| The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians defines the chaconne as follows: |
| "A Baroque dance in triple metre whose musical scheme was incorporated into a continuous variation form. The chacona originated as a dance-song apparently in Latin America and became popular in Spain early in the 17th century." ("Chaconne", The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 1980, London) |
| Janheinz Jahn, in his book Muntu, states that the chacona (Spanish for chaconne, which is the French form of the name) was a dance and musical form learned by Spanish settlers from African slaves in 16th century Cuba and taken back to Spain. |
| Characteristics of the chaconne are: (1) a repeating rhythmic pattern emphasizing the first two beats in triple meter; (2) a repeating melodic motion from the tonic to the dominant, almost always in the bass and usually downward, in diatonic or chromatic steps; and (3) a repeating harmonic progression from the tonic to the dominant by way of intermediate harmonies which usually include a motion from the subdominant to the dominant; in the minor mode, the subdominant function might be represented by the submediant; in the major mode the subdominant function might be replaced by the dominant of the dominant. |
| All three of these characteristics come from African antecedents, but the rhythmic aspect is particularly complex and well-represented in diverse forms in African, African American and European music. |
The Chaconne: Origins |
| RIFFS The Chaconne Origins Lester Allyson Knibbs, Ph.D. |
Introduction The Chaconne --- Cadential Structure Unitary & Binary Structures Linear & Periodic Structures Riff Modalities Structural Counterpoint Modular Composition Appendices |
| Origins: Next Toward Cadential Structure In the Music of Bach In Cadential Structure After Bach In Symphonic Composition In Twentieth Century Music |
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