THE farewell to the 46th Deià International Music Festival It was a great gift and triple. First the surprise factor, since it was not initially planned (it was a coincidence) to see Zuill Bailey with the proposal of six Bach suites for solo cello. Second, the scenarios chosen for the three dates. Third, the privilege of unexpectedly witnessing the prologue of the tour which will last a year and a half in stages around the world.
The intra-story of this visit has to do with a private trip to Spain by Bailey and the great friendship between the artistic director of the Deià Festival, Alfredo Oyágüez, and the American cellist. An agenda with three scenarios was immediately put in place. I was in the first of them, the Pilar and Joan Miró Foundationon October 24 in Palma. The next day a sort of food and wine pairing with these suites in Valldemossato close the improvised cycle on October 26 in the music room of Son Marroigwhich is actually the heart of the Deià International Festival.
Zuill Bailey recorded the six suites twice (2010 and 2021), in addition to having already performed them in Son Marroig during the 2017 edition, but this time they had the added value of being the program of the world tour.
Bailey, in addition to being an excellent musician, is an excellent communicator. SO, It was not just a matter of listening to the suites, but also of knowing their impressions.. It was the common denominator, the point of union between the recitals of the Fundació Pilar i Joan Miró and Son Marroig. On the other hand, in Valldemossa, Bailey let himself be carried away by his recognized value as a wine taster, which can seem like a joke but in reality this is not the case.
The musicologist Willem de Waal recalls that “the temptation persists to define as farm the series of six suites for solo cello by Bach. He gives two very eloquent examples: “For Paul Casals the series reflected a complete panorama of human emotions, while for RostropovichAccording to their technique, these series reflected clarity (1), intensity (2), brilliance (3), opacity (4), intense darkness (5), resplendent light (6).
Zuill Bailey, in his recitals in Palma and Deià, prefaced each suite with a personal reflection. For example, one of the first suites was a taste of the jazz to come. So what stopped you from associating each suite with the texture of a specific wine? From experience, I can only speak of what happened in the auditorium of the Fundació Pilar i Joan Miró, where the magic was immediate and the evening passed us by in the blink of an eye.
What is interesting about Bach Suites for the cello, it was because they responded to his interest in exploring the possibilities of each instrument, deepening its originality and complexity. Furthermore, it is now recognized by all that They constitute a true touchstone for any cellist..
Since Bach’s own manuscripts have not been found for each of the six suites, and with the precedent of having been relegated to the didactic function, therefore discarded for the concert repertoire, the fact that remains unchanged is that we are talking about its innovative character by giving a primary character to an instrument hitherto relegated to simple accompaniment.
In short, Bach was a pioneer to the point of establishing a precedent in musical writing. And like I said, and if I don’t say it now, The characteristic of this series of suites is to allow those who interpret them to bring their personal characteristics and artistic quality.. We will therefore be able to listen to them ten days in a row with different soloists and live ten different experiences. Let’s imagine that these soloists are led by Yo Yo Ma and Mischa Maisky. Then ecstasy.
Which brings me back to Willem de Waal and completes his appreciation of Pau Casals’ way of understanding each of them as a reflection of human emotions: “1, optimism, 2, tragedy, 3, heroism, 4 the grandeur, 5 the stormy and 6 the bucolic.
In short, each teacher has their own booklet, so that Each time we listen to the series of six suites for solo cello by JS Bach, we experience a unique and irreplaceable moment. Zuill Bailey conveyed this same sentiment. Listening to it, we knew we were going to experience a unique moment. This is how the three dates went, consuming B&B delights (Bach and Bailey).
