> Passacaglia > (It.; Fr. passacaille; Ger. passacalia; It. passacaglio, passagallo, > passacagli, passacaglie; Sp. pasacalle, passacalle). > > In 19th- and 20th-century music, a set of ground-bass or ostinato > variations, usually of a serious character; in the earliest sources, a > short, improvised ritornello between the strophes of a song. The term is > sometimes used interchangeably with chaconne (the forms chaconne and > passacaglia are used throughout this article regardless of the national > tradition under discussion). This article concentrates on the early years > of the passacaglia, when the term had a quite distinct meaning. Its > subsequent history, which largely parallels that of the chaconne, is > summarized here; the two genres and their close relationship are explored > in greater detail in the article Chaconne. > > 1. Beginnings in Spain and Italy. > > 2. Italy from 1627. > > 3. Later history in Spain. > > 4. France. > > 5. Germany. > > 6. England. > > 7. After 1800. > > BIBLIOGRAPHY > > ALEXANDER SILBIGER > > Passacaglia > > 1. Beginnings in Spain and Italy. > The passacaglia appears to have originated in early 17th-century Spain as > the pasacalle, a brief improvisation (usually barely more than a few > rhythmically strummed cadential chords) that guitarists played between the > strophes of a song, somewhat in the nature of a vamp. The term comes from > pasar (to walk) and calle (street), possibly deriving from outdoor > performances or from a practice of popular musicians to take a few steps > during these interludes. The first references to pasacalles appear in > Spanish literature in about 1605; in certain contexts the term seems to > have been used interchangeably with Paseo. > > The term was soon exported to France and Italy, at first, again, to allude > to ritornellos (or riprese) improvised between song strophes. As with the > chaconne, the earliest written examples are found in Italy in alfabeto > (chord) guitar tablatures, and take the form of brief, rhythmic chord > progressions outlining a cadential formula, most commonly IIVVI or an > elaboration of it (ex.1a). The progressions usually appear in a range of > keys, rhythms and strumming patterns, and in duple as well as triple time; > their purpose appears to be primarily pedagogical. In Italy passacaglio > was most often used to refer to a single statement of a chord scheme, and > the plural passacagli for a succession or collection of more than one > statement; but both terms, as well as the feminine passacaglia and its > plural passacaglie, as well as variants like passagallo, passagalli, > passachaglie and numerous other spellings, were used with little > distinction throughout the century. > > Passacaglia > > 2. Italy from 1627. > No examples of notated compositions entitled passacagli (or one of its > variants) other than the guitar-strumming formulae can be dated before > 1627, when Frescobaldi published a Partite sopra passacagli for keyboard, > along with a Partite sopra la ciaccona. It is not clear whether he should > be credited with the creation of the passacaglia as an independent musical > genre (as opposed to an improvised ritornello for another composition), > but the 1627 set contains many of the characteristics of the numerous > passacaglias for all kinds of instrumental and vocal combinations that > appeared in subsequent years. The newer passacaglias are typically in the > form of continuous (linked) variations over a bass that may itself be > subject to considerable variation. The old IIVVI strumming formula is > expanded into innumerable variants, often in the form of elaborations of a > descending tetrachord bass (e.g. iv6iv76V), usually with the metrical > phrase remaining as four groups of three beats (ex.1b). Chromatic > intermediary steps are frequent, as are other digressions, as well as > ascending versions (e.g. iVII6i6ivV). The earlier notion of the > passacaglia as an improvised ritornello, sometimes on a specified bass, > survived for some time, and is encountered, for example, in Monteverdis > Lincoronazione > di Poppea (1642). No doubt connected with this practice is a continuing > tradition of presenting sets of passacaglias for the guitar in a full > range of modes or keys, both major and minor, thus providing the player > with models and exercises for improvising preludes and interludes of > arbitrary length. A similar purpose may have been intended for a > collection of 44 anonymous and untitled variation sets