*Lana Trotovsek - J. S. BACH Chaconne from Partita No.2 in D minor for solo violin, BWV 1004* Recorded on 8th April 2014 in Church of the Ascension, Blackheath, London , United Kingdom Video and Sound engineer : Boris Bizjak, Hedone Records The Partita in D minor for solo violin (BWV 1004) by Johann Sebastian Bach was written during 1717--1723. Professor Helga Thoene suggests that this partita, and especially its last movement, was a tombeau written in memory of Bach's first wife, Maria Barbara Bach (who died in 1720), though this theory is controversial. A chaconne (French: [ʃaˈkɔn]; Spanish: chacona; Italian: ciaccona, pronounced [tʃakˈkoːna]) is a type of musical composition popular in the baroque era when it was much used as a vehicle for variation on a repeated short harmonic progression, often involving a fairly short repetitive bass-line (ground bass) which offered a compositional outline for variation, decoration, figuration and melodic invention. In this it closely resembles the passacaglia. Though it originally emerged during the late sixteenth century in Spanish culture, having reputedly been introduced from the New World, as a quick dance-song characterized by suggestive movements and mocking texts,by the early eighteenth century the chaconne had evolved into a slow triple meter instrumental form. Outstanding examples of early baroque "ciaccone" are Monteverdi's "Zefiro torna" and "Es steh Gott auf" from Heinrich Schütz.One of the best known and most masterful and expressive examples of the chaconne is the final movement from the Violin Partita in D minor by Johann Sebastian Bach. This 256-measure chaconne takes a plaintive four-bar phrase through a continuous kaleidoscope of musical expression in both major and minor modes. After the Baroque period, the chaconne fell into decline during the 19th century, though the 32 Variations in C minor by Beethoven suggest its continuing influence. However, the form saw a very substantial revival during the 20th century, with more than two dozen composers contributing examples.