Thanks, Ed.
I find Richard Hudson to be another important source on these grounds.
Jocelyn
___________________________________________________________________
From: Edward Martin <[1...@gamutstrings.com>
Date: Sun, 3 Jan 2010 19:03:38 -0500
To: "Nelson, Jocelyn" <[2]nels...@ecu.edu>, Stuart Walsh
<[3]s.wa...@ntlworld.com>, Vihuelalist <[4]vihu...@cs.dartmouth.edu>
Subject: [VIHUELA] Re: Foscarini Passacaglio
Hello Stuart and Jocelyn,
The Webster Dictionary gives this translation:
Pas sa ca glia: noun [modif. of Sp. passacalle, Fr. pasar = to pass
+ calle=street, Fr. callis path
1. a: an old Italian or Spanish dance tune
b: an instrumental musical composition consisting of
variations on a ground bass in moderately slow triple time
2. : an old dance performed to a passacaglia
The Harvard Dictionary of Music:
Passacaglia [It.] or passacaille [Fr.] : See chaconne and passacaglia:
Chaconne and passacaglia:
"Two closely related forms of baroque music, each a kind of
continuous variation in moderately slow triple meter and with a slow
harmonic rhythm, changing generally with the measure. There have
been many futile attempts to change the derivation and original
meaning of these terms, and just as many attempts, equally futile, to
make a clear distinction between them. Actually baroque composers
used the terms indiscriminately. This does not mean that they could
not be put into more apt use today, but unfortunately modern writers
have not succeeded in deciding on acceptable definitions and the
literature is full of contradictory and frequently arbitrary
statements about how the difference between a chaconne and a
passacaglia."
It goes on to say, "There is reason to believe that the chaconne
originally was a wild and sensual Mexican dance that was imported
into Spain in the 16th century..... The passacaglia was also
originally a dance or a march.....A primitive stage of development is
probably represented by passacaglia and chaconne in early 17th
century books for the Spanish guitar, which consists of a series of
four-measure phrases."
As well, the Harvard entry goes on to try to distinguish the
difference between the chaconne and passacaglia, noting that the
passacaglia is a variation based on a clearly distinguishable
ostinato where the line can be either in the bass or an upper
voice; the chaconne, on the other hand, is a continuous variation in
which the "theme" is a scheme of harmonies, where the first and last
chords are fixed whereas the intervening ones can be replaced by
substitutes.
ed
.At 08:17 AM 1/3/2010, Nelson, Jocelyn wrote:
> I remember a conversation with Pat O'Brien on the passacalle where
he
> suggested that the term is more analogous to our (at least in US
> English) "around the block" as in a circuit, or loop. He didn't
claim
> that was the literal translation, but this would be his idea of
the
> connotation.
Edward Martin
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