The chaconne and passacaglia are musical forms that were popular with composers of the Baroque era. They’re both derived from dance forms, probably Spanish dances—although some think the chaconne originated in Mexico. The two forms are difficult to distinguish from each other, and in fact Baroque composers didn’t distinguish between them—they used the terms more or less interchangeably. Both forms are moderately slow, with three beats to the measure, and both are variation forms, featuring the combination of a constant musical factor with a changing musical factor. The constant factor is either a repeating bass line or a repeating series of harmonies, and the changing factor is a series of melodic and rhythmic variations unfolding in the upper musical lines. We might say that the chaconne and passacaglia both demonstrate a dynamic equilibrium, central to Baroque music, between structural order and expressive freedom. The most famous of all chaconnes, the one found in J. S. Bach’s Partita in D Minor for solo violin, offers a brilliant and moving example of this equilibrium.
A Minute with Miles - a production of ETV Radio made possible by the JM Smith Corporation.
