A chromatic fantasia is a specific type of fantasia (or fantasy or fancy) originating in sixteenth-century Europe. In its earliest form, it is based on a chromatically descending tetrachord which arises naturally out of the

dorian mode Dorian mode or Doric mode can refer to three very different but interrelated subjects: one of the Ancient Greek ''harmoniai'' (characteristic melodic behaviour, or the scale structure associated with it); one of the medieval musical modes; or—mo ...

. Consequently, the chromatic fantasia is almost invariably in D minor (D-E-F-G-A-B-C rather than D-E-F-G-A-B-C) even as late as

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wor ...

Some early examples

Among the earliest examples are two celebrated lute pieces by

John Dowland John Dowland (c. 1563 – buried 20 February 1626) was an English Renaissance composer, lutenist, and singer. He is best known today for his melancholy songs such as "Come, heavy sleep", " Come again", "Flow my tears", " I saw my Lady weepe", ...

, the ''Farewell'' and ''Forlorn Hope Fancy''. These were obviously highly influential of

Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck ( ; April or May, 1562 – 16 October 1621) was a Dutch composer, organist, and pedagogue whose work straddled the end of the Renaissance and beginning of the Baroque eras. He was among the first major keyboard compo ...

whose own Fantasia Chromatica in many ways forms a link between the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

and the Baroque.

Bach's chromatic fantasia

The chromatic fantasy, as a form, fell into neglect in the later seventeenth century. About a century after Sweelinck, J. S. Bach contributed the most famous examples of the form, in his

Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue The ''Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue'' in D minor, , is a work for harpsichord by Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach probably composed it during his time in Köthen from 1717 to 1723. The piece was already regarded as a unique masterpiece during his lifet ...

, BWV 903. Renaissance music genres Chromaticism {{Music-genre-stub