chaconne

A Baroque variation form built over a repeating harmonic progression or bass line (basse de chaconne). Slower and more stately than the passacaglia (with which it overlaps in Baroque practice), the chaconne proceeds through continuous variations while maintaining the repeating pattern. Couperin uses the chaconne in Ordre 3 (La favorite, chaconne — one of his grandest pieces) and references the passacaille form in Ordre 8 (the towering Passacaille) and Ordre 24 (L'amphibie, mouvement de passacaille).

In a chaconne or passacaille, the repeating harmonic ground should be audible as a structural anchor, not merely a background pattern. Shape each variation as a self-contained expressive unit while building cumulative intensity across the whole. Couperin's La favorite and the Ordre 8 Passacaille both require careful pacing — they are among the longest single pieces in the harpsichord repertoire and demand long-term planning of climax and resolution.