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Bach To You | Josephine van Lier is about to give Bach’s Violoncello Suites an unprecedented series of live performances.

DETAILS

Bach Suite Project
Robertson-Wesley United Church
Convocation Hall
All Saints Anglican Church
Sunday, April 19 - Sunday, April 19 Sunday, April 26 - Sunday, April 26 Saturday, May 2 - Saturday, May 2

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BACH SUITE PROJECT
Featuring Josephine van Lier. Robertson-Wesley United Church (10209-123 St). Begins Sun, Apr 19 (2pm). Series pass: $30. Info: www.josephinevanlier.com.

“Bach’s music is like an endless, mysterious, and mystical submarine vista: regardless of how many times you study it, it’ll always reveal more details.”

I enjoy Josephine van Lier’s ingenious similes. Not only are they spot-on, giving you an almost tactile feel for what she wishes to convey, but they also help you visualize that ephemeral phenomenon: music.

Van Lier is at The Sugarbowl, having lured me there with tales of their famous cinnamon buns, to chat about her latest enterprise: performing J.S. Bach’s six Violoncello Suites on four different cellos, the whole cycle presented several times over in various Edmonton venues. It has never been done this way, not here, not in Canada, not anywhere else. Epic! But again, why on Earth play these works on four different instruments? Is one not enough?

“Not at all!” she protests. “Look — each instrument influences your interpretation in a different way.”

The scheme all started when van Lier, a musician of inquisitive curiosity and rich imagination, decided to acquire a new cello made not of the usual wood, but of black carbon fibre, which gives the instrument a distinctive look and, more importantly, a unique timbre. Then, as if in a horror story, the black cello soon began dragging van Lier into its own dark reality. Its attractive, sexy tone and immediate response to her touch proved quite alluring. “I noticed that my interpretations would now be negotiated according to the instrument’s ‘whims,’ which I found challenging, but also a tad disturbing,” she says, pausing dramatically before exclaiming, “And I had to do something about it!”

Eventually, Josephine found herself the happy owner of four instruments: the aforementioned black carbon fibre; an 1870 French cello which she owned already; a modern replica of a Baroque Italian cello, and a violoncello piccolo, a five-stringed (as opposed to the standard four-stringed) instrument. The piccolo, which, as the name implies, is smaller than the others, is of particular interest, as many believe Bach intended the sixth of his suites to be played upon it, its highest, fifth string making it much easier to produce the pieces’ abundant upper tones.

“Having four cellos broadened my options and whetted my appetite,” van Lier admits. “I wanted to use them for something both challenging and instructive. And then illumination: Bach!”

The legendary Catalonian cellist Pablo Casals rediscovered the score and in 1925, he became the first musician to play it since Bach’s time. The great Dutch virtuoso Anner Bijlsma initiated the current tradition of interpreting these masterpieces in a manner as close to Bach’s as possible. But what about van Lier?

“Dealing with them requires so much humility,” she says. “The original manuscript is lost. Only several imperfect copies exist. But I still want to take on the music in my own way.”

And after that?

“To record,” she replies laconically. This has never been done in Canada either.