Gertrud Schilde; Norddeutscher Kammerchor
Description
Violinist Gertrud Schilde has probed the enigmatic and monumental Ciaccona from JS Bach's Partita in D minor and uncovered spectacular evidence in the form of a whole series of traditional chorale melodies hidden away in its intricate compositional design. On this eye-opener of an album the enterprising violinist teams up with the Northern German Chamber Choir to present her revealing discoveries.
Martin Luther's consoling Easter hymn "Christ lag in Todesbanden" runs like a red thread through the work. The chorales, from "Jesu, deine Passion" through "Den Tod niemand zwingen kunnt" to "Jesu, meine Freude," deal with the double theme of death and resurrection. This is surely no coincidence. Bach penned this work not too long after the death of his first wife. It was not until he returned from an official trip to Karlsbad that he learned of this tragic event - when his beloved wife already lay in her grave.
It is thus not surprising that traces of Maria Barbara are encountered in the Ciaccona. However, Bach would not have been Bach if he had not avoided obvious allusions, preferring instead to use a subtly encoded numerical mysticism. Again and again his wife's name can be deciphered; the year of her death can be found as well as the names of their children. In this way the Ciaccona occupying a central and special place in the cycle of three sonatas and three partitas for violin solo becomes a magnificent memorial tribute to his late wife.
Gertrud Schilde adds yet another aspect to this surprising discovery: together with Jan Philip Schulze she also presents the Mendelssohn version of the Ciaccona with piano accompaniment, which sheds bright new light on the rhythmic and harmonic course taken by this splendid masterpiece. The chorales produce a fresh and vibrant impression with the knowledgeable conductor Maria Jürgensen.
Tracklisting
Michael Kaulartz, Carl-Sonje Montag, Johann Blanchard
Andrzej Szadejko, Goldberg Baroque Ensemble
Leipziger Streichquartett
Ganassi Consort
Trio Parnassus
Michael Schoch
Rosalinde Haas
Charis Ensemble
Vivum Singers; Francesca Massey; Tom Winpenny
The Sixteen; Harry Christophers
SWR Vokalensemble; Marcus Creed
Rheinische Kantorei; Edzard Burchards
Recordare; Harry Bradford
Rebecca Myers; Aryssa Leigh Burrs; Emily Marvosh; Jacob Parry; Edward Vogel; Paul Max Tipton; Apoll
Magdalena Podkoscielna; David Erler; Georg Poplutz; Sebastian Myrus; Weser-Renaissance Bremen; Manf
Helsinki Chamber Choir; Nils Schweckendiek
