Using Bach as a creative springboard, the film takes us inside the thoughts and experiences of four composers coming out of lockdown.

Each inspired by a Bach work that has shaped their lives and relationship with music, Joe Cutler, Philip Herbert, Zoë Martlew and Howard Skempton show how a 300 year old starting point can catalyse hugely different creative processes and styles - and why Bach remains relevant to the world today. This proved especially true in 2021, with Bach a beacon these composers turned to as they emerged from lockdown and back to creativity.

The film visits each composer in their hometown, journeying from the South Coast, through the Midlands and north to Leeds. The composers perform both their own works and those of Bach which inspired them, but this is not a film of a concert. As one viewer noted, “not all of them [are] regular performers and this makes it all the more compelling somehow”, providing us with a straight-to-the-source glimpse into the minds and personalities of remarkable creatives. It is a deeply personal sharing of works just completed, resonating in the air for the very first time.

Interviews with the composers unlock the influences behind their work, their routes back to music-writing and playing from the silence of lockdown, and their own special life-long relationships with Bach. 

This 80 minute performance/documentary was commissioned by Spitalfields Music as part of the 2021 Spitalfields Music Festival, developing on an original concept by Errollyn Wallen. It was premiered online and in a screening at Genesis Cinema in July 2021.

If you are interested in watching the full film, please feel free to email me for a private link.