Johann Sebastian Bach

Born: March 21, 1685 in Eisenach, Germany
Died: Died July 28, 1750 in Leipzig

Partita No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1004, Chaconne 

• Composed:  1720, arr. 1990
  
• Premiere: July 21, 1824 in London by cellist David Salomons and bassist Domenico Dragonetti
  
• Duration: approx. 16 minutes

Although it is known that Johann Sebastian Bach composed his three Sonatas and three Partitas for Unaccompanied Violin before 1720 (according to the dates on the manuscripts), there is not a letter, preface, contemporary account or shred of any other documentary evidence to shed light on the genesis and purpose of these pieces. They were written when Bach was director of music at the court of Anhalt-Cöthen, north of Leipzig, and represent the pinnacle of achievement in the unaccompanied string repertory. The greatest single movement among these works, and one of the most sublime pieces Bach ever created, is the majestic Chaconne (an ancient variations form in which a short, repeated chord pattern is decorated with changing figurations and elaborations) that closes the Partita No. 2 in D Minor. Bach subjected his eight-measure theme to 64 continuous variations, beginning and ending in D minor but modulating in the center section to the luminous key of D major. The noted Bach scholar Philipp Spitta wrote of the Chaconne: 

From the grave majesty of the beginning to the 32nd notes which rush up and down like the very demons; from the tremulous arpeggios that hang almost motionless, like veiling clouds above a dark ravine … to the devotional beauty of the D major section, where the evening sun sets in a peaceful valley: the spirit of the master urges the instrument to incredible utterances. This Chaconne is a triumph of spirit over matter such as even Bach never repeated in a more brilliant manner.

The grand vision of the Chaconne has inspired numerous arrangements for other musical forces, including Mendelssohn’s addition of a piano accompaniment to the violin original for an 1840 performance with Ferdinand David (Mendelssohn's concertmaster at the Leipzig Gewandhaus), Ferruccio Busoni’s reworking for piano solo, Brahms’ version for piano left hand and Joachim Raff’s transcription for full orchestra.

The arrangement of the Chaconne for two cellos is by pedagogues and internationally acclaimed husband-and-wife cellists Johanne Perron, a native of Canada, and Claudio Jaffé, a native of Saõ Paulo, Brazil, who met at Yale while studying with the renowned teacher Aldo Parisot.

©2025 Dr. Richard E. Rodda