Pau Casals: Bach Cello Solo Nr.1, BWV 1007 (8.1954)
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- Опубліковано 8 лют 2025
- (written by win081, June 10, 2011)
In August 1954, at age of 77 Pau Casals (1876-1973) performed Bach's G-Major Cello Solo at Abbaye "Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa", a Catholic monastery located south of the small border town Prades in France (Catalonia of Spain is on the other side of border). Pau Casals settled in Prades in earlier 1940's after the Spanish civil war in 1930's, and he came back to Prada as the conductor and cellist at "Prades Festival" in 1950's. A small museum in Prades is dedicated to the memory of Pablo Casals.
Pau Casals was one of very few politically active classic music musicians who aligned themselves politically with the American government. He was an ardent supporter for Second Spanish Republic in 1930's. At age 85, he played at White House for J.F. Kennedy who rewarded him the "(American) Presidential Medal of Freedom" two years later in 1963.
Arguably this filmed 1954 performance probably is not at the best of Pau Casals. Most critics consider that the best performances of Pau Casals on Bach Cello Solo are back in late 1930's and that exist only in audio recordings under EMI label.
I met Casals in San Juan in 1972. He was of the highest caliber of human, encouraged me in my own cello practice, and was so kind. I saw him perform a number of times and each time touched my heart and is something I’ll never forget.
You are both lucky and talented!
Casals, then in his nineties, was asked why he still practiced 4-5 hours a day he replied: "Because I believe I am making progress".
Wow.
Wow.
I actually started searching his videos after someone said this about him...
@@LavenderValley777 same here
John C maxwell book i loved
So wonderful!!! I met Casals at a concert he conducted when I was in my teens. I ran up on to the stage after the concert in the hopes of meeting him. As I was trying to get my cello teacher, David Soyer's attention in the dressing room, I looked behind me and there sat Casals in a big armchair looking at me. I ran into his arms and burst into tears. He held my face in his hands and smiled and shook his head for me not to cry. I was too overwhelmed to speak and ran out as quickly as I had run in. It was an very emotional experience for me. Many years later, my friend Jackie Du Pre told me her husband Danny had been with Casals and apparently Casals spoke of the encounter. Jackie said "Was that you Christine?" I was amazed, laughed and said yes, it was. I had always wondered if the experience was emotional for him too. Thanks for posting! :)
Christine Newland I cry just reading about this encounter.
What a beautiful story. It seems he was a very modest, humble and ofcourse exceptional soul. Thankyou for sharing your lovely memories.
Thank you .
Christine Newland What a Beautiful experience🌹 I can see why you cried as this man is a Legend& the cello is such an emotive deep instrument.. I study him frm time to time.Have not played the cello since I was 13,,am 45 now and still have my cello book frm 32 yrs ago..The first song on this tract I would like to learn first..🕊️
What a beautiful soul, you are.
my son and I are bass players (rock and roll baby). Anyway I showed him this and he was blown away. after getting the sheet music he was humbled. he admitted how much he had to learn. believe me, that was a huge deal. thanks for posting this.
I listen to other cello masters this same piece, then I come back to Casals and I realise he has been the master of masters.
My favorite of all...soy Boricua y el Maestro Casals fue un hijo adoptivo de Puerto Rico...thanks!!!
❤
J'adore sa fraîcheur, sa passion, sa sincérité, j'adore ses beugs, sa tendresse et sa puissance. Je l'aime tout à fait.
I used to have these on tape. When you listened on headphones you heard him 'humming' at times. I found that so sublime, he was entirely wrapped up in the music. Sadly I lent my tapes out and never got them back.
Amazing - just like Gould. I wish I could hear the version from your tapes.
Thank you for posting this!
Casals found an old copy of these suites in a shop he visited with his father in his teens.
he was so awe struck by these suites that he practised them on and off for twelve years before he dared to play them in public.
To the best of my knowledge he was the first to do so.
We are blessed that Casals came into this world.
He studied these suites for 12, that's right 12 years before he played them publicly. That was his depth of love and respect for Bach!
There are so many things going on here .. the hands the hands know .. the bowing is sublime .. the abbey a good place .. those stones have heard it all .. and to think, the modesty of the composer and the modesty of the player makes for .. well, what would be the word?
.. there are no words .. that is why there is music..
I saw Casals play this live on the Ed Sullivan TV show in the 1950s or 1960s. I immediately fell in love with this music, and have enjoyed hearing it by various cellists for over 60 years now.
I watched red buttons juggle on the jack parr show back in the 20s or 30s : )
Bach would be so amazed and proud to see a master like Casals play, from memory--eye closed even--his masterpieces.
