Dietrich Buxtehude › BuxWV 159
Chaconne in C minor
Scores
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![Chaconne in C minor, BuxWV 159 [#924919].pdf](/files/_pending_vlm/Organ/Buxtehude%2C%20Dietrich/Chaconne%20in%20C%20minor%2C%20BuxWV%20159/Chaconne%20in%20C%20minor%2C%20BuxWV%20159%20%5B%23924919%5D.p4.png)
How to play
- Registration
- Build progressively: open with Principal 8'+4'; add 2' and Mixture across the first six variations; full plenum at the climax; pull back for the final statement. Pedal: 16'+8' throughout, with optional Posaune 16' at the climax.
- Tempo
- Steady triple pulse — the ground is danced, not paced. Avoid metronomic rigidity; allow micro-rubato at the start of each new variation.
- Articulation
- Ostinato bass: detached, walking touch. Upper voices may grow more legato as the variations develop figuration.
- Ornamentation
- Trills on each variation's strongest cadence; restraint in early variations so that ornamentation has somewhere to go.
Historical context
The C-minor Chaconne is built on a descending tetrachord — the universal Baroque “lament” bass — repeated through a sequence of variations of increasing figurative complexity. The challenge is structural: the player must shape the whole as a single arc, not as a string of independent statements. Plan the registration build before the fingers learn the notes.
Structure
1 chaconne