Dissertation - World Federation of Music Therapy

and ending on dominant a – a new round can begin. The ostinato is repeated over and
over without changes, while the upper string parts unfold a three-part canon. Violin 1
introduces the melody, two bars of stepwise melody progression in crotchets (same
melody rhythm as the bass), then Violin 2 begins on the same melody while violin 1
proceeds with a new phrase. Two bars later Violin 3 enters, following the same
procedure. The most catchy characteristic of the composition is that the canon melody
becomes more and more lively and varied, while the ostinato remains the same, in its
steady and stable 'rocking'. – Is it possible to find a suitable analogy to this
composition in (developmental) psychology? In other words: Is it possible to
experience this canon as a metaphor for interaction principles? I think so. The bass
conducts itself like any ‘good enough’ father or mother would behave towards a child.
It creates a perfect ‘holding environment’ (Winnicott 1971). No matter what the child
comes up with it will be held and contained. When listening to Pachelbels's Canon it
is obvious that the three canonic parts unfold more and more lively and
'independently'. They 'dare' do this, exactly because their base (c: bass) is safe and
predictable. This is a perfect metaphor for what developmental psychologist Margaret
Mahler calls ‘the rehearsal phase’, where the child by turns tests itself in experiments
in the surrounding world and returns to 'fill the tank' and be confirmed by a significant
other. Within BMGIM numerous client experiences confirm that Pachelbel's Canon
(the last piece of the program “Group Experience”) is ‘holding music’, a safe and
predictable composition enabling a safe 'arrival' after a long and maybe at certain
times frightening journey in the world of imagery.
This level of experience is labelled the supportive and image stimulating level 1.
Do all compositions based on a bass ostinato have this ‘holding’ quality? A closer
investigation of other baroque selections will demonstrate that it is not so. A
provisional explanation is that music is a multi-layered composition (or configuration)
of many elements, which play their specific role in the construction of meaning.
When a composition is more complex, the ostinato may change its metaphoric
potential. This is evident, when we take a closer look at two ostinato-based
compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach.
J.S.BACH: Passacaglia and Fugue in c minor BWV 582
(composed for organ, but also arranged for orchestra by, among others, L. Stokowski)
93