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 Variatbna
Chaconnes
and
3assacaalias

ALICE ARTZTguitar
IN MUSIC, THE TERM 'VARIATION' implies the presentation of a theme ¡n one or
more changed forms — different buildings erected on the same ground plan.
Though the practice can be traced back to medieval times it was after 1500 that
variations developed as an instrumental art form, composed and notated instead
ot improvised; Italian and Spanish lutenists and vihuelistas were pioneers in this
field. The concept of variation is olear enough but the question remains: Variation
of what?'. The melodic line may be (and from time immemorial has been) varied
by embellishment, without losing touch with its original shape (as, for example, in
Sor's variations on vYe banks and braes'), but the commonest and most flexible
method has been that of using the original harmonio progression or the bass line
alone as the ground plan, to connect the variations.
The use of both popular and composed songs as bases for variations developed
throughout renaissance Europe, but particularly in Spain and in England — a
healthy form of competition between the 4old enemies' — and at the same time
a number of harmonic progressions, known as vgrounds', became established.
The variations on these latter were known in Spain as diferencias and in England
as vdivisions' (on a ground). One of the grounds that took root in the seventeenth
century was known as xLas Folias', a ñame reflecting the abandoned character
of the triple-time dance with which it was associated. It originated in Portugal,
passed to Spain, and then to Italy from whence it was 'exported' by baroque
guitarists to France. During these travels it became more stately, and acquired
the musical characteristics by which it is now best known — that on which De
Fossa's variations are based.
At about the same time, the chaconne and passacaglia also emerged as
triple-time dance songs — but slow and dignified ones. The former originated in
South America and became popular in Spain, the latter began in Spain (pasar=
to walk, calle = street - 4promenade'), and both spread throughout Europe. The
original grounds underwent many changes of both length and harmonic content,
but they retained one common feature, that of 'self-regeneration' — the last bar
of each variation except the final one becomes the first bar of the next, ostinato
units of three or seven bars being common. Despite their different origins, the two
terms, xchaconne' and xpassacaglia', became interchangeable. The Chaconne
(Clacona) of Weiss adheres faithfully to its seven-bar ground (bars six and seven
form a hemiola), the variations being confined to the upper voices, but that of
the more highly developed Chaconne by Bach does not remain constant; in the

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latter there is an accent on the second beat of the bar (as there is in xLas Folias'
and ¡n many sarabandes), evident ¡n the opening variations but not maintained
throughout.
The heyday of the chaconne and passacaglia was the baroque period, since
when composers have rarely used the former term; twentieth-century composers
have however revived the latter, followlng the example of Bach's passacaglias in
placing the ostinato bass in any voice, not only the bass. The ground of
Bogdanovic's Passacaglia, clearly stated at the outset, remains for most of the
time below the remaining voices but is occasionally crossed by them; that of
Obrovska's work is briefer and is more subtly woven into the texture. Koshkin
describes the first part of his diptych as 'Andante quasi passacaglia', reflecting
the fact that the ostinato elements pervade the movement rather than govern its
structure. The theme and variations form has undergone far-reaching
transformation since the times of its relatively simple origins, as have also those
particular varieties of it, the chaconne and passacaglia.

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685-1750), the one-man summation of baroque

music and a colossus who still straddles musical history, wrote six innovatory works
for solo violin, the Sonatas and Partitas (three of each), whose reconciliation of
the fullest exploitation of the instrument's potentialities with high quality musical
content remains as remarkable as the music remains an all-round challenge even
to today's virtuosi. It was Segovia who first adapted the Chaconne from the
Second Partita in D minor for the guitar, but others, with the benefit of academic
knowledge he did not possess, have since made their own arrangements. It is
impossible to play more than a two-note chord on the violin without arpeggiation,
a potential 'intrusión' that may be avoided on the guitar — to which Bach's
richly varied textures are equally idiomatic, and on which counterpoint may be
more clearly delineated.

JANA OBROVSKA (1930-1987) wrote music for all media, including many works for
the guitar — a natural consequence of her marriage to the Czech virtuoso Milán
Zelenka. Though her music reflects her admiration for that of Bartók, she has a
severe style of her own. The Toccata, unpublished and given to Alice Artzt at her
last meeting with Obrovska and Zelenka, replaces the one which appears in the
printed edition — as Obrovska wished.

