[78-L] Pasacalles

[DAVID BURNHAM]

I've always believed that a Passacaglia was performed by two street musicians, one playing the same tune over and over on a bass instrument while the other plays elaborations of that tune on a higher pitched instrument, (I think that in some language, the word "passacaglia" has a root which means walking).  The form is very similar to a Chaconne, the only difference being that in a Passacaglia, the bass tune is always there to accompany the variations but in a Chaconne, the bass tune is often dropped while the variations are being played independently.  But like the Serenade and Divertimento as composed by Mozart, the two terms are often interchangeable while referring to the same musical structure.

db