for keyboard on > descending bass patterns (in I-Rvat Chigi Q IV 27, a manuscript probably > associated with Frescobaldi and his pupils). The pieces are ordered by > key, ascending by step from C, and include sets in both duple and triple > time; those in triple time closely resemble Frescobaldis passacaglias. > Improvised guitar interludes continued to be called passagalli in the > folk music of some areas of Italy into the 19th century (Hudson, 1981, > p.281). > > In its new guise as an independent variation chain, the passacaglia shared > many features with the chaconne, including the linking of variations, > cadential articulation and the use of triple metre. Yet Frescobaldis > passacaglias also show some distinctions (not necessarily in every > instance), such as a less exuberant, more restrained character, slower > tempo, minor rather than major key, smoother, often conjunct, melodic > motion and more frequent dissonant suspensions on downbeats. The > similarities, differences and ambiguities between the passacaglia and the > chaconne are explored to the fullest in Frescobaldis extraordinary Cento > partite sopra passacaglie (1637), with its alternating sections marked > passacaglie and ciaccona, and sometimes a gradual, subtle > metamorphosis from one into the other (see Silbiger, 1996). > > Some of these distinctions between the two genres continued to be present > in the works of later composers in Italy and elsewhere, particularly when > a chaconne and a passacaglia appear side by side or in the same > collection; however, when one or the other appears by itself, the > distinctive features may be less evident or altogether absent (for Italian > composers who published such chaconne-passacaglia pairs, see Chaconne, > §2). Composers such as Bernardo Storace also followed in Frescobaldis > footsteps by shifting key, mode and metre in some of their passacaglias. > > In vocal settings, Italian passacaglias were sometimes interrupted by > recitatives (e.g. Frescobaldis Così mi disprezzate, 1630). Sections that > resemble a passacaglia without being identified as such are found in > operas, cantatas and sacred works. However, the present-day tendency to > regard any lament with a descending tetrachord bass as a passacaglia does > not appear to have historical precedence unless the piece also shows other > genre markings. By the beginning of the 18th century the passacaglia was > rapidly losing ground in Italy, but it continued to flourish in France, > Germany and elsewhere for some time. > > Passacaglia > > 3. Later history in Spain. > In Spain an active and artistically significant passacaglia tradition > survived independently of the chaconne; it remained rooted in the old > ritornello practice and was relatively unaffected by the passacaglia > developments in Italy and France. Like the early strumming exercises, the > later passacaglias continued to be presented in sets covering a full range > of commonly used keys, in major as well as minor modes and in duple as > well as triple metre. The passacaglias of Francisco Guerau (1694), Antonio > de Santa Cruz (c1700) and Santiago de Murcia (1732) were not simple chord > formulae, however, but extended variation sets that took full advantage of > the guitars technical and expressive possibilities. Very similar > passacaglias can be found in the contemporary keyboard repertory, > including some wonderful examples by Cabanilles. > > After Santiago de Murcias Passacalles y obras (1732) the passacaglia > vanished from the Spanish written tradition. The term passacalle > continued to be used in folk practice, however, to refer to instrumental > preludes and interludes during dancing (for example for the seguidillas in > La Mancha; see Russell, 1995, p.88) as well as to music accompanying > actual dances (for example for stick dances in Castille; Russell, 80). In > some areas of Latin America guitar ritornellos for popular dance music are > still called passacalles (Hudson, 1981, pp.28081). > > Passacaglia > > 4. France. > In France the Hispanic-Italian passacaglia, like the chaconne, was > transformed during the mid-17th century into a distinctive native genre, > although before that the genre had already had some impact as an exotic > Spanish import. A passacalle (in the earlier sense of ritornello) occurs > in an air to a Spanish text by De Bailly (1614), and in 1623 the Spanish > expatriate Luis de Briçeño published in Paris a guitar method that > included in chord tablature brief