Partita for Violin No. 2 (Bach)

The Partita in D minor for solo violin (BWV 1004) by Johann Sebastian Bach was written during the period 1717–1723 and one scholar, Professor Helga Thoene, suggests this partita, and especially its last movement, was a tombeau, written in memory of Bach's first wife, Maria Barbara Bach (who died in 1720), though this theory is controversial. The partita contains five movements, given in Italian as:^[1]

1. Allemanda
2. Corrente
3. Sarabanda
4. Giga
5. Ciaccona

The Ciaccona

The Ciaccona (commonly known as Chaconne in French), the concluding movement of the partita, lasts some 13 to 15 minutes, surpassing the duration of the previous movements combined (depending on whether any repeats in the five movements may be omitted). The theme, presented in the first four measures in typical chaconne rhythm with a chord progression based on the repeated bass note pattern D D C♯ D B♭ G A D, begets the rest of the movement in a series of variations. The overall form is a triptych, the middle section of which is in major mode.^{[original research?]}

Ciaccona

This ciaccona is considered^{[weasel words]} a pinnacle of the solo violin repertoire in that it covers every aspect of violin-playing known during Bach's time and thus it is among the most difficult pieces to play for that instrument. Since Bach's time, several transcriptions of the piece have been made for other instruments, particularly for the piano by Ferruccio Busoni and Alexander Siloti and piano/left-hand by Brahms, and for full orchestra by Leopold Stokowski and Joachim Raff, as well as for the guitar, first transcribed by Spanish guitarist and composer Andres Segovia. At least three transcriptions have been published for organ solo. Recently, a bassoon transcription by Arthur Weisberg was written to highlight the capabilities of his new key systems for the bassoon.^{[citation needed]} The Chaconne was also transcribed for Flute by Danish flautist Toke Lund Christensen, then re-transcribed by Denis Bouriakov.There is also a transcription for choral and piano by Luiz Antonio V Penteado with lyrics in Portuguese and a version in German, besides a version in English only as a poem.^{[citation needed]}

The Ciaccona is commonly included as a required repertoire piece in violin competitions all over the world.^{[citation needed]}

Violinist Joshua Bell has said the Chaconne is "not just one of the greatest pieces of music ever written, but one of the greatest achievements of any man in history. It's a spiritually powerful piece, emotionally powerful, structurally perfect."^[2] Johannes Brahms, in a letter to Clara Schumann, said about the ciaccona:

On one stave, for a small instrument, the man writes a whole world of the deepest thoughts and most powerful feelings. If I imagined that I could have created, even conceived the piece, I am quite certain that the excess of excitement and earth-shattering experience would have driven me out of my mind.^[3]

See also

• Sonatas and partitas for solo violin (Bach)

Bibliography

• Humphreys, David. 2002. "Esoteric Bach". Early Music 30, no. 2 (May): 307.
• Rich, Alan. 2006. "Morimur: Is There Sex after Bach?" In his So I've Heard: Notes of a Migratory Music Critic, 66–67. Milwaukee: Amadeus. ISBN 1574671332.
• Silbiger, Alexander. 1999. "Bach and the Chaconne". The Journal of Musicology 17, no. 3 (Summer): 358–85.
• Thoene, Helga. 1994. "Johann Sebastian Bach. Ciaconna—Tanz oder Tombeau. Verborgene Sprache eines berühmten Werkes". In Festschrift zum Leopoldfest [15. Köthener Bachfesttage] , 14–81. Cöthener Bach-Hefte 6, Veröffentlichungen des Historischen Museums Köthen/Anhalt XIX. Köthen.
• Thoene, Helga. 2001. Johann Sebastian Bach, Ciaccona: Tanz oder Tombeau?—Eine analytische Studie. Oschersleben: Ziethen. ISBN 3-935358-60-1.
• Thoene, Helga. 2003. "Verborgener Klang und verschlüsselte Sprache in den Werken für Violine solo von Johann Sebastian Bach". In AnsBACHwoche, Almanach: 25 Juli bis 3. August 2003, 22–35. Ansbach: Bachwoche Ansbach GmbH.

Notes

1. ^ These movements are more frequently listed by their French names on recordings and in some references, as Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, Gigue, and Chaconne.
2. ^ Weingarten, Gene. "Pearls Before Breakfast". Washington Post Magazine, Sunday, April 8, 2007. Accessed online on 9/18/2011 at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721_pf.html
3. ^ Litzman, Berthold (editor). "Letters of Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms, 1853-1896". Hyperion Press, 1979, p. 16.

External links

• Solo violin partita No. 2: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project.
• Bach's Chaconne in D minor for solo violin: An application through analysis by Larry Solomon
• Nathan Milstein playing the Chaconne
• Recording of Busoni's transcription of the Chaconne by Boris Giltburg in MP3 format
• Partita No. 2 (complete), played on electric bass by Dave Grossman (Audio and Video)
• Violinist and author Arnold Steinhardt discusses his lifelong quest to master the chaconne; interesting interview, good links
• Audio of Joshua Bell playing at L'Enfant Plaza in January 2007 for largely oblivious commuters; includes 2 performances of the complete chaconne
• Partita No. 2 performed on guitar by Yaron Hasson
• http://www.scoreexchange.com/scores/95424.html Bach Chaconne Coral and Piano Transcription - Portuguese Version (score, audio and details) by Luiz Antonio V Penteado.
• http://www.scoreexchange.com/scores/97010.html Bach Chaconne Choral and Piano Transcription - German Version (score, audio and details) by Luiz Antonio V Penteado.
• http://www.scoreexchange.com/scores/95427.html Bach Chaconne Piano Transcription (score, audio and details) by Luiz Antonio V Penteado.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ee3o8wTR8RI Bach Chaconne Choral and Piano Transcription (audio and video) by Luiz Antonio V Penteado.