About the Music
Although Bach’s Partita No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1004 shares some important characteristics with other 18th century Baroque dance suites, notably the first four core dance movements, Allemanda, Corrente, Sarabanda and Giga, its final movement Ciaccona, is unique within Bach’s canon and considered one of the pinnacles of the violin literature. The tragic feel of this Partita is mainly from the great Ciaccona, but the movements leading up to it contribute strongly to the overall gravitas as well. These four dance movements which lead inevitably up to the Ciaccona thematically foreshadow what we will find in the Ciaccona.
Bach seemed to purposefully use the Italian forms for his titling in this Partita. Specifically, Allemanda (Fr. Allemande), Corrente (Fr. Courante), Sarabanda (Fr. Sarabande), and Giga (Fr. Gigue). Indeed, the title page of his collection of these violin Sonatas and Partitas reads, in Italian, “Sei Solo a Violino senza Basso accompagnato,” or “Six Solos for Unaccompanied Violin.” Usually Bach made these differentiations to highlight his intentions on the orientation to the French or Italian performing style.
The Allemanda, Italian form of the French word, Allemande, for “German,” was derived from dances popular in Germany in the 16th century. As a dance in quadruple meter of moderate tempo, it had become a standard element of the Baroque suite. The Allemanda of Partita No. 2 has an improvisatory feel, much akin to what might have been found in a Prelude, which Bach did not include in Partita No. 2, unlike Partita No.3 and his Cello Suites. We find here some imitative part writing helping to create the illusion of two or more instruments.
The French Courante (“running”) is generally thought of as a quick dance in triple meter. It may have originated as an Italian folk dance with running steps but as it evolved into a court dance, it was probably performed with springing steps, or later as stately glides. The Corrente which can be light and joyful in other works, takes on the somber characteristics of this Partita as a whole.
The Sarabanda’s origins may have been in the Spanish colonies in the 16th and 17th centuries, later migrating to Spain where its reputation was controversial, being considered somewhat indecent. As it later spread to Italy and then France, it became a slow, serious processional dance in triple meter. This Sarabanda is rich in chordal writing and its material and texture anticipates similar figurations in the Ciaccona.
In all of the Cellos Suites and in most Partitas, the Gigue is the final movement, in 12/8 meter and typically features wide melodic leaping intervals. Of course in this Partita, the honor of the final movement is usurped by the Ciaccona. Nonetheless, this Giga has the form’s usual nimble and strong forward momentum, but cast in a darker light in line with the character of the rest of the Partita.
The Ciaccona, the crown jewel of this Partita, is the destination to which all of the preceding core dance movements have led. As far as is known, this Ciaccona is the only existing one of its form by Bach. Like the other dance forms, the Ciaccona was once a dance as well. Its origins may have been in Mexico, brought to Europe in the 16th century. Some literature references describe it as a wild lascivious dance but once it was developed by European composers, it became slow and dignified. It appears in French (Chaconne, Chacony), Italian (Ciaccona, Ciacona) and Spanish (Chacona) literature.
Its form is one of the most disciplined and demanding of all musical compositions. Typically, the Chaconne is a set of ground-base or ostinato variations. As with Sarabandes, it is in triple meter with emphasis on the 2nd beat and is usually of serious character. The French Chaconne tended to deploy the base freely where the Italian Ciaccona was more strict in its ostinato technique. In this Ciaccona, Bach employs the Italian ostinato technique for orientation but it is musically complicated and sometimes the bass is difficult to identify.
The Ciaccona is very long - 256 measures, which is much longer than all of the other preceding movements combined (155 measures, without repeats). The theme in the bass occurs as a lament bass (D-C-B flat-A) at intervals of 4 measures each. There are 64 variations altogether usually in 4 bar pairs. At a higher level, there are three major sections, the first, 33 variations in Minor mode (measures 1-132), followed by a glorious section of 19 variations in Major mode (measures 133-208), concluding with a return to Minor mode, 12 variations (measures 209-257). Each section ramps up in intensified harmonic and rhythmic activity and each new section begins with a slower rhythmic motion as is found in the opening. The final variation revisits the initial statement with some important and effective harmonic differences.
Thinking in detail about the structural underpinning of the Ciaccona should not distract from its deep musical meaning. Some historians believe that Bach returned home after a three month trip with his employer Prince Leopold to learn that his wife, Maria Barbara, with whom he had 7 children, had unexpectedly passed away just days earlier. Violinist and historian Helga Thoene of the University of Dusseldorf has studied the six Sonatas and Partitas in depth taking into account Bach’s admitted fascination with numerology. She found quotations of Lutheran chorales embedded within the Ciaccona, the texts from which deal with death, expressing faith, pleading for help and patience and more. It is tempting to think that Bach conceived the Partita No. 2 as an elegy for his late wife. As such, many have felt that the Ciaconna is a spiritual journey through grief, anger and depression, but we also find moments of peace, ecstasy, and finally resignation and acceptance.
Of Bach’s transcendental achievement, fellow composer Johannes Brahms marveled, “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.” Not all scholars agree on the programmatic background of the Ciaccona, observing that Bach composed, not out of personal expression but rather for civic or religious service. But it is clear that, no matter your perspective, listening to the rich and layered Ciaccona will deeply affect you.