Saturday, February 25, 2017

Chaconne

One of the joys of February is that there is time to contemplate and study. The days are short and other than Valentines Day, the holidays are over. The weather makes me appreciate the heat coming from the radiators. So, I settled into a comfortable chair and began to listen to Bach’s violin Sonatas and Partitas, in particular to the Partita #2 in D-Minor. Bach composed this set of six Sonatas and Partitas in the 1720’s. What got me started was reading a book by Arnold Steinhardt, the first violin in the Guarneri String Quartet, called Violin Dreams.

The book is an absorbing tale about his life in music and about the different violins he has played. A CD of him playing the Partita #2 in 1966 and in 2006 is included with the book. These recordings not only show how his interpretation changed over forty years but also just how different violins can sound.

The 1966 violin is high pitched and sonorous. The high and low notes sing out as if they are vying for position. While the 2006 violin is somber, verging on guttural. Its notes blend and merge into each other. There is no competition here just virtuosity favoring the baritone as opposed to the first violins tenor.

I have listened to the recordings many times but I cannot say whether I prefer 1966 or 2006. One is full of youthful exuberance and hesitancy. The other is deliberate; each note is thought out and mined for meaning.

Bach’s Chaconne is considered the pinnacle of music written for solo violin. It has been transcribed for many other instruments: piano, organ, harpsichord, flute, orchestra, and famously by Segovia for guitar. All these are compelling but I think the violin is topmost.

It is 64 variations on a theme presented in the first four measures. I was curious what the sheet music would look like, so I went to the library and checked out the score. I can barely read music but if I concentrate, I can follow along with it. The partita is divided into five sections each based on a dance: Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, Gigue, and Chaconne.

The Chaconne is almost as long as the other four sections. From my reading, there is a consensus that it was written after Bach returned from a trip only to find his 35 year old wife had died. As I listened to it, there are points where it shifts from solemn to gay and back again. The score reveals that the key changes from D Minor to D Major and back to D Minor: from sorrow to joy and again to sorrow.

The music is unrelenting and somehow accompanies itself. Believe me, listening to it is twelve minutes well spent. There are joyous moments and passages that will cause your heart to ache. I find it hard to contemplate the composing and playing skills involved. The Chaconne is well suited to the solitude of February when there is time to let it soak in undisturbed by a warm summer breeze.

February 2017