A bit too rushed..
Casals' friend Wanda Landowska was forced to abandon her Academy of Ancient Music in France by the Nazi invasion. PC helped her to emigrate to NYC, where she had to start COMPLETELY OVER with her life! Here's more from the DVD: ua-cam.com/video/U7s9TPpAlhs/v-deo.html
@@italiantraditionalcatholic2390 can't say that because the manuscripts that Magdalena showed had no Tempo markings
@@CLASSICALFAN100 Yes! Pablo Casals was a great humanitarian.
I think the eyes open or closed is irrelevant. Not like he’s driving a car! Also, I can assure you that any professional musician performing a piece of music does not need to see the sheet music. It’s normally there....but they don’t need it to play the piece.
Stunningly beautiful and deeply, deeply moving.
If this isn't his best, I would've died & gone to heaven at his better. Extraordinary.
Magnifico. Simply. So pure. Sublime. Thank you for posting..
No hay interpretación de las Suites para Cello que me guste más que la de Pau Casals. Maravilloso, puro corazón.
Agreed. Yoyo Ma's interpretation I violently do not like
The Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello by Johann Sebastian Bach BWV 1007-1012, are undoubtedly the most popular solo compositions ever written for the instrument. Today, because of its great popularity among classical performers are often presented and recorded by virtuous cellists who seek, in this work, an expected recognition in their careers. These compositions imposes itself as a kind of test in the Masterclasses, important to the musician because of the enormous difficulties presented to its interpreters. They were probably composed during the period 1717-1723, when Bach served as Chapel Master (Kapellmeister) in Cöthen. These suites incorporate a wide range of melodic attributes of the Lutheran liturgical ornaments and other techniques derived from mathematical Bach's musical mind of a wide range introspective. It is their intimacy, however, that has made the suites amongst Bach’s most popular works today, resulting in their different recorded interpretations being wellness fiercely defended by their respective admires. It is their intimacy, however, that makes the suites, the works of Bach more widespread in our times, resulting in their different recorded interpretations, each with a version as that advocated the “master singer of St. Thomas” would have admitted as perfect in terms of technique and instrumentation, as, the presentation that resulting in the Reference Recording. The suites were not world-famous as works completed composing a cycle until the beginning of last century, because it was thought the case studies unfinished, or exercise stimulus produced by Bach. In 1890 a Catalan whiz kid of 13 years, who came to become the cellist and conductor Pablo Casals, finds in a thrift store in Barcelona the Grützmacher German edition of the Bach Suites, starting to study them thoroughly. The suites, matured, like fine wines, in intellect, technique, and art of Casals for 35 years after its discovery, when the artist in 1925 to 48 years old, decided to present to the world his version. However, his recordings and pressings of shellacs, has waited eleven years to be released, so, only in 1938 after 50 years of its discovery the label The Gramophone Company Limited, England, “His Master Voice” (HMV) through its subsidiary French “La Voix De Son Maitre” (LVDSM) released the album of 78rpm shellacs, recorded from the Headquarters in London on November 23, 1936 2EA numbers in 4476-4485, the shellacs carried in February 1938 under number 3399-3401 DB, and , the matrices recorded in Paris on June 2, 1938 under numbers 2LA 2583 to 2588, the shellacs carried in December 1938 under number 3671-3673 DB. The transfer to the LPs (re-mastering) was performed in France by (LVDSM) Great Recordings of the Century in Serie Les Gravures Illustres, catalog numbers COLH 16/17/18, as well as in parallel in England through the labels HMV (for the English market) and Angel (for the U.S. market) both in 1957. In this major contribution to the history of music, Pablo Casals, a posthumous tribute to the great musician, was the mentor and director of annual festivals that have passed the towns of Prades and Perpignan in the Pyrenees, these festivals that took his name, started from the bicentennial, which showed up in the middle of last century, the greatest figures of world classical music scene at the time.
You had me at "Kappelmeister."
@@johnh5738methinks.., "Casals had better powers of concentration than you".
Thank you.
My idol as a wee lad. I grew up playing cello, and listening to his records. He was a master.
Com ningú ha interpretat aquestes suites de Bach, escoltar.les és una benedicciò de Déu ! gràcies mestre unic en ele món......
Such a privilege, to see and hear Casals performing Bach, today, 60 years later... in Prades, his refuge in the epoch of Civil War and after, protesting thus against Franco's government. Casals has been the hero of my chilhood, after reading a book of interviews where he confessed that even in that time ( in those muddy fifties of last century) he discover some new perspectives in Bach scores... He was in his last decade of life and had seen first a bachian score at 6.
