Handel's Chaconne in G Major

Handel's Chaconne in G Major, HWV 435, consists of one movement with twenty one variations, and is one of the nine suites for keyboard in Handel's Suites de Pieces pour le Clavecin, Second Volume, HWV 434-442, first published in 1733. This wonderful piece is cited by Michael Borgstede in the Brilliant Classics recording company's website HANDEL EDITION: Liner notes & sung texts (p. 40 – p. 97):

"And the surely extraordinary virtuosity of the Jigg from the Suite in G minor (HWV439/3) or the Chacone in G major (HWV435) demonstrates how the young Handel’s playing whipped his audience into a state of breathless excitement."

George Frideric Handel (1685–1759) was a great German–English Baroque composer. His compositions include 42 operas; 29 oratorios; more than 120 cantatas, trios and duets; numerous arias; chamber music; a large number of ecumenical pieces; odes and serenatas; and 16 organ concerti. His famous oratorio Messiah, with its Hallelujah chorus, is often performed during the Christmas season. Among Handel's best-known instrumental works are the Concerti Grossis Opus 3 and Opus 6; the Cuckoo and the Nightingale; the Water Music; Music for the Royal Fireworks; and his sixteen keyboard suites, especially The Harmonious Blacksmith.

Handel's music was studied by composers such as Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. To Beethoven, Handel was "the master of us all ... the greatest composer that ever lived. I would uncover my head and kneel before his tomb". Beethoven emphasised the simplicity and popular appeal of Handel's music when he said, "Go to him to learn how to achieve great effects, by such simple means".