Johann Sebastian Bach: Chaconne from Partita No. 2 in D minor
Bella Hristova, violin

Performed on Monday, June 17, 2013
Gould Rehearsal Hall, Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia


There are many chaconnes to speak of in baroque music. Monteverdi, Corelli, Biber, Purcell, Couperin, and Handel are just a few of the composers who frequently used the form, which bears many similarities to the passacaglia. But when one speaks of "the Chaconne," there can be little doubt that they are referring to the towering final movement of J.S. Bach's Violin Partita No. 2 in D minor. Longer in duration than the preceding four movements, its weight and influence extends beyond the partita itself, and farther than even Bach could have envisioned. Since its composition an unbroken line of musicians and composers have sat in awe as they studied, performed, and absorbed this model of function and form—a pillar on which Western music itself sits.

But form alone is not enough to captivate mankind for nearly three centuries, and there isn't exactly a dearth of examples for Bach's architectural genius. One could just as easily praise The Well-Tempered Clavier, the Goldberg Variations, or the "St. Anne" Prelude and Fugue as proof of the gospel according to Bach. So why the Chaconne? Johannes Brahms may have put it best in a letter to Clara Schumann: "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."