Chaconne from Partita for Violin No. 2 (Bach)
Johannes Brahms in a letter to
Clara Schumann described the piece, "On one stave, for a small instrument, the man [Bach] 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."
That is quite the claim, but consider who said it then try to understand why he said it
I enjoy the piece. I view it as a few chords played at the start then their themes expanded but I do no see why Brahms is so ecstatic about it which means I do not fully understand
The beautiful setting has a Bach history
The
St. Nicholas Church (
German:
Nikolaikirche) is one of the major churches of central
Leipzig, Germany (in Leipzig's district
Mitte). Construction started in Romanesque style in 1165, but in the 16th century, the church was turned into a Gothic
hall church. Baroque elements like the tower were added in the 18th century.
In the 18th century, several works by
Johann Sebastian Bach, who was as
Thomaskantor the music director of
Thomaskirche and Nikolaikirche from 1723 to 1750, premiered here. The Neoclassical interior dates to the late 18th century.
Notable philosopher and mathematician
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was baptized here as an infant on 3 July 1646.