Su postura, su traje austero, su expresión...Un monumento musical. La desazón, la aparente
desesperanza que desprenden esos dos primeros minutos le acompañaron a lo largo de su
vida...De ahí esa forma sublime de entender a Bach.
What a great story, Christine.
What a divine miracle that these sweet works for cello found PAU. I cannot imagine the uncontrollable excitement and wonder must have been felt by the suites upon finding such a stowaway at at the book store. I wouldn't have much of any reason to exist if this music hadn't found PAU, and neither would most of us who either enjoy listening or playing these delightful pieces. And, please gentlefolk of UA-cam, honor the man however you can...
I have only tears, no words for such beauty....only tears of elation
+Lisa Mueller I know that feeling. I think it is a combination of elation and the stunning beauty of it. I listen and think "look what humankind is capable of!" I am both humbled and glad to be part of the human race.
@@williamkamenel2362 The way he played was so organic. Anyone can feel some connection to the language he is communicating regardless of background. Just having the good fortune to hear his playing is enough
das höre ich nur wenn ich allein bin, meine absolute Lieblingsmusik
Me enorgullece haberlo conocido allá en San Juan de Puerto Rico durante una reunión familiar a la que fui invitado en el mes de diciembre de 1972, a pesar de ser un personaje universal, el trato para conmigo durante la extensa y variada charla fue de lo mas ameno y amistoso, guardo un excelente recuerdo de su arte, pero mas de su carácter humano. Eres Grande PAU!!!!
My cello professor in college, Adolfo Odnoposoff, was Casal's assistant in Puerto Rico and was in charge of the festivals there. I feel fortunate to have that connection with such a wonderful musician.
What a tone and essential frasing to hear the polyphony of this suites! Gutstrings are still winning from steelstrings in expression! Emotions are coming from the bow! Not only as a musician but also a towering personality in humanity, among other with his impressive speech in the United Nations on october 24 1958.
Gracias por compartir este tesoro 🙌
Without this great man, we would have lost this beautiful piece forever. Eternal thanks to Pablo Casals.
Thank goodness for Casals and Rostropovich.
pau*
That is completely false (he didn't find the manuscript in a monastery; he bought the sheet music at his local music store) although he certainly deserves credit of popularizing the suites.
Fantastic, each time is different, brings new emotion...
Um gênio compôs. Outro gênio executa. Já imaginaram se Bach pudesse ouvir esta performance?
Simplemente maravilloso.
Simplesmente maravilhoso este solo de violoncelo executado por um dos melhores interpretes de Bach de todos os tempos! Pablo Casals era um gênio e retirava das cordas de seu instrumento a verdadeira sonoridade dos mestres compositores. Fantástico!
0:01 Prelude
2:06 Allemande
5:33 Courante
8:08 Sarabande
10:36 Menuets
14:01 Gigue
Thanks for this!👍
epic timings
cello is my favorite instroment. The mysterius deep sound of it just sounds like dreams to me.. Bach cello solo nr.1 is my favorite.
cuando todo se acaba , todo toca fondo y no tienes otro kamino , solo keda el consuelo de cuatro notas k te hacen cerrar los ojos y disfrutar de esta pasada y volar....
Mellifluous in the purest sense. Utterly lacking affectation. Just beautiful.
Even with the sound quality of the time you can really appreciate his playing. -wish he was still alive so I could listen to him live though. T.T
Outstanding! It's great how he plays with such freedom and passion.
Que Gran era Pau Casals I tant Català i per mi un gran Violonccelista, Una gran persona i sobre tot dels nostres i amb les nostres idees , Valent per el gran Discurs que coneix tot el mon, De Catalunya a les Nacions Unides .
"just" heard of him on radio this is the 1st I've seen! Thanks for letting normal vision experience what we nearsighted see. Soulful and artistic. Merry Christmas.
Is there anything more beautiful in the world?...Gracias, maestro.
I listen with great joy interpretations of this great cellist valuable. I love playing Bach. Thank you for posting !
I grew up on J.S. Bach, this recording by Casals is a master recording.
Increïble. Pau Casals tocant el baix amb una acústica molt bona pels any 50 i amb una experiència a les espatlles grandiosa.
There is a savage beauty in his playing that can’t be surpassed.
"Because I believe I am making progress" I love it,great sense of humor.
eyewateringly effin' beautiful... pure perfection
Bach y Casals, ambos son maestros inmortales!
