Passacaille in C major

Louis Couperin's Passacaille in C major is one of his largest and most admired keyboard works — a set of continuous variations on a repeating harmonic progression in triple metre. Each variation is brief, but the cumulative effect over the work's full length is one of extraordinary rhythmic energy and harmonic richness. The passacaille and its close relation the chaconne were the grandest forms in the French Baroque keyboard repertoire, and Couperin's example — along with his Chaconne in G minor — shows how far he pushed both forms beyond their dance origins.

The challenge of the Passacaille is maintaining momentum across the full arc of the piece while giving each variation its own character. Practise the bass pattern until it flows automatically, then add the variations above it. Each variation should feel like a new character — different articulation, different density, different energy — while the bass continuity holds the whole structure together. The final few variations should feel like an accumulation of energy rather than a winding down.