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John Blow (1649-1708): Chaconne a 4 in G Major (circa 1680s)
0:00 Opening
0:18 Chaconne
5:12 Credits
YuEun Gemma Kim, violin • Elizabeth Blumenstock, violin • Cynthia Keiko Black, viola • William Skeen, violoncello • Corey Jamason, harpsichord
Eddie Frank, video • Chris Landen, audio
American Bach Soloists • Jeffrey Thomas, Artistic Director
Filmed in March 2021 in the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts (Davis, California).
How we made the video: americanbach.org/Videos-Backs...
John Blow’s memorial in Westminster Abbey states that he was “Master to the famous Mr. H. Purcell.” We know little more information about their student-teacher relationship, but what is clear is that they were close colleagues and friends until Purcell’s untimely death. Blow’s compositional output is huge, consisting primarily of music for voices: anthems, service music, odes, songs, and the earliest fully sung English opera (Venus and Adonis-the model for Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas). He seems to have written very few purely instrumental works. His Chaconne in G major is composed over a repeating chord sequence (rather than an ostinato, or repeating bass line). Blow’s formidable understanding of counterpoint is very evident even as this work proceeds with ever-increasing activity and figuration. Just as the variations reach their zenith, the activity recedes, giving way to an expansive homophonic conclusion.
© 2021, American Bach Soloists
American Bach Soloists (ABS) are leading performers in the field of Baroque music, dedicated to historically informed performances of Bach and his contemporaries. ABS provides meaningful, memorable, and valuable musical experiences for our audiences through inspiring performances and recordings, and it supports the preservation of early music through educational programs for students and emerging professionals. Under the leadership of co-founder and Music Director Jeffrey Thomas, the ensemble has achieved its vision of assembling the world’s finest vocalists and period-instrument performers to bring this brilliant music to life.
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