Hermosa melodía 😊😍😍, es arte un regalo para la vida
Une personne de ma famille a interprété ce morceau 🎶 magnifique ❤❤❤
Qué bueno!
Está buenisimo mismo.
Lo mejor.
Olvido total .
Magnífico.
Qué bello.
Arte total.
De ninguna manera cualquiera
Es lo más
Maestro
desde la primera vez qyue la escuche senti una gran atraccion a ese sonido,ES MARAVILLOSA....GRACIAS
Ich liebe ihn, ich brauche ihn... seine Interpretation- mein Leben
Quite agree. Instead of carping, we should be all grateful to the person who uploaded this sublimely beautiful and profound interpretation of one of the greatest pieces of music ever written, making it accessible to virtually anyone.
estoy atravesada por esta hermosa versión me vuelve a lo mejorde mí
seguro que no puedo con palabras acercarme a esa música,
locos sonidos! solo expresar esa resonacia.
It was said that he was the greatest interpreter of Bach's music that ever lived,and he caught unwarranted flak for this. Yet,he could give as well as take, in that, one man asked him just how one does interpret Bach,and he let him have it between the eyes and said, "Precisely in the same way the finest pianist interprets Chopin!"
Thanks so much for share this video, blessings. Great
Marvellous music and from the Maestro !
I had picked up a double album CD at Cash Converters in the nineties , what luck then, my first taste of Casals and Bach Cello ! I was thrilled !
Why I couldn't find these for more than ten years on YT ... ?!
Thanks for uploading 🤩😍
Qui n'a jamais écouté ça ne peut pas mourir
On ne peut pas partir sans la perfection
It took me many years to come to the deep appreciation of Casals. Now I can not even thing about listening to polished recordings of today without comparing them to the great master. His art is not as appealing as the last Hollywood movie, but it will last through many generations.
Enrico Caruso, it was said, sang the soul of the melody -- he made one FEEL it. Casals does the same with his cello, methinks! Incomparable!
You have legendary skills you're self!
It's funny , because I felt the same way.
I'd first heard more contemporary cellists play the bach suites.
People like Rostropovich and Paul T. or even Yo Yo.
I had grown accustomed to their interpretations and playing styles.
When I heard Cassals he sounded very mechanical and even lifeless or expressionless.
I hear things differently now.
He's a master at articulating the subtle nuances of each voice and line..
Fantastic stuff !!
I have a lot more practice to do.
Mr.Casals! You are the greatest cello master and you're 95 years old, why hoy practice 6 hrs daily? ...on a smile he say,Because I think I'm making progress, waoooooo, just amazing
que hermosura de instrumento ,mi favorita ,este es una musica muy bonita ,me encanto!! le daría un millón de Likez!👍☺
The Master Cellist left this great performance for us to study and learn!!!
The world is full of beauty but this is my home. Pure truth and beauty.
I heard it as ' I'm beginning to notice some improvement' - thanks for posting this timeless masterpiece.
A genius himself, Casals was a firm believer in the 'perspiration theory', according to which genius is composed of one part of inspiration and 9 of perspiration (work).
After having rediscoveres the Bach suites (formerly thought to be only exercises for the virtuoso, devoid of any interest for the public) he took well over 10 years to dare perform them in public. There you are !
The exact quote (by Thomas Alva Edison) states that "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration."
First heard this in 1972-3 at the Jesuit novitiate in Grand Coteau, LA. First classical music that ever moved me. Meeting of soul and skill that defines great art. What a beautiful example for us all.
Who the hell would DISLIKE this? 73 people thumbs downed it? Heathens.
Extraordinario. Es música para el alma...y ésta llora de gracia.
*LOOK AT THE BACKS OF HIS HANDS*
He has the hands of an 8-year old boy. No marks of labor appear there, because he never had to work hard for a living. His astonishing natural talent "did the work for him", leaving him free to develop his skillset...RIP
Still amazing playing from a 77 year old!!!
Excelente interpretación. Sabían lo que estaban registrando en ese momento.
I LOVE the cello... so beautiful
The best ever!!!
Ich glaube, so etwas Schönes gibt es im Universum nur ein Mal. :-)
This Legendary cellist Pablo Casals was asked why he continued to practice at age 90. "Because I think I'm making progress," he replied.
When the Germans were driven off French territory in 1944, Casals wrote me in one of his first letters after the long enforced silence of the occupation:
“Now that the enemy has been forced to leave, I have resumed my practicing and you will be pleased to know that I feel that I am making daily progress.”
