On days like this, when my jangled soul needs soothing, I often find myself turning to Bach’s Unaccompanied Cello Suites, as interpreted by the incomparable Mstislav Rostropovich. I don’t quite know why the sound of the cello is so calming to me — and calming it is, even when Rostropovich is performing at his technically-masterful-but-breakneck pace, e.g. the opening Prelude from Suite #1 — but I’m certainly grateful for the peacefulness, especially at a time like this. (All six suites can be found here.)
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” John 14:27