# Passacaglia — 330 years of coninutity



## EdwardBast (Nov 25, 2013)

*Passacaglia - 330 years of continuity*

Below are seven examples of variations on a short theme or ground bass, variously referred to or titled passcaglia, chaconne, or ground bass aria. They represent more than three centuries of a continuous tradition in which deadly serious and usually dark expression is the unifying thread. They are listed chronologically - almost (the Shostakovich is two years later than the Gubaidulina.) I added the Pärt at the end because it is a nice way to close the set, even though it is not a passacaglia. I haven't seen a score, but my ears tell me it is a simultaneous canon at multiple levels of augmentation. (Can anyone confirm this?)

This post was inspired by the numerous recent acrimonious threads attacking modernism in its various forms. My intention is to illustrate continuity of means and expression over the centuries and, hopefully, lay out a path by which those who have trouble coming to terms with Britten and other occasionally challenging "modern" composers can take steps onto unfamiliar terrain without feeling entirely lost. Go with an open mind and the knowledge that all of these composers are working in the same vein and with similar expressive goals, despite the superficial differences in language.

For anyone who doesn't know some of this music, welcome to seven masterworks. For those who do, please make suggestions about other examples of this formal type you have enjoyed. Anyone have thoughts on why this form seems to be so popular with modern composers? Or why they almost always seem to plumb the depths of dark expression? Does anyone know a cheerful passacaglia?

Henry Purcell - Dido's Lament from Dido and Aeneas (Ground bass aria begins at 1:07)






J. S. Bach - Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582






Johannes Brahms - Symphony no. 4, iv






Benjamin Britten - Passacaglia from Peter Grimes






Dmitri Shostakovich - String Quartet no. 10, iii






Sofia Gubaidulina - Chaconne






Alfred Scnittke - Symphony no. 8, i






Arvo Pärt - Cantus In Memoriam Benjamin Britten


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Oh dear. Where's Beethoven's only example, the most excellent Variations in C minor, WoO 80?


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Good questions EdwardBast. After Bach's Passacaglia, my personal favorite is the Rodrigo. It has a similar quality to the Bach, quite dark, serious, and moody, and it ends with a fantastic fugue. Like Bach's it has a certain noble quality to it, and ends on an optimistic note, as though one has made it through the darkness.






I love this form of music, and I too would like to know more about its origins. It originated as a Spanish dance form I believe. The origins of the word are Spanish - _pasar_ - to walk, and _calle_ - street.


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Two things I'd add:

1) Personally I'm more interested in discussing the form itself and its development, rather than get into another debate about it relating modern vs. old etc.

2) That said, I can't believe I forgot to mention the other greatest piece (in my opinion of course) in this form:

From Ravel's Piano Trio:


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Or possibly Shostakovich's greatest passacaglia (and he has a few):


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passacaglia


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## EdwardBast (Nov 25, 2013)

KenOC said:


> Oh dear. Where's Beethoven's only example, the most excellent Variations in C minor, WoO 80?


Good. At this rate, all the best ones will be gathered in one thread.

Love the one from the Violin Concerto. Saw Vengerov perform it. Amazing.


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## musicrom (Dec 29, 2013)

Handel-Halvorsen:


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## EdwardBast (Nov 25, 2013)

I thoroughly agree about not getting into debates. Was trying for once to emphasize continuity over time and across stylistic boundaries. Thanks for adding another to the list.


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

PetrB said:


> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passacaglia


Great link for additional background information thanks - but it doesn't actually address any of the questions in the OP.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Also a vote for the strange passacaglia that forms the centerpiece of the last movement of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 15. Watch out Wagner!


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## GioCar (Oct 30, 2013)

Of course I'd add the Chaconne from the partita for violin in D minor. 
Very well known among violinists, guitarists - after the Segovia transcription - and pianists (Busoni).
















EDIT: sorry, by JS Bach - who else?


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

tdc said:


> Great link for additional background information thanks - but it doesn't actually address any of the questions in the OP.


Since it comes from a dance form, has a general expectation of (originally) being not only set in one particular meter, but tempo range as well.

Passacaglia and Chaconne (from another dance form) have overlapping qualities; it is rare when reading of one to not find the other at least mentioned in passing reference. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaconne

(Long before both musical procedures, the _missa parodia_ and the _paraphrase mass_ were deployed toward similar compositional goals.)

Okeedoh ~ A's to Q's in the OP:
The OP is correct on the general devices working in Part's _Cantus in Memoriam Benamin Britten._ They're actually so clearly written that they are that clearly apparent -- it is really the near whole name of the game, the other being the descending scales, and or modes, in also step by step descending order as each mode or shift of mode is sequentially presented.

Why does the device so appeal to composers? "Its Nifty," a kind of 'what kind of laundry can I hang on this simple line' sort of challenge. The 'definition' of Chaconne or Passacaglia as to one being more specifically harmonic, the other more linear has never been distinct, and is still debated and not settled (how many angels can dance on a pin  to this day.

The very premise is "wide open," then, to a million different approaches... whether harmonic, melodic, or inevitably, melodic implies harmonies, and vice verso -- ergo, the base device / working mechanism upon which one constructs such a piece is as free to 'lead the composer anywhere,' with little or no restrictions in sight. The fact it can be so open can lead a composer to exciting 'places where they have not yet been,' which is certainly a huge part of its appeal to the creators.