This striving for “daily progress” reflects his modest approach to his art and is the key to the secret of why “Casals is ageless.”
he was one of the greatest cellists of the 20th century. He was famous for beginning every day by playing all six Bach unaccompanied cello suites. And someone, Mr. Casals’ wife, said, “Why do you insist on playing all six suites each day?” And he said, “Because I think I’m getting better.” I think it’s really easy to lapse into bad acting at any given moment. But I find that the more I’ve done it, the more I see some improvement. Or I don’t see it, because I tend not to watch myself, but I feel it.
His modesty shows an exceptional humanity and humility. Someone with enormous insight like him would know that there is always room for improvement no matter how masterful you are and that the road never ends. Bach no doubt had this same view aswell. I think whoever believes they are a perfect master are less perfect and less masterful just by that thought.
his name is Pau Casals
That bit that you wrote: “I think it’s really easy to lapse into bad-acting at any given moment.” WOW, WOW, WOW, I think there is a whole life theory going on in that sphere. That sentence is magical and magnificent. I will never forget it, today 13 of December 2022!! 😇😇😇😇😇😇😇
Casals i les "Suites" de Bach, una conjunció perfecta!
Un genio. ❤😂
Pitch and Time are non-negotiable. Pau (Pablo) was a master of both. Thank you for posting one of the best. Audio quality matters not. Chops do!
Pau...Paolo....Pablo...Paul...Saulo...Casals makes the difference. Breed, passion, heart and above all...ART.
Imprescindibles, historia de pau cassals
Absolute talent
Thanks my wife
Khatia Buniatishvili
For teaching me
Music
I got here after I found his name in a book that I read. In this book, he is an example of great beliefs of human accomplishment in a lifetime, keeping his supreme power through perform music at his piano even though it were at 90 years old and was suffering from old-age illnesses. Casals leaded the cello, piano with craftsmanship and safety which gave him that Supreme Power, the inner peace in his life. He is a Master of cello.
Wow, I'm so grateful this recording is still around! It's gorgeous!!!
I don't see how you can think it is 'gorgeous, Dear Eva. The sound is harsh and constantly squeaking with too many abrasive overtones. (Stradivari problems) On the other hand, it is exceedingly energetick and interesting, by way of interpretation.
@@beasheerhan4482 Would you prefer a digitalised squeaky clean ' perfect' version ?
Not me. This particular quickened Prelude had me in tears at the end of two minutes !
Indeed it is gorgeous and sublime !!!
Al fin lo escucho en su fisico. 🇲🇽😁 ❤️ 👋🏻👋🏻👋🏻👋🏻👋🏻💯
The cello is like a beautiful woman who has not grown older, but younger with time, more slender, more supple, more graceful.
~ Pablo Casals
¡muy bonito!
How is that true? In what way exactly?
Maybe how it became more refined over time, in construction and literature/playing. But then one could say the same about a lot of instruments.
Radrook the way the wood ages over time
his name is Pau. Thank you. Moreover, Pau in catalan means peace.
Gran Pau Casals, sempre fidel a Catalunya i a la dignitat de l'home.
Cuando encontramos, vemos y escuchamos algo grandioso en esta vida como es la música de J. S. Bach y la interpretación de Casals, pienso que debiéramos primero deleitar nuestros sentidos y dar gracias que hayan existido tales artistas, y no pensar en pequeñeces de que si es Pau o Pablo .
maravlla, no puedo dejar de entrar en emociones más... y más. No es perfecto, es maravilloso
It is wonderful to see his right hand to move with the bow like a ruler on the gut strings while the left is like the movement of a swiss watch. It may sound archaic today but that was the masters conception of sound.
Beautiful! Thanks for sharing!
Pablo /Pau Casals revived the Bach suites from the dead dedicated much of his life to practicing them. What I find interesting is that his tempo here is much faster (prelude) than in his earlier recordings. I think I like these interpretations better although that's just me! What an amazing journey Bach has on offer! Bravo Casals and thank you for finding Bach for us!
casals was practicing bach. for 12 years and when he was 26 years old he just started play on stage
This is so beautiful.
could listen to this day and night
kita
Me too...😍
Amazing!!
The only regret is that he travels straight from the Courante to the Gigue, taking a detour from the two beautiful minuettes of the suite... possibly to fit time constraints of the filming ? But no, they are also not found on the 1930s recordings.
Maybe he just didn't care for them? To me the minuets may be the most breathtaking section of the suite... fortunately Rostropovich performs them brilliantly, Still it would be nice to hear Casals interpretation
One of the reasons for living. This music.
It's emotional best performance !