Cellist Yo-Yo Ma performs beautiful Bach in poignant tribute to India

7 May 2021, 13:44

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma performs beautiful Bach in poignant tribute to lives lost to COVID-19 in India. Picture: Yo-Yo Ma / Twitter

By Rosie Pentreath

Let a moment of powerful musical reflection wash over you.

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma has performed a powerful tribute to the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic currently being felt in India.

Picking up his bow for a poignant moment of Bach, Ma performed the ‘Sarabande’ from the Cello Suite No. 4, nodding to the work of his Songs of Comfort and Hope project.

“For India.” he wrote simply when posting on Twitter, the music in the video speaking all the words needed at this painful time for the country and world. Watch below.

Yo-Yo Ma dedicates Sarabande from Bach's Suite for Solo Cello No. 4. to India

Music lovers have commented on the video, sharing their heartfelt thanks and appreciation of the music’s beauty at such a difficult time. “From time to time we need a bit of Bach to heal...everything”, one user commented.

“You’ve both soothed and given voice to so many of our souls during this pandemic,” said another.

Yo-Yo Ma is a humanitarian with a strong belief in music and culture’s power to generate trust and understanding between people.

The cellist performs varied genres and repertoire, and regularly collaborates with communities and institutions that explore culture’s role in society, striving with his art to foster connections that stimulate the imagination and reinforce our humanity.

India now has been impacted by a severe second wave of coronavirus, with a peak of more than 414,000 daily cases of COVID-19 recorded on Thursday 6 May, making it now one of the worst-hit countries by the pandemic.

May music do what it can to unite, ease pain and – when the time’s right – bring hope for those who most need it once again.