SOUNDTRACK: ZUILL BAILEY-Tiny Desk Concert #63 (June 4, 2010).
Zuill Bailey plays a cello. Well, actually, that’s not right. The cello he plays is old “very old — but it’s also special, built by the renowned Venetian maker Matteo Goffriller in 1693. That means Johann Sebastian Bach was all of 8 years old when Goffriller slapped on the final layer of shellac. The instrument is unusually large, with a tawny orange hue, and one of only two Goffrillers which can boast an intricately carved Rosette under the fingerboard [see below]. And its sound? A full, round, burnished tone that pours forth with remarkable volume.”
Bailey plays three pieces from three of Bach’s suites (he had just released an album of six suites). And they sound amazing. The first piece is instantly recognizable and sounds incredible on this instrument.
But beyond playing a gorgeous cello, Bailey is a great storyteller. He describes how when Bach started writing suites for cello, the instrument was considered a church bass–basically a piece of furniture and not something to write gorgeous suites on. He also says that people have asked him if he has named his cello and he says that he calls it J.Lo. because it is “robust in the bass tones.”
Introducing the second piece he says that the sarabande was banned from polite society because it was considered too slow and sensuous in those times (which is why he’s going to play it now).
And then he describes the feeling of the sound that comes from that cello–it resonates through the maple in the instrument and vibrates his body. It is clear how much he loves this instrument.
Obviously the pieces are beautiful, but his renditions are really stunning.
J.S. Bach: Solo Cello Suite No. 1 – “Prelude”
J.S. Bach: Solo Cello Suite No. 2 – “Sarabande”
J.S. Bach: Solo Cello Suite No. 3 – “Prelude”
[READ: September 13, 2015] Two Across
Sarah brought this book home and loved it. She thought I’d enjoy it, too. And why not? The main character, Stanley, is a crossword puzzle maker (Sarah finished it on the day that puzzler Merle Reagle died, sad to say). The other main character, Vera, is a math genius who also becomes a puzzle maker. The fact that I just finished the Felicia Day book in which she (a real person) is a math genius, gave me strange parallels between Felicia and Vera.
If those character traits interest you, there is so much to like about this book. We first meet Stanley and Vera as they are competing for the national spelling bee in Washington D.C. They are both certain that they will win (we get alternating perspectives from each of them). And we see their minds as they hate the other one who is trying to take the title from them. When the bee ends, they are both rewarded for their efforts. And they form a strange bond, because they both have a lot in common even though their lives are entirely different.
Stanley lives in a hotel. His grandfather was a chef there and his father died in WWII, so the hotel has offered them their cheapest (crappiest) suite for the rent of $1 a month. Stanley’s mother never leaves the room… ever. She had never recovered from Stanley’s father’s death. The hotel staff is like Stanley’s family, and he is well looked after. But his mother pushes Stanley very hard, insisting that he go to Harvard. And Stanley is clearly a genius–he used to memorize the encyclopedia, and he has all kinds of facts at his disposal. But he is also deeply wounded by never knowing his father.
Vera, on the other hand, is pretty much transient. Her mother is working her butt off to become an IBM sales rep and so they travel everywhere. Vera is also a genius, finishing her school work in a few days and then spending the rest of her time reading or doing challenging math.
They are both quite likable, even if neither one has any social skills at all. (more…)
I Just Read About That... 