In 1889, a budding cellist named Pablo Casals unearthed a ragged edition of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Cello Suites in a Barcelona thrift shop. Neither the suites nor their excavator were well known at the time, but fast-forward half a century and both had become ubiquitous in the classical music realm. Thanks to a wildly popular recording he made in 1936, Casals resurrected Bach’s suites from obscurity, transforming them into some of the world’s most celebrated compositions.
This mythic backstory is a fitting complement to Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker’s Mitten wir im Leben sind/Bach6Cellosuiten, itself an account of discovery and awakening. The 2017 work illuminates and reinterprets these six expressive suites – played on stage with exquisite intensity by Jean-Guihen Queyras – with lithe mosaics of dance. It’s a compelling feat of choreography that affirms the perceptive musicality of one of Europe’s pre-eminent contemporary dancemakers.
The ensemble comprises five dancers from Rosas, including De Keersmaeker herself, who at 58 retains a vibrant stage presence. Solos dominate the first four suites: Julien Monty animates the stillness of Suite No 2 with supple, contemplative posing, while Marie Goudot delivers bracing ricochets to the Suite No 3 allemande. De Keersmaeker dips in for the occasional duet, a quiet shadow one minute and a galloping companion the next. The fifth suite is a dusky number reserved for the cellist alone, the sixth a sparkling, strong-willed group routine.
At two hours uninterrupted, it’s a performance of colossal stamina. De Keersmaeker’s light-touch staging deposes Bach’s melodies from their lofty concert hall heights, while her intriguing geometries send them soaring in surprising new directions.
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