My own arrangement of Bach’s Chaconne in D minor

from the original chaconne for violin.

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Many of today’s leading harpsichordists have made their own arrangements of this mighty piece (the concluding movement of Bach’s Partita No. 2 in D minor for solo violin). I first heard such a performance when given by Gustav Leonhardt in 1986. The harpsichord is particularly effective in conveying its mood and stature, and it presents the player with a single movement more than ten minutes long, which is a rarity in the harpsichord repertoire.

It can be heard in its entirety on the CD Bach by Arrangement and also - transposed down to the more sombre key of A minor - on Dark Harpsichord Music.

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Here are the first few bars: