3/4
J.S. Bach
Violin Concerto in E Major (1723)
BWV 1042/2
Second Movement - Adagio e sempre piano
In this marvellous Adagio to Bach's E Major violin concerto (which follows a happy, dance-like first movement) we are unexpectedly confronted with the atmosphere of a tragedy which has somehow recently struck and which is generally felt, the news of which is first presented by the orchestra in a theme which could almost come from mediaeval times. It returns over and over. The theme itself is grim, forbidding, authoritarian and even menacing but it forms the context for the entrance of the soloist on a single sustained note and on what is played by the soloist throughout the rest of the whole movement. So great is the tragedy the violinist emerges only slowly from it - as if he/she is glad to realise they’ve survived. The orchestra reveals the nature of its theme only at the end of the movement, as it dies in a cadence so much like that of church music itself. The rest of the movement is the individual (the violinist) coming to terms with this broken environment with glimpses of highly personal hope. It is shattering, amazing music.
Note how, (around 3’ 04’’ on this particular recording, for example - the very centre of the movement) the soloist finds the strength to look hopefully upwards for a few moments before the general mood of the movement returns.
http://www.mediafire.com/?n2yzhhzdtmw
