the gravitas of each presentation. Again stressing that I know very little about it, I also very much appreciate the use of period instruments, and even more so the general inclination of these six musicians to take these pieces somewhat more lyrically than many modern renditions I've heard. Though the level of playing here is beyond comment, there is a love and awareness for each note and each phrase here that goes beyond mere technical perfection.

I don't think I'm giving away the crowning glory in posting only the 6th suite, (but if you have time and inclination, you can start the whole lovely list from the beginning here). This sixth video features a striking exception in the use of a violoncello da spalla, rather than a cello, but what I found most surprising about it was that the novelty (to me) of the instrument offered no distraction from the sheer commanding beauty of the music. (As an aside, I found it interesting, too, that the stark aesthetics of the setting, which would seem appropriately bleak if seen in a film noir movie, seemed beautiful and even hopeful here, as though the darkness had not crept near to menace, but to warm itself and wonder at an impossible spark.)

 I used the word "novelty," about the violoncello da spalla, as it was outside my previous experience. In an accompanying video, however, the soloist, Sergey Malov, makes the case that it was a five-string instrument (whether this type, held on the shoulder, or the more cello-like one played vertically) which Bach had written this piece for. (There is a CC button in the lower corner of the frame for English subtitles.)