Bach: Chaconne from the Partita for Violin No. 2 | Viktoria Mullova

It’s regarded as the work in which the full depth and magic of Johann Sebastian Bach can be found: the Ciaccona; fifth and final movement of the Partita in D minor for solo violin, BWV 1004. Here Bach's chaconne is played by violinist Viktoria Mullova at a 1999 concert in the Nikolaikirche, Leipzig.

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) composed the Partita No. 2 in Köthen, 1720. He had returned home after a long period of official travel to learn that his wife had passed away during his absence – and had already been buried. Research disputes whether his second partita, and in particular its fifth movement – the Ciaccona – is a testament to Bach's personal grief. Regardless, the Ciaccona occupies a special position within Partita No. 2: It’s longer than the previous four movements combined, thus disrupting the balance of the suite.

In purely formal terms, the Ciaccona also plays against type. It is based on a sombre figure in the bass voice – repeated a total of 32 times, as if circling about itself – while the melody moves freely across just as many variations. Bach’s take on the chaconne – traditionally a rather cheerful dance in a major key – is a complex set of variations beginning in D minor, shifting into major for ten variations at its heart, before switching back into minor.

Renowned violinist Yehudi Menuhin has said of Bach's Ciaccona that it is the greatest form in existence for solo violin. From a technical standpoint, the Ciaccona is one of the most difficult pieces in the violin oeuvre. The profound, virtuoso piece was disregarded for a long time before being rediscovered, as it were, by Robert Schumann, who furnished it with piano accompaniment. Since then, Bach's Ciaccona has been transcribed for numerous instruments.

This performance took place at a commemorative concert held on October 9, 1999 – exactly ten years after the ‘Monday Demonstration’. On October 9, 1989, some 70,000 citizens overcame their fear of the authoritarian regime to demonstrate for freedom and more democracy in Leipzig – the second largest city of former East Germany. The peaceful, large-scale demonstration is considered a key historical moment which, in combination with other events, led to the fall of the Wall one month later, on November 9, 1989.

© EuroArts Music International

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