You can listen to the entire chaconne in the embedded audio and download the recording for later listening. Mariah Helgeson grew up in a Minnesota family of artists and musicians, where she first heard On Being over the airwaves at age She collected stories of human resilience and kindness in the classrooms of George Washington University — earning a degree in International Affairs with concentrations in the Middle East and Conflict Resolution — and over many cups of coffee in community movements, from nuclear nonproliferation, to interfaith dialogue, to compassionate communication.
Mariah worked as a program associate at the Sustained Dialogue Campus Network and lived in southern India for a spell as a documentary curator. Written by Lauren Small. New Here? New to On Being? Start Here. Mariah Helgeson Published November 16, Share your reflection. Keywords Bach , Chaconne , classical music , grief , loss , Tim Fain.
Pediatric oncologists and parents alike are searching for someone to help them bear the suffering they must witness. Each mode change follows a major cadence, and each new section begins with the slower motions characteristic of the opening of the Chaconne. But once each new section begins, the same processes of growth continue as in the first minor-mode section.
Bach carefully planned the placement of these mode changes so that each section is briefer than the previous one, allowing the heightening intensifications to proceed even faster than in the previous sections.
There are 33 minor-mode statements, then 19 major-mode statements, and finally 12 minor-mode statements. In addition, Bach may well have planned the proportions between sections to project some ancient architectural and structural principles. The 62 variation phrases after the two-phrase theme in mm. The ratios among these variation-phrase groupings are the 12 ending minor-mode variations related to the 19 major-mode variations that precede them and the ratio of the major-mode variation phrases to the 31 variation phrases of the second half of the movement.
These two ratios 0. To be sure, one must manipulate the numbers a bit to get some of these proportions. Otherwise, there are either 33 phrases in the first large section and 31 in the second large section or 31 phrases after the theme in the first large section and 29 phrases in the second large section prior to the closing thematic statements.
It is, of course, quite possible that Bach conceptualized the movement with the opening theme followed by the ratio. But for performers and listeners I personally find the patterns of heightening activity more pertinent. Exploring those aspects of the Chaconne as they affect articulation, tempo, expression, affect, bow stroke, fingering, and all other nuances of violin playing and music making will fill many a lifetime.
The Cambridge Companion to Bach. Half-way back to Princeton we had dinner in a chrome-and-neon diner. Sitting opposite you in the high-backed booth, I tried not to be moved by the negligent fall of your cropped blonde hair or the sensitivity emanating from your fingers; the vibrancy of being hovering in your eyes or the striking immediacy of your lips: I was determined not to let the shadow of an impossible future fall upon our present state of grace.
We talked about music. You said you understood me; you said that for you too, music, your violin, has been an instrument of liberation. What do you want to know? He wrote that in a letter to Clara Schumann. The sound of the violin carries far. You lower your head and shake it to say no. Rejection: I have no memory of the murmuring house, no sonorous womb, no ocean, but in the acoustic mirror of your beating heart I have a body—Am I not to be reborn?
Or was it the idea of the darkness we might have shared, the darkness that would remain in the blackness of my hair when you awoke to find yourself beside me? Little did I know then that from that Swiss base your footprint would soon cover the world: The world to whose origin I feared you were denying me access. Back in the Cabriolet I felt thrown back upon myself, but once we slipped into French I felt one with you again.
Cold, the Heineken warms my heart; bold, you teach me subtlety. Am I dreaming? That day on the Jersey shore was three and a half years ago: It seems like yesterday. You hair was short, then; mine was long. The interpretations on Baroque violins are equally multi-facetted: The Chaconne recording by Sigiswald Kuijken stands out due to its historically informed performance. The broad spectrum of different recordings of the Chaconne also mirrors the appreciation which it enjoys as an outstanding piece in the violin repertoire.
Yehudi Menuhin was not the only one who regarded it as the greatest composition ever written for solo violin. A noteworthy date in the more recent history of Chaconne performances was a workday morning in when violinist Joshua Bell dressed as a street musician and played the Chaconne outside the subway in Washington, D.
