passacaglia

[ pah-suh-kahl-yuh, pas-uh-kal- ]

noun

1. a slow, dignified dance of Spanish origin.
2. the music for this dance, based on an ostinato figure.
3. a musical form based on continuous variations over a ground bass.

passacaglia

/ ˌpæsəˈkɑːljə /

noun

1. an old Spanish dance in slow triple time
2. a slow instrumental piece characterized by a series of variations on a particular theme played over a repeated bass part See also chaconne

Word History and Origins

Origin of passacaglia¹

1650–60; pseudo-Italian spelling of earlier passacalle < Spanish pasacalle literally, step (i.e., dance) in the street ( pasa 3rd-person singular present of pasar to step, pace ¹ + calle street < Latin callem, accusative of callis path)

Word History and Origins

Origin of passacaglia¹

C17: earlier passacalle, from Spanish pasacalle street dance, from paso step + calle street; the ending -alle was changed to -aglia to suggest an Italian origin

Example Sentences

The first part of “Partita” that I wrote, which was “Passacaglia” — I wanted to hear the sound of a bunch of voices just kind of chatting gutturally, going into vocal fry and then suddenly exploding into a chord that feels like that, feels like one of those Byrd or Tallis, perfectly voiced chords, just the resonance of it.

From New York Times

The first part of “Partita” that I wrote, which was “Passacaglia” — I wanted to hear the sound of a bunch of voices just kind of chatting gutturally, going into vocal fry and then suddenly exploding into a chord that feels like that, feels like one of those Byrd or Tallis, perfectly voiced chords, just the resonance of it.

From New York Times

It opens with a character piece, a murkily colored Nocturne that lives in the Upside Down of Chopin’s genre-defining works for piano, and reaches a climax in a Baroque-derived Passacaglia, at once august and austere, that leads into a fiendish five-minute cadenza for the soloist.

From New York Times

Noseda fitfully ratcheted up the intensity of the Passacaglia with its implacable 17-bar pattern.

From New York Times

And the passacaglia of the third movement progressed with persuasive momentum.

From New York Times