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
Karl-Andreas Kolly
Holger Falk, Steffen Schleiermacher
Anna Pikulska
Tatjana Vorobjova
Steffen Schleiermacher
Ma'alot Quintett, Trio Roseau
Cologne Chamber Choir, Collegium Cartusianum, Peter Neumann
Stephen Marchionda
Augsburg Cathedral Boys' Choir
Beauty Farm
Riga Project Choir
St Martin's Voices; Stephen Farr; Andrew Earis
Sara Swietlicki; Lindsay Grace Johnson; Jonas Samuelsson; Jan Karlsson Korp; Robert Bennesh; Malmo
Nicky Spence; Dylan Perez
I Solisti Ambrosiani
Hugo Williams; Emma Troman; Shawn Li; The Choir of Peterhouse; Cambridge; Simon Jackson
