The Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello by Johann Sebastian Bach are acclaimed as some of the greatest works ever written for solo cello and some of the greatest of all music. Cellist Josephine van Lier, one of Edmonton’s busiest and most versatile musicians, performs all Six Suites on her four different instruments: contemporary wooden cello, carbon fibre cello, baroque cello and violoncello piccolo, giving the audience both a musical as well as an educational experience in this unique opportunity to listen to and compare cellos as they have been played through the centuries.
Four cellos, one musician, six suites by one great composer, and four chances to hear them all!

Sunday, April 19 2PM Robertson-Wesley United Church 10209-123 Street
Sunday, April 26 10AM Convocation Hall, U of A (morning coffee concert!)
Saturday, May 2 2PM All Saints’ Anglican Cathedral 10035-103 Street
Sunday, May 3 2PM The ARTery 9535 Jasper Avenue

Tickets:
Bach Suite Project Pass: $30
Tickets will be sold as a pass for all four Edmonton Bach Suite Project performances.
． Listen to all six suites in one afternoon
． Leave after two suites and come back for more at the next performances
． Listen to all six suites several times!
Note: there will be an intermission after every two suites. Each set will start exactly on the hour.

Available at Tix on the Square, The Gramophone, or at the door.

For more information: see below or
www.josephinevanlier.com <http://www.josephinevanlier.com>
(More pictures available at: http://www.josephinevanlier.com/media.html)
Josephine van Lier – Contact
(780) 240-9623

About Josephine van Lier: She appears as chamber musician, soloist and as performer with large ensembles. A versatile musician, Josephine is as much at home on a modern cello as she is on a baroque cello, a 5 string violoncello piccolo or a carbon fibre cello. She therefore covers a repertoire from Bach to George Andrix, drawing on a palette of sounds and colours available from this range of instruments, string set-ups and bows.
Josephine van Lier is the recipient of the Recipient of the “Celebration of Women in the Arts Award” from the Edmonton Arts Council.

Bach Suite Project:
The program of the concerts is part of Josephine van Lier’s Bach Suite Project, involving the preparation, extensive research, practicing, performing, holding lectures and ultimately recording of the six suites for unaccompanied cello by J.S. Bach on four different types of cellos and with two different kinds of bows. Also part of the project has been the purchase of a baroque cello, a baroque bow and commissioning the building of a violoncello piccolo.

The Choice of Concert Venues:
Two of the concerts will be at churches: Sunday April 19 at 2 PM at Robertson-Wesley United Church, and Saturday, May 2, also at 2 PM at All Saints’ Anglican Cathedral. Churches have been popular concert venues throughout the centuries. Their acoustics are generally very good for instrumental music. Many of the composers traditionally were employed by the church. Though Bach wrote the suites for unaccompanied cello during a time away from the church, they deserve the acoustics of these two Edmonton gems.

The concert on Sunday, April 26 will be at 10 AM and is a so called Coffee Concert at Convocation Hall at the University of Alberta.
This performance time may seem unusual in North America, but many concerts in Europe are on Sunday morning at “coffee time”.
At the end of the 17th century Coffea Arabica reached Western Europe. For a long time it was regarded a kind of medicine. Contrary to tea, which was served in fancy salons, coffee was served in more ordinary “coffee houses”. Coffee soon became wildly popular and became synonymous with having a good time together. Many of those meetings at the local coffee houses involved concerts, some more spontaneous than others; Bach even wrote a “coffee cantata”!
This concert will honour an old tradition, and coffee will be served.

The last concert, on Sunday, May 3rd at 2 PM at is at the ARTery. This follows another tradition of performing music in a chamber setting. The audience is close to the performer, sitting relaxed around tables, enjoying a beverage and snacks while listening to music.