Chaconne (Tristan Galeon) The chaconne is a musical form which typically includes a short, repeating bass line (Ground Bass) or harmonic progression that offers an outline for variation, ornamentation, figuration, and melodic invention; the form is also typically in triple meter and in a major key. It is similar to the passacaglia and was popular in the Baroque era. The chaconne originaly emerged from Spanish culture around 1600 as a fast and energetic dance that was typically danced with castanets by a couple or by a woman alone. It eventually spread to Italy, where it was considered disreputable due to its Spanish origin. A subdued version of the chaconne eventually gained popularity in the French court in the seventeenth century, spreading its popularity to elite courts and in the general public. French composers often designated chaconne pieces in rondeau form (with refrain recurring before, after, and between contrasting passages/couplets). By the early eighteenth century, the chaconne had evolved into a slow triple meter instrumental form. One well-known example of the chaconne is J. S. Bach’s final movement of the Partita in D minor for Unaccompanied Violin, BWV 1004, for which Bach uses the Italian term “Ciaccona.” There have been some recent claims, however, that the movement is actually more in the French theatrical dance form of the passacaille, with Italian and German stylistic influences. (source?) The chaconne form declined after the Baroque era, but saw a significant revival during the twentieth century. Chaconne versus Passacaglia There has been debate on the distinction between the two forms: Some nineteenth- and twentieth-century theorists considered the difference to be that the chaconne was a set of variations on a harmonic progression, while the passacaglia was a set of variations on a melodic bass pattern—(some theorists also considered these distinctions to be switched). Historically, there was not a clear distinction between the two forms in terms of musical construction. Both may begin on the second beat of the bar, have a theme of four measures, and typically are in triple meter. Bach’s famous Passacaglia from his Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582, however, begins on the third beat of the bar. Frescobaldi, possibly the first composer to make a distinction between the two, typically set the chaconne in a major key with two compound triple-beat groups per variation, giving it more momentum and forward motion than the passacaglia.