Chaconne in G minor for Violin & Basso continuo

Vitali Chaconne in G minor for Violin & Basso continuo

Ever since its publication in the 19th century, Tomaso Vitali’s Chaconne in G minor has been among the most important works in the violin repertoire.  The credit for having made this inspired composition, with its sometimes extremely bold harmonies, accessible to a wide circle of musicians belongs to Ferdinand David (1810–1873), who printed it for the first time in the second volume of his Hohe Schule des Violinspiels.  In accordance with 19th century practice, however, David did not offer an Urtext edition.  He altered the violin part in the contemporary virtuoso manner and on occasion, particularly in the last quarter of the piece, entirely reworked it.  In addition, the bass part was often completely recast, and the realisation was handled in the style of a quasi-concertante piano part that was far removed from what was indicated by the composer’s figuring.  The numerous later publications of the Chaconne have been based without exception on David’s first edition.

Our Urtext edition is based on a contemprary manuscript held in the Landesbibliothek in Dresden, and the comprehensive preface outlines the reasons why this manuscript has been used as the basis for our edition.