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FERNANDO SOR (1778-1839), one of the 'founding fathers' of the classic guitar,
whose history will be well known to aficionados of that instrument, became widely
famous in his lifetime and has remained so ever since. The full title of his opus 40 is
'Fantaisie et Variations sur un air favori Ecossais', the term 'fantaisie' then often
being applied to sets of variations heralded by imposing introductions. The choice
of theme is less surprising than it might seem: Scottish and Irish tunes were much in
vogue in Europe in Sor's time and were variously used by many composers, of
whom Haydn and Beethoven were but two. The 'before de Fossa' harmonies are
'naturai' ones!

NIKITA KOSHKIN (born 1956) first sprang to fame, circa 1971, with his suite The
Prince's Toys, servlng notice that a new and remarkable talent had arrived. He
was born and musically educated in Moscow where he stili lives, unseen on this
side of the east-west divide though a tape recording indicates that he Is a fine
guitarist who can play his own works eloquently. In his ready response to story
lines, fairy taies and images, Koshkin is as quintessentially Russian as those who
have clearly influenced his musical style — Shostakovich and Prokofiev. The work
here recorded is subtitled 'The fall(ing) of birds' since Koshkin is said to have heard
it in a dream, with that title — the significance of which remains as unclear to
him as to anyone else! The Toccata is a virtuosic piece, in which the performer
either flies of falls.

FRANÇOIS DE FOSSA (1775-1849), of whose early llfe little is known, left his native
Perpignan in 1793 and emigrated to Spain where he became a professional
soldier. After an active and varied career he retired from military service in 1844,
by which time he had been made a Chavalier of the Légion d'Honneur. Despite
his military duties he remained active with the guitar, as a composer of better
quality than most of his contemporaries in that field, an arranger, copyist and
player (he is credited with the discovery of 'artificial' (octave) harmonies); he was
also the into-French translator of the guitar method written by his close friend,
Dionysio Aguado. How the composer of such an attractive, resourceful and
idiomatic work as the Variations on 'Las Folias', his opus 12 (1829), could remain in
obscurity, unmentioned in ali major works of reference until his 'rediscovery ' in
1981 by the American musicologist Matanya Ophee, remains a mystery.

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SYLVIUS LEOPOLD WEISS (1686-1750) was the most famous lutenist of his time, a
proliflc composer, a fluent improviser, and a friend of J S Bach, his almost exact
contemporary. His style leaned to the galant, rather than the contrapuntai, as
better suited his instruments's capabilities. Most of his works are contained in
manuscripts housed in London and Dresden; the Ciacona comes from the former
source, the final movement of Suite No 10 in G minor, here transposed to A minor.

DUSAN BOGDANOVIC (born 1955) was born in Yugoslavia and studied the guitar,
composition and orchestration at the Geneva Conservatory, where he later
became a professor — as also at the Belgrade Music Academy. His success as a
composer and recitalist (his Carnegie Hall début was in 1977) has been such that
he now lives in Los Angeles, working as a freelance artist. He explains that the title
of his work relates to Jung's commentary on the writings of Hiu Ming Ching, a
reference to Taoism; the introductory Toccata is in effect a florid méditation,
centred on one chord. The work is dedicated to Alice Artzt and was written
specifically for inclusion in this recording.

The theme and variations format is one of the oldest in ali music, but it is a
goldmine that seems in no danger of being worked out.

©JOHN DUARTE, 1989

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 CDH88026

Variations,
Passacaglias
and Chaconnes
ALICE ARTZTguitar
Johann Sebastian Bach
• CHACONNE (14-50)
from Violin Partita in D minor, BWV1004, arranged by Alice Artzt
Jana Obrovska
[3 PASSACAGLIA AND TOCCATA (4'28)
Fernando Sor
IH FANTASIA ON 4YE BANKS AND BRAES' op 40 (6'53)
Nikita Koshkin
0 ANDANTE QUASI PASSACAGLIA AND TOCCATA (THE FALL OF BIRDS) (8'23)
François de Fossa
DD VARIATIONS ON 'LAS FOLIAS DE ESPAGNA' op 12 (5'46)
Sylvius Leopold Weiss
GÖ CHACONNE (6'15)
from
DusanSuite Nò 10 in G minor, arranged by Alice Artzt
Bogdanovic
• INTRODUCTION, PASSACAGLIA AND FUGUE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER (9'20)

Recorded on 30 April, 1 May 1988

Recording EngineerTRYGG TRYGGVASON
Recording Producer ARTHUR JOHNSON
Design TERRY SHANNON
Executive Producers CECILE KELLY, EDWARD PERRY
® & © Hyperion Records Limited, London, MCMLXXXIX
Front illustration: Woman with guitarby Georges Braque (1882-1963)