Zachary Woolfe, the classical music critic of the New York Times, offers this enticing invite. “In Just a Few Minutes, This Music Will Change Your Day“. The subtitle reads, “Calm and graceful, this cello piece by Bach slowly dances through hopefulness, longing and introspection.”

Is there anyone in more desperate need for calm, grace, and hope than me?

I listened. And I don’t know if it changed my day, but it did make me think that classical music could be a pillar of my eventual recovery.

Dig Woolfe’s conclusion.

“The cello suites were probably written around 1720, when Bach was employed by a German prince. He spent much of his career working for churches, so this was a rare period in which he got to focus on secular works. There was no need for his music to be about anything, to have any practical use. He could simply celebrate instruments and the full range of what they could do, quietly pushing them to their limits.”

Beautiful. Bach’s sarabande and Woolfe’s framing of it.