chaconnes and passacaglias similar to > the early Italian examples. During the 1640s the promotion of Italian > music and musicians by Cardinal Mazarin brought wider familiarity with the > two genres in their newer incarnations. A harpsichord passacaglia by Luigi > Rossi (who visited Paris in 1646 and whose Orfeo was performed there the > following year) enjoyed wide manuscript circulation. Francesco Corbetta, > who settled in Paris around 1648 and became guitar teacher to the future > Louis XIV, was perhaps the greatest Italian guitar virtuoso of his time, > and the composer of numerous chaconnes and passacaglias. > > By the late 1650s the French passacaglia tradition was firmly in place, > already showing many of the characteristics that would mark the genre > during the later 17th century and the 18th. Like the chaconne, the > passacaglia was cultivated both in chamber music, especially by > guitarists, lutenists and keyboard players, and on the musical stage. > Among the earliest surviving examples are two passacailles for harpsichord > by Louis Couperin, which are based on ostinatos that outline descending > tetrachords (ex.1c). French composers generally seem to have favoured the > chaconne over the passacaglia (see Chaconne, §4); Schneider (1986) lists > 18 chaconnes but only five passacaglias in Lullys theatrical productions, > for example. Nevertheless, Lullys lengthy and impressive passacaille from > Armide (1686) became a much admired model of the genre, emulated by many, > including Purcell and J.S. Bach. According to theorists such as Brossard > (1703) and Rousseau (1767), the passacaglia was ordinarily in the minor > and the chaconne in the major (rules often violated), and passacaglias > were performed at more deliberate tempos than chaconnes (18th-century > reports indicate c100 beats a minute compared to c120160 for chaconnes; > see Miehling, 1993). > > A continuing favourite among French passacaglias is François Couperins > searingly chromatic Passacaille in B minor from his Ordre no.8 for > harpsichord (1717), an extended rondeau structure. After 1740 the > passacaglia fell largely out of fashion in instrumental solo and chamber > music, but maintained a place on the musical stage throughout the final > decades of the century, albeit still far outnumbered by the chaconne. > > Passacaglia > > 5. Germany. > Distinct German forms of the passacaglia developed only in the later years > of the 17th century, most strikingly in solo organ music. The German > organists, drawing on traditions of cantus-firmus improvisation and > ground-bass divisions, created a series of majestic ostinato compositions, > shaped by increasingly brilliant figurations. A passacaglia from well > before 1675 by J.C. Kerll (who had studied in Rome) still used the > traditional descending tetrachord as ground-bass formula (ex.1d); however, > later composers such as Buxtehude and Pachelbel introduced bass formulae > of their own devising, which were treated during at least the first part > of the composition as rigorous ostinatos. These bass progressions assume a > thematic significance not present in the traditional formulae, as various > techniques borrowed from chorale improvisation were brought to bear on > them. The busy passage-work and contrapuntal density largely obliterated > any dance feeling, and relationships to the genres origin became > increasingly tenuous. Such is the case in the most famous passacaglia of > this tradition, J.S. Bachs Passacaglia in C minor (bwv582), which > concludes with a lengthy fugue on its ostinato subject (possibly derived > from a short passacaglia in an organ mass of 1687 by André Raison). > > Passacaglias written during the same period for instrumental ensemble more > closely followed French models or combined the French and Germanic > approaches, as did those conceived primarily for harpsichord. Bach also > used the genre in some vocal works, although not indicated as such (bwv12, > later reworked into the Crucifixus of the Mass in B minor; bwv78). Some > might argue that the opening chorus of bwv12 (like the Lamento der > Freunde in the keyboard Capriccio bwv992) should be classified as a > lament rather than as a passacaglia, but there can be no such doubt about > the magnificent opening of bwv78, which has all the musical hallmarks of a > French operatic chaconne/passacaglia number; indeed, the passacaglia from > Lullys Armide may have been its direct source of inspiration. > > Passacaglia > > 6. England. > Pieces