Talent, depth, integrity, wit and fun...

A quick scamper around the bay tonight and, I'm glad to report, my hip twinge seems to have disappeared. Then home for some mushroom orzotto that I made last night. God, this dish is so morish and, scattered with a few shavings of cheese, it is divine. Add to this Bach's Suites for Solo Cello and I am in heaven.

At the Only Men Aloud concert I attended on Saturday (here's the WalesOnline review), the talented cellist that accompanied the choir, Steffan Morris, played two movements from (I think) the 1st Solo Cello Suite. It was such a privilage to hear this played live and to hear it played so well. These pieces of music are some of the most sublime I've ever heard. On hearing them, surely, no-one can be in doubt over Bach's talent and genius. And they seem to suit an airing on a summer's evening such as tonight; all the doors and windows thrown open.

It sounds as if there's more than one instrument being played; like a dialogue between two cellos. But, remarkably, there's only one instrument and the music swoops and soars, playfully skipping one moment and then adding that gravitas of stillness that underpins the pieces. The music subtly transports you to a place beyond the present, beyond this muggy weather, beyond the noise of Swagger Jagger in the street below, beyond this grubby life...

I first heard them at Noel Greig's house in Sheffield one drunken night about 22 years ago. He insisted on playing them whilst we ate and I'm so pleased he did. A man of talent, depth, integrity, wit and fun: Noel died in 2009. You can read more about him here in his Guardian obitury.

Whenever I hear the Suites for Solo Cello, I am always reminded of him; transported back to that evening in Sheffield. x