Ophélie Gaillard

Bach 's Six suites for unaccompanied cello are to Ophélie Gaillard what the Montagne Sainte-Victoire was to Cézanne: an endlessly repetitive cycle. Her interpretation of the Bach suites is devoid of both aridity and emphasis. It tends toward an intimate, almost familiar expression, giving an air of clarity to these pieces that are so loved by cellists and music-lovers, through for example, the famous double crochets of the Suite No. I in G major delivered without haste by a light and airy bow.

But this apparent facility is the preserve of the great, and we gain a better understanding of the search for contrast and varied colours when Ophélie Gaillard breaks into the joyous gigue, redolent of bagpipes, that closes the first of the three suites performed this evening.