Chaconne #38 – Bennington College, August 11, 2017

I am looking forward to re-connecting with this work that I performed last week with the painters in Tim and Lala’s art studio. Tonight is for a few friends, old and new.

______

Tonite was one of the performances for which I did not specially prepare, as I have been working hard all week for the Conference.  My focus was to just let go, and allow the piece to play itself, so to speak.   The hall  without people is very resonant, and I found myself just allowing the tones to have lots of time, so the rhythmic framework was quite free.  I am not sure this is good, nor am I sure it is bad.  I also noticed that a few little errors have crept in here and there and they need to be given some “discipline” to get them back in line.

My next step is to find a way to take my playing of the work from where it is now (pretty good) to a much higher level;  how to do that is not yet clear to me.

2 thoughts on “Chaconne #38 – Bennington College, August 11, 2017”

  1. I just listened to Shem’s 38th Bach performance on his road to 100 in a darkened hall on the campus of Burlington college – 9:30 pm. A light rain began outside during the performance.

    This is an inspired and inspiring project. I tried to come to the concert with no expectations or preconceived ideas of what to listen for.

    With Shem’s dual goals of attaining 100 performances as well as, over time, losing his sense of ‘being the performer’ of the music, you experience that as a performer, Shem is listening with very open and curious ears. Often in performing, Bach’s solo music, we can analyze and affix rigid ideas to passages and the ideas can tend to take center stage while we lose some of our sensitivity to all of the actual sounds of the music in the moment.

    The most special moments of the performance, for me, were the normal, simple music – in between pyrotechnic passagework. This is where the sense of constant patient listening was most thrilling.

    The majority of the performance was listened to with my eyes closed. The music was beautiful and I didn’t think of the performance at all – just listened to the music. I’d say that’s mission accomplished. Thank you, Shem!

  2. Louise A. Lerner

    Thank you so much, Shem, for giving us the opportunity to share in this journey with you.

    It was interesting to hear the Chaconne in the context of the entire partita (and I particularly liked the third movement) — but nothing even comes close to having the emotional impact of the Chaconne itself.

    I had wondered about the choice of venue, but it turned out to be perfect. Despite the size of the hall, the performance felt very intimate. Sitting there in the dark, with my eyes closed most of the time, I felt surrounded by the power and beauty of the music in the resonance of the hall.

    This music has such majesty, and yet is also so very personal. It gives one hope for the world, even in its current dismal state.

    When I did open my eyes, and watched you standing there barefoot in the spotlight, pouring your heart and soul into your playing, it nearly brought me to tears. This is what music is all about!

    Thank you, Shem, for a beautiful performance and an unforgettable experience!

Leave a Reply to Karl Doty Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top