The Cello

My enchantment with the cello began many years ago. It wasn't the sound of the cello that initially drew me in but the embrace in which it was held by the musician who would so intensely caress it and draw the sounds from within this very responsive instrument that was deeply sensitive to the one who held it. Somewhere around 1986 we went to the Honen's International Piano competition to watch the two finalists give their best on the beautiful 9'2" gleaming black Bosendorfer concert grand piano. My love of classical piano, and a 3rd row, slightly to the right seat in the concert hall, was sure to give a great view as the Russian competitor played the "Rach 3" and the Italian, Chopin's Piano Concerto #2 (still one of my favorite works of music). Yet for all the pianists passion and drama, I was seduced by a cello and the one who embraced it and become one with it. While the individual sound of the cello was enveloped into the many voices of the orchestra, it alone called to me and drew me into the music that surrounded us all.

The book our book club is currently reading is The Spanish Bow by Andromeda Romano-Lax. It is the story of a young boy who inherits a bow when his father dies. It takes young Feliu Delargo a number of years before he discovers the bow belongs to the cello and not the violin where upon he falls in love with this instrument. In the story Feliu meets up with Edward Elgar and Feliu is asked to play Elgar's Cello Concerto in E Minor. Feliu expected it to be a piece that would need orchestral accompaniment. Elgar replies "I chose the cello for a reason of all the instruments, it is the one that sounds most like a human voice. I would ask you to play humanly, that's all."

Thinking about the cello as "the one that sounds most like a human voice" is perhaps why so many of us sink into a space of such contentment when we hear the cello being played. At our Taize service I could hear the cello speak out, a lone voice at times, and my heart opened even more to embrace this sacred time of contemplation and being present with the Almighty. Those deep resonating notes call out to me and sometimes they speak of joy, at times they are the voice of tears, or even more deeply the notes of an inner anguish that seems unheard. The most inner part of our being longs to be heard and given voice to, and yet, it is not always a human that can call it out of us. Music is a powerful invitation to let our feelings and thoughts explore journeys we are afraid to travel alone.

The cello also speaks of being embraced and held securely, firmly, lovingly and with intent. The cellist embraces the instrument with a oneness, a picture of refusal to have too much space between them in order to create the sweet music. As a human being there is always the longing to be heard, to give voice to what lies deep inside, and the need to be embraced and feel the heartbeat of another; where the humanness of one is recognized and acknowledged. The composers emotions, story, hopes, agonies - they reach me and connect us together. It is an embrace across time, distance, culture.

This beautiful instrument is always a reminder of being seen, being heard, and being embraced - actions that give visibility and honor to each of us. There is music within us all and there are those extraordinary people who are on our road of life. Their presence draws the music out of us because, like the cellist, they have embraced us, seen us, and heard us and given us the sacred space in which to create our own life melodies and voice to them. Our stories connect to that of another and we each begin to hear the music together.