Yo-Yo Ma’s Bach video is the most beautiful thing we’ve ever seen

9 June 2020, 13:53 | Updated: 9 June 2020, 13:56

Yo-Yo Ma - Bach: Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, Prélude (Official Video)

By Elizabeth Davis

In this gorgeous video, the famous cellist is seen on top of a city building playing the Prelude from Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1 – but the video has a powerful message

Yo-Yo Ma’s video opens with the following message: “Culture – the way we express ourselves and understand each other – can bind us together as one world”.

The camera pans to show the cellist playing in front of a dramatic cityscape. But soon, we’re taken to very different scenes – from a ballet studio, to an ice rink, from a potter's studio to a tailor's workshop.

The video was put together from clips that were sent to Yo-Yo Ma’s team in response to the question “Show the world how you express yourself and what brings your community together”.

Read more: "We live in a time that feels fractured, and Bach is a unifying factor" – Yo-Yo Ma >

Yo-Yo Ma plays Bach's Cello Suite No. 1

Yo-Yo Ma released the project to coincide with the next stage of his two-year-long Bach Project which sees him perform Bach’s music in 36 places around the world and partner with community organisations and artists in each location for ‘Days of Action’.

Find out more about the project on Yo-Yo Ma’s website.