Pere Portabella's interest in cinematic texture - reflected in choices of angle, lens, rhythm, and even film stock - is perfectly complemented by his rigorous and adventurous treatment of sound and music. The connection between artistic performance, quotidian spaces, and myth is particularly evident in his final fictional feature The Silence Before Bach. Portabella's montage relates several layered elements: Germany's great rivers, "phantom rides" on moving trains, legendary anecdotes about the discovery of lost Bach manuscripts at a meat market, elegant camera movements, and a subway performance of the Prelude to Bach's First Cello Suite (1717). The Silence Before Bach is a perfect encapsulation of the grand ambition and associative richness of Portabella's work.