burl

About

Of all the movements in JS Bach's Partita no.3 in A minor, it was the burlesca that spoke most compellingly to me. I loved its obsessive ornamentation and the confounding eruption of parallel octaves two-thirds of the way through. The recurring twists and turns made me think of the way wood grows around an an insect or an injury. Over time, these irregularities amplify, forming a complex pattern — a burl. Often described as a deformity, the tree has in fact healed itself.