Inspiring Bach Cello Suites

On Wednesday night the final concert of the Subscription Concert Series season was given in the Beldam Hall by Joseph Crouch (cello) and Stephen Devine (harpsichord/piano).

It was an inspirational concert. Joseph is a renowned baroque cellist, who took us on a journey through the centuries, looking at Bach and his impact on later generations of musicians. He transported us with performances of two of the famous unaccompanied suites on a baroque instrument with an elegance and poise seldom heard. It was a rare treat for the audience to hear these pieces played on the sort of instrument for which they were written.

Joseph took the time to explain to us the difference that the gut strings and very differently shaped bow makes to the sound and articulation of the music, and enthralled us with his fascinating journey through the centuries. He demonstrated, on a later cello, some of the re-workings of Bach’s suites, preludes and fugues that composers such as Mozart, Schumann and Busoni made. Stephen Devine, a great early keyboard expert, accompanied on piano, and on our very own Repton harpsichord, declaring it to be precisely the sort of instrument that would have been used at the time and happily, in perfect condition.

Earlier in the day he had taken time out to work with one of our grade 8 cellists Lucy McSweeny, as she prepares to play Bach in her exam next week.

It was a concert to remember. One audience member remarked in the interval ‘that was worth the whole subscription fee alone....’