An arrangement of the timeless classic song that combines the rich harmonic palette of the jazz idiom with some keyboard techniques of the 19th century romantic composers. Performance duration is about 3 minutes 45 seconds, and a performance can be viewed at youtube.com/c/rupertaustin/videos.

A six bar introduction hints at the bridge of the song before the first two verses are presented; the first with chordal writing and the second introducing some left hand arpeggios. The first appearance of the bridge stays close to the original. This is followed by two more verses where the right hand takes flight with figurations that at first outline the famous melody, before the roulades of notes lose sight of the melody and instead weave around the harmonic changes. At bar 48 the bridge reappears with the melody incorporated into a right hand figuration inspired by passages from a Chopin etude (Op. 25, No. 11). However, the much slower tempo makes this section far more approachable than Chopin's fearsome etude. At bar 56 an earlier version of the verse is repeated, which then leads to the close.

A flexible tempo should be used, with generous rubato in appropriate places. In particular, bar 41 should not sound rushed and tempo can be held back significantly here. Fingering suggestions are given in many places, but these will not suit all hands. The closest attention to fingering is required in bars 48-49 and 52-54. The dynamic markings should be viewed as a rough guide and the performer is encouraged to find their own interpretation.

Tomaso Antonio Vitali (1663 - 1745) was an Italian composer and violinist during the Baroque Era who is generally known for his Chaconne in G Minor for violin and basso continuo.

Chaconnes are a type of musical composition that consists of variations on a repeating harmonic progression. Vitali's Chaconne in particular is interesting because of its unorthodox features. Although it opens with a step-wise bass line that introduces the primary harmonic progression, it features multiple modulations into the far-flung keys of Eb-minor and Bb-minor (Ab-minor and Eb-minor in my arrangement), among others. These modulations (or key-signature changes) and other romanticisms would not begenerally seen until the Romantic Era roughly a century later.This created musicological doubts as to whether the originalmanuscript belonged to Vitali, although there is some evidenceof its authenticity.

This arrangement is based on L�opold Charlier's (1867 - 1936) arrangement of the piece, though I took inspirations from other composers and wrote some original voices. Enjoy!