Bach

For any performer, recording Bach, says guitarist Thibault Cauvin, “is perhaps the biggest and most beautiful adventure”. And yet for years Cauvin avoided recording music by the Baroque composer. Until, that is, his own life altered unexpectedly, and he knew his moment had come. “For many years I loved Bach’s music, but was afraid of it,” Cauvin reveals to Apple Music. “But a year before making this album I started having a really strong feeling that I didn’t care any more whether I was prepared or not. I had been running around playing for 20 years, in 120 different countries. But in 2022 I began feeling something like serenity and the happiness of just being myself.” Cauvin’s newfound peace of mind, away from the hyperactivity of the international concert circuit, created space for the unique spiritual qualities of Bach’s music to resonate. “Bach came to me,” Cauvin recalls. “The sense of freedom and serenity that I was feeling was exactly the feeling of Bach’s music. When we hear it, we feel a kind of perfection, like you see in a beautiful sunset.” Because Bach didn’t write any music specifically for the guitar, Cauvin transcribed pieces originally written for the organ, violin and cello to play on the new album. He also sought out a special place to make the recording. “I selected a location in the south of France where I went on vacation when I was a boy,” he explains. “It’s a beautiful church in a little village with just 43 inhabitants. I was there for a week, playing the music of Bach every day and every night. And especially at two or three o’clock in the morning, it was magical”. Read on, as Thibault Cauvin guides us through each of the works on his album. Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565 “This is one of Bach’s most famous works for the organ. I feel there’s a touch of flamenco music about it, and I wanted a bit of that in my interpretation. The Toccata and Fugue is very dramatic when played on the organ, but on this album I wanted something very calm, peaceful and intimate. I recorded it with a pair of headphones on, with the volume set quite loud. That encouraged me to play softly, like a story your grandmother might have told you before you went to sleep.” Bach Autrement I, II & III “These three pieces were written by my brother Jordan, based on a selection of preludes by Bach. It was very difficult getting my brother involved. I called him and said I wanted him to re-compose three Bach preludes and to make them like good pop music, with the type of simplicity that can touch everyone. I think he’s done that perfectly—and they work so well on the guitar, too.” Partita No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004 “When I decided to make this album, the first piece I wanted to record was the great, 15-minute Chaconne from Bach’s Partita No. 2 for solo violin. Its emotion is so strong, it’s incredible. I grew up in the south-west of France and I’m in love with the ocean. I do a lot of surfing and, like many people who live by the sea, I find the ocean infinite and scary. When I start to play Bach’s Chaconne, I have the feeling that I’m leaving a port and going for a fantastic trip. The crazy thing is, every time I play it, it’s different.”