Music for Meditation: J.S. Bach and Jennifer Koh
July 1st, 2020
By Mark George, President and CEO
Music as Meditation is a weekly recommendation of music of a reflective nature. Find a comfortable chair or lie down, turn on a smart speaker or put in earbuds, and just listen.
The Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin by Johann Sebastian Bach represent both the foundation and the pinnacle of the violin repertoire. Composed nearly 300 years ago, the works are still some of the most taught, performed and recorded pieces in classical music. The Partita No. 2 in D minor is particularly stunning and its final movement in the form of a chaconne can only be described as miraculous.
The chaconne is a long series of variations built upon an eight-bar bass line and chord progression. From this simple structure Bach creates a masterful piece of music that bends to the depths of sadness and reaches for the heights of joy. Each new variation deepens the experience, adding rhythmic details, harmonic adjustments, complex counterpoint, virtuoso string-crossings, innocent chorale style chords, to name but a few.
Midway through, Bach runs a set of variations in D Major, a revelatory moment that seems to change everything. When the minor key returns, we can only reflect on the grand architecture of this movement and the universal wisdom of its creator. The movement is approximately 15 minutes in length. Enjoy this listening journey!
Chaconne from Partita No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1004, ca. 1720
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
About Jennifer Koh
Violinist and MIC alumna Jennifer Koh is a forward-thinking artist dedicated to exploring a broad and eclectic repertoire, while promoting diversity and inclusivity in classical music. She has expanded the contemporary violin repertoire through a wide range of commissioning projects, and has premiered more than 70 works written especially for her. Most recently, she developed an online commissioning project and performance series in support of composers during the Corona Virus known Alone Together.
Jennifer was a top prize winner at Moscow’s International Tchaikovsky Competition, recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant, and Music America’s 2016 Instrumentalist of the Year. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from Oberlin College and studied at the Curtis Institute of Music.