called passacaglia or passacaille are rarely encountered in > English sources; compositions that might have been given such titles on > the Continent are usually designated chaconne or ground. A notable > exception is the passacaille How happy the Lover in Purcells King > Arthur (1691). With its alternating instrumental, solo and vocal sections, > this seems to be modelled on the passacaglia in Lullys Armide (to which > there also is a textual reference). > > Passacaglia > > 7. After 1800. > When 19th- and 20th-century composers returned to writing passacaglias, > they found their models in a handful of rediscovered pieces by the > German masters, especially Bachs Passacaglia for organ and perhaps also > the Passacaglia from Handels Suite no.7 in G minor, works deserving of > their canonic status, but atypical of the former mainstream genre > traditions (Handels passacaglia was in fact in duple metre). From Bachs > passacaglia they took what now became the defining feature: the ostinato > bass. The theme-and-variation idea, often incidental to earlier > passacaglias (if present at all) became central to the revived genres. As > with Bach, the ostinato theme is usually stated at the outset in bare form > and in a low register. The association of the passacaglia with Bach and > with the organ also contributed to a mood of gravity; most 19th- and > 20th-century examples call for a slowish tempo. Some writers attempted to > define a distinction between the passacaglia and the chaconne based > primarily on the examples by Bach, but no consensus was ever reached and > for the most part the terms continued to be used interchangebly. For a > more detailed discussion of the modern revival of the chaconne and > passacaglia, see Chaconne, §7. > > Passacaglia > > BIBLIOGRAPHY > L. Stein: The Passacaglia in the Twentieth Century, ML, xl (1959), > 15053 > > F. Mathiassen: Jeppesens Passacaglia, Natalicia musicologica Knud > Jeppesen septuagenario collegis oblata, ed. B. Hjelmborg and S. Sørenson > (Copenhagen, 1962), 293308 > > M. Schuler: Zur Frühgeschichte der Passacaglia, Mf, xvi (1963), 12126 > > T. Walker: Ciaccona and Passacaglia: Remarks on their Origin and Early > History, JAMS, xxi (1968), 30020 > > D.D. Handel: The Contemporary Passacaglia (diss., U. of Rochester, 1969) > > D.D. Handel: Brittens Use of the Passacaglia, Tempo no.92 (1970), 26 > > R. Hudson: Further Remarks on the Passacaglia and Ciaccona, JAMS, xxiii > (1970), 30214 > > R. Hudson: The Ripresa, the Ritornello, and the Passacaglia, JAMS, xxiv > (1971), 36494 > > R. Hudson: Passacaglio and Ciaccona: from Guitar Music to Italian Keyboard > Variations in the 17th Century (Ann Arbor, 1981) > > N.D. Pennington: The Spanish Baroque Guitar with a Transcription of De > Murcias Passacalles y obras (Ann Arbor, 1981) > > R. Hudson: The Folia, the Saraband, the Passacaglia, and the Chaconne, > MSD, xxxv (1982) > > H. Schneider: Chaconne und Passacaille bei Lully, Studi corelliani IV: > Fusignano 1986, 31934 > > H. Pimmer: Die süddeutsch-österreichische Chaconne und Passacaglia > 16701770 (Munich, 1992) > > R. Harris-Warrick: Interpreting Pendulum Markings for French Baroque > Dances, Historical Performance, vi (1993), 922 > > C.H. Russell: Santiago de Murcias Códice Saldivar no.4: a Treasure of > Secular Guitar Music from Baroque Mexico, i (Urbana, IL, 1995) > > A. Silbiger: Passacaglia and Ciaccona: Genre Pairing and Ambiguity from > Frescobaldi to Couperin, Journal of Seventeenth-Century Music, ii/1 > (1996) <www.sscm-jscm.org> > > M. Zenck: Reinterpreting Bach in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, > The Cambridge Companion to Bach, ed. J. Butt (Cambridge, 1997), 22650 > > J. Schwartz: The Passacaille in Lully's Armide: Phrase Structure in the > Choreography and the Music, EMc, xxvi (1998), 300320 > > For further bibliography see Chaconne and Ostinato. > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Clauss Gilbert" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <lute@cs.dartmouth.edu> > Sent: Monday, January 29, 2007 5:23 AM > Subject: [LUTE] Ciaconna > > >> Hello, >> I am looking for the Grove's article about Passacaille (i have the one >> about >> chaconne but it's not same as everybody knows :-) >> Could anyone send it to me ? >> Thank you >> >> Gilbert >> >> -- >> >> To get on or off this list see list information at >> http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html >> >
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