9. Suites à l’abbaye, suite

9. Suites à l’abbaye, suite

,
Abbaye de Sainte Croix
Johann Sebastian Bach’s suites
 
Zvi Plesser cello
 
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Suite pour violoncelle n°2
Prélude

Josef Tal (1910-2008) 
Prélude
Allemande
Courante

Arthur Gelbrun (1913-1985)
Lamento
Sarabande
Menuett

Jan Radzynski (*1950)
Improvisation Gigue
 
The idea for this program came to me in a dream. I had just returned from a tour in the US and was jet-lagged. I woke with the idea of making a collage between the dark and poetic second suite of Bach and some Israeli pieces I was working and performing at the time.

Every solo cello work is, in one way or another, influenced by Bach's solo suites. Whether consciously or subconsciously. The three works of Israeli composers are weaved into the dance movements of the suite at specific times.

Joseph Tal – a German immigrant to Israel and one of the founding fathers of Israeli music language – wrote his Prelude in 1937, still before the creation of the state of Israel. His language is still very much influenced by his German education.

Before playing the somber Saraband of the suite I will play the Lamento by Arthur Gelbrun. A Hungarian immigrant to Israel, he wrote the piece in 1976. I had the opportunity to work with him in my early teens and will always remember his kind and knowledgeable voice.

Before the final Gigue I will interject a piece written by my close friend Jan Radzynski. A polish Israeli composer. The piece "improvisation" originally written for a dance company introduces some of the most original sounds and playing techniques that challenge both the listeners and the performer.

The collage will end with the final Gigue, bringing us back to Bach and and his harmonious world.