Chaconne #6

6) August 12, 2012 Williamstown, MA Private home for 2 longtime friends and music lovers.  Drove down from Bennington where I have been performing and teaching at the Chamber Music Conference for the past 2 weeks …packed up my things, got in the car, arrived and played. There were a few funny concentration issues: I was smelling the beautiful lunch my Hostess prepared and the smells distracted me, made me lose the thread – I had to remember to listen and not smell!

 Not having worked the piece much at all during Bennington, the performance was a little better than so-so, from my point of view.   The larger musical organization was intact, emotional flow decent, just a lot of ins and outs in concentration: made me want to pay much more attention in my daily practice to this issue; also focussing and tightening the smaller circles…realized that 100 performances will go by quickly, need to value each and every one, each phrase…

played all dance movements – reflecting in the drive home that the four dance movements and the Chaconne are inextricably linked – they form absolutely one singular flow.  convinced.   never heard them this way before.  Allemande build to m15 had powerful effect on listeners, same with reflective end into…Corrente m1,2 bass line martélé correct,  m43-44 shifts worked like a charm (practiced right)…Sarabanda repeat good but disorganized…Giga RA (right arm) arcs and circles ng…Chaconne opening dotted rhythm phrases out of focus; the balance between the three voices remain most difficult spot… 

a beautiful moment – interpersonal, musical sharing: my Hostess said at the end that she had been holding back tears, not wanting to disturb me…confirming my ideas of depth and transformation…for me, those tears were the highest compliment one could be paid,  in fact a most important part of the performance and part of the transformative movement I aspire to create through playing music.   Host commented on the feeling of the music, the sound and emotions in and on his body.

1 thought on “Chaconne #6”

  1. What an incredible experience, one that shall long be remembered! The intensity was such that I sometimes forgot to breathe–not holding my breath, but just being held in something like suspended animation. All afternoon, the music kept running through my head.The most intimate musical experience of my life.

    Interestingly, my bilateral tinnitus disappeared during Shem’s playing and stayed away the rest of the day–returned the next morning, darn it.

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