It goes without saying that no one recognized the world-famous violinist, and even his excellent rendition of this highly demanding piece generated almost no attention whatsoever. It comes as no surprise that Bell chose the Chaconne for his experiment, since in his eyes, it is not only the greatest piece of music in the literature: it is the greatest human achievement in history.
His music generally reflects less of his personal life than the oeuvres of many other composers, but nevertheless it is important to know what biographical influences were relevant at the time. According to Grimaud, the Chaconne is the most impressive movement he ever wrote: when you play the variations, you have the feeling of dancing with your own shadow. This piece leaves the performer and the listener with the confirmed sensation that everything is possible.
In order to post a comment, you must: Register or E-Mail mich bei weiteren Kommentaren benachrichtigen. Content overview Context in the life and work of J. Bach Structural elements of the chaconne Academic processes Arrangements and transcriptions Interpretations Sheet music: Important editions of the Chaconne Context in the life and work of J.
Structural elements of the chaconne The chaconne, a dance which hails from Latin America and actually has a light-hearted character, made its way from Spain to Italy and France as part of guitar repertoire and is closely related to the passacaglia. Academic processes The approaches to analysing the Chaconne are as complex and multi-facetted as the piece itself. Arrangements and transcriptions To illustrate her theory more effectively, Helga Thoene added the choral lines whose presence she suspected to the notes of the Chaconne and had that version of the piece played by violinist Christoph Poppen and the Hillard Ensemble on the CD that accompanies her book.
Interpretations The broad spectrum of arrangements can also be seen in the broad spectrum of recordings. Sheet music: Important editions of the Chaconne Please note: Information about literature will be provided soon. Leave a Comment Cancel reply In order to post a comment, you must:.
You can also log in with:. Facebook Google. You go Bach As for the 4 bars or 8 bars argument, it's a bit academic, but the definition of "Chaconne" leaves little room for doubt - they are 4-bar variations. I like to think of them as 4-bar variations that tend to come in related pairs. The arpeggios don't change this, so, for instance, mm include 8 variations You seem to have overlooked my main argument - if they were 8-bar variations, the first key change would come mid-way through a variation.
There are simply no examples of that in any preth century musical literature. My point is, if as you said Bach add some treatments to, i. Otherwise, what would you call bar as, if the theme only last from bar ? Catherine, the arpeggios follow the same 4 or 8 bar sometimes one, sometimes the other, it seems already established.
I got 57, not including the theme at the beginning and the end. I have no idea where someone got 64 from.
Or 63 or Catherine, you're missing some of them! There's an argument to be made for Mattias's variations without a theme. The first appearance of the subject is modified to avoid the harmonic minor augmented 2nd, which also craftily serves to lengthen it. A distinction is being made between subject and theme.
As to how that is relevant to the Bach Chaconne, I have no idea. A Chaconne is, by definition, a set of variations upon a continually repeated chord progression. If the chord progression to be used as the basis for variation is 8 bars long, then you have 8 bar long variations, as in the Purcell taking your word for it.
If the chord progression used as the basis for variation is 4 bars long, as in the Bach, then you have 4 bar long variations. Those arguing for 8 bar variations in the Bach Chaconne would have to show that the chord progression that defines the Chaconne is 8 bars long. In my opinion, the chord progression is clearly 4 bars long. Measures are a repetition and embellishment of measures While some chords are revoiced, the function of each chord in the chord progression is unchanged.
That said, if anyone is willing to argue that the base chord progression of the Bach Chaconne is 8 bars long, don't let me stop you! In the d minor Chaconne, Bach transcends the established limitations of the Chaconne form in creating an organic whole.
One of the ways he does this is the seamless transitions from one variation to the next. Yes, this means that some of the variations are similar to each other, which is a conscious decision made for the benefit of the entire piece. It also means that we can, years later, still be thrown off. Let's also remember - we are discussing the "how," not the "what.
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