The Ciacona in G minor for violin and basso continuo by Tomaso Antonio Vitali is one of the most important works in the baroque string repertoire.

We owe the rediscovery and popularization of this work to Ferdinand David, a famous German violinist of the 19th century. He first published the Ciacona in 1867 in his “Hohe Schule des Violinspiels”.

The Dresden manuscript that Ferdinand David used, bears the inscription “Del Signor Vitalino”, but the authorship is still uncertain to this day. Ferdinand David arranged the violin part according to his own violinistic ambitions and developed the basso continuo figuring of the manuscript into a challenging piano setting.

Contrasting virtuoso violin passages in the variation movement and bold harmonic turns in the challenging piano part continue to fascinate the music world to this day.

Breitkopf & Härtel offers the Ciacona in G minor for violin and basso continuo in an arrangement by Léopold Charlier for solo violin and large orchestra as hire material.

The corresponding piano reduction by Léopold Charlier is available for purchase, as is an edition for viola and piano in an arrangement by Friedrich Hermann.