Bach Unseen

What happens when listening becomes the only way of knowing where you are?

The evening begins with one of the most recognisable works in the cello repertoire: J.S. Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1 in G major, performed by solo cellist, David McCann, in traditional concert lighting. Its familiar melodies and clear musical architecture provide a point of departure for a very different listening experience.

As the suite comes to an end, the lights fade and the space is transformed. Performed in darkness, a new work for three cellos takes Bach’s music as its inspiration, reimagining fragments and gestures from the suite within an immersive sonic environment. Throughout the performance, the musicians gradually move through the space, continually changing their relationship to one another and to the audience.

Without visual cues, sound becomes a shifting presence. Melodies emerge from unexpected directions, echoes blur perceptions of distance, and familiar musical material is heard from ever-changing perspectives. The performance space itself becomes part of the composition, shaping the way the music is experienced.

Part concert and part exploration of perception, Bach Unseen invites audiences to surrender visual orientation and engage with music through listening alone. In doing so, it offers a rare opportunity to experience sound not as something observed from afar, but as a living, moving presence that surrounds and inhabits the space.