Sei Solo: 5 Fragments for Vocalizing Violinist

The project Sei Solo 2020 takes its name from Bach’s hand-written title page to the solo works for violin dated 1720. This monumental set of 6 works Sei Solo Violino senza Basso accompagnato appears to refer to the number 6, but the correct Italian grammar for 6 works would be Sei Soli. In Italian Sei Solo actually means “You are alone” and in German it can take a meaning of “Be alone”. Bach was known to make frequent use of puzzles throughout his lifetime, and considering that he lost his 1st wife (and mother of his first 7 children) in 1720, it is possible that he could have meant to indicate double meanings in his title for these extraordinarily personal compositions. Since the manuscripts for the 6 solo cello works have not been found it is impossible to know the dates, but they were likely composed around a similar period during his tenure at the secular court in Cothen.
KK selected 12 composers from past Cappadocia Festival workshops (Composers Cauldron) and commissioned them to write 5-7 minute solo works each that were inspired by the Bach solo works and by these occasions. These composers were paired to collaborate with 6 of Turkey’s top young performers that have also also been part of KK in past years. These 18 participants have been associated with many important institutions worldwide including Mozarteum, Harvard, Stanford, Berkely, Berklee, Cornell, University of Chicago, Barenboim Institute, İTÜ-MİAM, Bilkent, Bilgi, Mimar Sİnan and Bosphorus University.