Dreams - A Journey through Bach’s Chaconne

Abstract

“Dreams” because I had the dream of being able to play Bach’s Chaconne. “Dreams” because through my interpretational work with the Chaconne, I entered spaces that I only can relate with dreams. “Dreams” because I experienced the night- mare in Munch’s The Scream. This thesis is about my interpretation of J. S. Bach’s Chaconne from Partita II in D minor (BWV 1004), and I use Edvard Munch’s painting The Scream as a source of inspiration. My question is: What happens when I use a work of art as a source of inspiration for the interpretation of a piece of music? The experiments, which I made, helped me to find a context and a content for the piece of music, and proved that by using images, when interpreting and playing music, I became more free in my playing, and I could play better. The aim of my work is to find ways of coming closer to the music I play, of investigating my artistic potential, and of managing the ghosts, which live inside me and tend to block my capabilities.