by Ben Hogwood
Happy Easter! And with it, some more music by Bach for solo cello.
The Cello Suite no.6 in D major, BWV1012, is often paralleled with Easter Sunday and the Resurrection, its Sarabande in particular finding a serenity and light appropriate for the season. You can watch Yo-Yo Ma in the whole suite below:
Published post no.2,848 – Sunday 4 April 2026
by Ben Hogwood
The second instalment of Bach at Easter is dedicated to one of the great master’s finest sacred pieces, the St. John Passion – telling the story in dramatic tones, as recorded by the Bach Collegium Japan when lockdown was imminent in 2020. You can listen below:
Published post no.2,847 – Saturday 4 April 2026
by Ben Hogwood
Over this long Easter weekend, and with it recently being the anniversary of Johann Sebastian Bach‘s birthday, it feels appropriate to share four favourite pieces with you.
The first is the Cello Suite no.2 in D minor, BWV1008. The deeply profound Prelude to this suite is often associated with Good Friday and the Crucifixion, and is followed by the traditional sequence of dances where Bach’s masterful writing can be fully appreciated. Having been fortunate to play this piece, I can confirm the music gives as much satisfaction to the performer as it does to the listener!
You can enjoy a performance from Yo-Yo Ma, live at the BBC Proms in 2015, below:
Published post no.2,846 – Friday 3 April 2026
by Ben Hogwood Image of Ludwig van Beethoven in 1801, courtesy of Wikipedia
On this day in 1800 the premiere of Beethoven‘s game-changing Symphony no.1 took place, in Vienna’s Burgtheater.
You can read all about the work as part of Arcana’s ongoing Beethoven odyssey, and listen to a performance of the symphony given by the London Symphony Orchestra and Bernard Haitink here:
Published post no.2,845 – Thursday 2 April 2026
by Ben Hogwood
Taking time to pay tribute to an old, sadly departed friend. Martyn Granville would have been 62 today, and I realised I had not yet dedicated music to him on these pages, for Martyn sadly left us in May 2014. Here is his favourite classical piece, the wonderful Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis by Vaughan Williams, from a lockdown session revealing its emotive core:
Published post no.2,842 – Monday 30 March 2026
