When we play an unaccompanied Bach suite we may compare ourselves to an actor in Shakespeare's day, creating scenery which did not exist at all, through the power of declamation and suggestion. So in Bach. There is but one voice -- and many voices have to be suggested.
Interpretation
The quote illustrates the creative interpretation involved in performing music, similar to acting without a complete set.
Pablo Casals draws a parallel between performing a solo Bach suite and acting in Shakespeare's time. In both scenarios, the performer must evoke imagery and emotion from a limited framework, using their skill and imagination to suggest richness and depth beyond what is overtly present. This reflects the artistry involved in music and performance, where single voices or instruments can convey an entire spectrum of expression, much like an actor brings a scene to life.
In practice
During a music class, to emphasize the interpretive nature of the performance.
Bach is the supreme genius of music... This man, who knows everything and feels everything, cannot write one note, however unimportant it may appear, which is anything but transcendent. He has reached the heart of every noble thought, and has done it in the most perfect way.
In music, in the sea, in a flower, in a leaf, in an act of kindness... I see what people call God in all these things.
The love of one's country is a splendid thing. But why should love stop at the border?
The child must know that he is a miracle, that since the beginning of the world there hasn't been, and until the end of the world there will not be, another child like him.
I am an old man but in many senses a very young man. And this is what I want you to be, young, young all your life.
To the whole world you might be just one person, but to one person you might just be the whole world.
People are already finding ways to make their music and play it in front of people and have a life in music, I guess, and I think that's pretty much all you can ask.
I try to stick with things that I can sing with honesty.
Artists can no more speak about their work, than plants can speak about horticulture.
Well, yes. I believe that children's souls are the inheritors of historical memory from previous generations. It's just that as they grow older and experience the everyday world that memory sinks lower and lower. I feel I need to make a film that reaches down to that level. If I could do that I would die happy.
I'm always aware of the camera and it feels like that's the audience.
I personally made a decision many years ago that I wanted to crawl into portraiture because it had a lot of latitude.
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