Casals & Bach

August 1954, aged 77, Pablo Casals performs Bach’s G-Major Suite for solo cello at Abbaye Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa near Prades in the French Pyrénées.

In an ancient abbey in the south of France I once heard invisible plainsong. I realised eventually that it came not from speakers, nor from monks hidden behind a screen, but from a fellow tourist who sang as he moved through the building, exploring its rich acoustics. It was surprising and beautiful. How amazing it would have been to discover Casals playing Bach.

Bach Unwrapped is a year long series of over 70 concerts throughout 2013 at Kings Place, London.

Frames of reference

5 thoughts on “Casals & Bach”

  1. when I’m working I often listen to monastic music by Hildegarde von Bingen . Her songs have great titles like Columba Aspexit or O Viridissima Virga which apparently means ‘O greenish branch hail’

      1. by the way the Casals film is really interesting, a nice balance of emotion and no nonsense playing, he hits the bass notes with such a dignified authority.

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