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ORIGINS AND FEATURES Originally a slow Spanish and later Italian Dance in 3/4 Time , the passacaglia denotes a musical work in 3/4 based on a Ground Bass pattern (that is, a Melodic fragment (usually 4, 6 or 8 bars long, rarely an odd number such as 3, 5 or 7) which repeats unchangingly throughout the duration of the piece, while the upper lines get varied freely, over this bass pattern that serves as a harmonic anchor). The passacaglia is very closely related to the Chaconne , except that the chaconne more often than not is in a major key, while the passacaglias are usually in a minor key (there are numerous exceptions). The chaconne is usually based on a harmonic sequence rather than a ground bass pattern. But there are passacaglias titled as chaconnes and vice versa in many original baroque sources, leading to some confusion. In modern music, the term ''passacaglia'' is often used to denote a piece that doesn't necessarily conform to the baroque ideal of the form (and not even necessarily in 3/4 time), but which has a more or less fixed bass pattern (ground bass) or Chord Progression , sometimes both, that is repeated consecutively throughout most or all of the piece. Sometimes it departs entirely from the form, but retains its essentially grave character (cf. passacaglias by Shostakovich ) COMPOSERS One of the best known examples of a passacaglia in Western Classical Music is the one in C minor for Organ by Johann Sebastian Bach , BWV 582 . Other examples are the organ passacaglias by Dieterich Buxtehude , Johann Pachelbel , Johann Kaspar Kerll , Georg Muffat , Gottlieb Muffat , Johann Kuhnau , Max Reger . , BWV 582 ]] The French Clavecinists , especially Louis Couperin and his nephew François Couperin , ''le grand'', were noted for their use of the ''passecaille'' form, even though they tended to deviate from the passacaglia form to a considerable degree, often assuming a form of recurring episodes in rondo. The fourth movement of . There are Lute passacaglias by Alessandro Piccinini , G.H. Kapsberger , Sylvius Leopold Weiss , Esaias Reussner , count Logy , Robert De Visee , Jacob Bittner, Philipp Franz Lesage De Richee, Gleitsmann, Dufaut, Gallot, Denis Gautier , Ennemod Gautier, Roman Turovsky-Savchuk and Maxym Zvonaryov , a passacaglia for bandura by Julian Kytasty , passacaglias for baroque guitar by Paulo Galvao , Santiago De Murcia , Antonio De Santa Cruz , Francisco Guerau , Gaspar Sanz , Marcello Vitale et al. There are such ensemble examples of the form as the ''Passacaille'' "Les plaisirs ont choisi" from Lully 's opera Armide (1686) and Dido's lament, "When I am Laid in Earth", in Purcell 's '' Dido And Aeneas '', and others, such as aria "Piango, gemo, sospiro" by Antonio Vivaldi , or "Usurpator tiranno" and "Stabat Mater" by Giovanni Felice Sances , et al. Another important passacaglia is one in g-minor for unaccompanied violin and one in c-minor for violin and Continuo by Heinrich Ignaz Biber . A 19th Century example is the c-minor Passacaglia for organ by Felix Mendelssohn , or the finale of Josef Rheinberger 's 8th organ Sonata . Perhaps the most frequently heard passacaglia, however, is the finale of Johannes Brahms 's '' Symphony No. 4 '' (although Brahms did not call it a passacaglia, it follows the rules of one and the repeated figure is based on one found in Bach's Cantata No. 150, '' Nach Dir, Herr, Verlanget Mich ''). The Norwegian Johan Halvorsen also composed a passacaglia that is based on a Handel theme and written for a duet of violin and viola, considered among the most popular pieces for both instruments due to its simplicity and depth. A number of symphonies and concertos by Dmitri Shostakovich notably make use of the Passacaglia form. A harmonic pattern known as '') have used the ''La Folia'' theme, although not always composing a passacaglia based on it. MODERN EXAMPLES The passacaglia proved an enduring form throughout the 20th century onward. Other examples of uses of the passacaglia form include the following.
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