I will only feign shock that Anton Webern's _Passacaglia, Op. 1_ is not on the OP's list 

Anton Webern ~ _Passacaglia, Op. 1_





The form also used in one or more movements of Charles Koechlin's magnificent (and large scale) work, _Offrande musicale sur le nom de Bach_





William Schuman's _Symphony no. 3_, movement I ~ Passacaglia and Fugue





Why 'darker' import is part of the tradition, I can only guess -- a slower tempo, which is another 'assignation' of the format, tending to lead composers to, if not just more serene pieces then perhaps darker? Or were the first several cast as 'official classical form' in the late 1600 - early 1700's dark and that then set a precedent others chose to follow? (There is nothing innately dark or grim about the premise.)

I find little interest as to 'discussing the development of the form' past the earliest time of its initial formalization (and from simpler dance form to more elegant musical premise is probably not so fascinating either.) _Some conveniently called forms are not so much a matter of form. Like fugue, they are better understood as a defined musical premise and device -- a musical procedure, a process then, which really generates no fixed form_ -- to which composers of various generations have turned their minds and pens, the musical results very much a part of each era and that composer's individual voice.

William Schuman's Passacaglia starts out with a canon, which is 'exceptional' without at all being 'radical' enough a choice or gesture to either upset or stimulate discussion.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Three of the most monumental passacaglias from the 20th century are

*Ronald Stevenson*: Passacaglia on DSCH, for piano (70 mins): 




*Ludvig Irgens Jensen*, Passacaglia for orchestra (25mins): 




*Miroslav Kabelac*:"The Mystery of Time", Passacaglia for orchestra (24 mins): 




*Webern*´s is my favourite. *Niels Viggo Bentzon* wrote a great one for piano too (an early work, opus 31).

Extending the genre into chaconnes (Gubaidulina´s is great), *Nielsen*´s is one of his best piano works


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## EdwardBast (Nov 25, 2013)

Thanks PetrB for further examples and answers both factual and speculative. Amazing that such a seemingly formalistic plan in the Pärt yields such deep and direct expression. 

And thanks joen_cph, GioCar, Ken, tdc, and musicrom for further examples. I have lots of listening to do, though I knew the Bach, Shostakovich, Webern and a few of the other additions.

For those who wondered about "omissions," I wasn't aiming for a comprehensive list, but rather a short one spanning the centuries, sort of like a virtual concert of favorites from the genre. Clearly, a number of others could be designed. My criteria were just one by any given composer and direct lines of influence and historical connections where possible: English opera, Britten and Shostkovich's mutual admiration, and the northern Europe thing for the rest of the list. The Bach and Brahms I figured all of the later composers knew.


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## GGluek (Dec 11, 2011)

Some other 20th c. ones that run the gamut of styles: Vaughan Williams, finale of Sym. No. 5; Prokofiev, third movement of Piano Cto. No. 2 (I've never heard it specifically defined as such, but to my ears, that's what it is); Stefan Wolpe, "Passacaglia."


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## Mahlerian (Nov 27, 2012)

One other important one is the dark-hued Passacaglia movement from Pierrot lunaire, Nacht (night):




(First excerpt in the video, which goes through the entire second part)


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

An amazing example of passacaglia occurs in Act Two of Peter Grimes. Benjamin Britten, what an astonishingly great composer.

Recommended-the 4 Sea Interludes and Passacaglia from Peter Grimes. Everybody should hear this!!!


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## EdwardBast (Nov 25, 2013)

hpowders said:


> An amazing example of passacaglia occurs in Act Two of Peter Grimes. Benjamin Britten, what an astonishingly great composer.
> 
> Recommended-the 4 Sea Interludes and Passacaglia from Peter Grimes. Everybody should hear this!!!


Dude(?), It's listed in the OP! And yes, The Sea Interludes are masterpieces one and all.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

EdwardBast said:


> Dude(?), It's listed in the OP! And yes, The Sea Interludes are masterpieces one and all.


Embarrassing! I skipped it. As soon as I saw the thread title, I immediately thought "Peter Grimes". :lol:


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## Blancrocher (Jul 6, 2013)

With all the mentions of Britten in this thread, I can't resist mentioning the final movement of his third string quartet:






Britten is of course a happy hunting ground for passacaglias, and the great instances from the early Peter Grimes and the very late quartet form nice bookends for his career.

My favorite, though, is the one from the "Nocturnal on a theme by Dowland," which immediately precedes the emergence of Dowland's theme--in effect, the most Brittenesque of the variations followed by the inspiration for the whole work.






Walton's Passacaglia for solo cello, one of his last works, is also a gem:






The following by Ligeti is a wonderful piece, among my favorites of his solo instrumental works:






Also see his wild Hungarian Rock.






Thanks for all the clips, everyone--I'm looking forward to hearing the unfamiliar pieces. Glad I found this thread on a Saturday.


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## Nereffid (Feb 6, 2013)

Cheerful passacaglia?

Percy Grainger's "Green Bushes".


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

If a passacaglia is defined partly by its slow tempo, cheerfulness will be hard to manage. But allow for a quick tempo and try Monteverdi:


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

EdwardBast said:


> Good. At this rate, all the best ones will be gathered in one thread.
> 
> Love the one from the Violin Concerto. Saw Vengerov perform it. Amazing.


I think the Beethoven variations are a chaconne, rather than a passacaglia.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Mandryka said:


> I think the Beethoven variations are a chaconne, rather than a passacaglia.


Mandryka, not sure what you're referring to here. SFAIK the 32 Variations in C minor WoO 80 are the only thing by Beethoven that could be described as a chaconne.


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

KenOC said:


> Mandryka, not sure what you're referring to here. SFAIK the 32 Variations in C minor WoO 80 are the only thing by Beethoven that could be described as a chaconne.


What about the allegretto of the seventh symphony, the first part, as it were?


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