Chaconne from Bach's Violin Partita No. 2 played on hammered dulcimer by Peter Jones

Описание: Bach wrote his Violin Partita No. 2 in D minor around 1718–1720. A “partita” is a suite of dance movements for solo instrument; this one has five movements, ending with the iconic Chaconne, which is longer than the other four movements combined.
The chaconne began as a lively Spanish dance in triple meter in the late 1500s, but by Bach’s time it had become a set of continuous variations, likely here over a descending tetrachord. Bach’s first wife, Maria Barbara, died in 1720, and some have suggested that he wrote the Chaconne in her memory. It has often been praised as one of the greatest works ever composed, and at the time it was the longest and most technically demanding solo violin piece in existence. It has since been transcribed for many instruments, including piano, organ, orchestra, harpsichord, guitar, cello, voice, and harp.
The piece is also rich in mathematical structure. It opens with an eight‑measure theme followed by 62 variations, creating 64 four‑bar sections. These divide into a D minor section of 33 four‑bar units, a D major section of 19, and a final D minor section of 12. The proportions between the first and second sections, and between the second and third, approximate the golden ratio. Throughout the Chaconne, Bach uses intensification—through increased speed, chromaticism, dotted rhythms, and denser textures—alternating with passages of release.
On his manuscript, Bach labels the movement “Ciaccona,” writing an extra “C” above the word. Some have interpreted the three C’s as an acronym for Christus coronabit crucigeros (“Christ will crown those who bear the cross”). Bach was also fascinated by the number 14. In one famous portrait, he wears a waistcoat with 14 buttons, and the shapes of the letters “i” and “a” in “Ciaccona” on the manuscript resemble the number 14. Using gematria (assigning numbers to letters), B(2) + A(1) + C(3) + H(8) also equals 14. Baroque musicians often used such numerical symbolism, linking music to cosmic order. Since Pythagoras (570–495 BCE) discovered the mathematical relationships of the overtone series, thinkers have connected musical ratios with the harmony of the spheres, imagining the motions of heavenly bodies as generating inaudible vibrations, so that music became a metaphor for the structure of the universe.
The full Chaconne often lasts 14 minutes or more. In this age of short attention span theater, this video presents a personal transcription for hammered dulcimer, shortened to just under seven minutes. I hope you enjoy it.