Passacaglias

Passacaglias are a musical form and style that originated in 17th-century Italy and are defined by a repeating bass pattern, or ground bass, over which a series of variations unfolds. The bass figure serves as a stable foundation while the upper voices explore melodic, harmonic, and textural change. The form is closely related to the chaconne, and the two are sometimes used interchangeably, though passacaglias are typically built on a fixed bass line rather than a constantly repeating harmonic progression.

In practice, passacaglias appear across Baroque instrumental music, especially for organ and keyboard, but also in chamber and orchestral settings. A typical piece presents the ground bass, then proceeds through a chain of variations—fugue-like, canonic, contrapuntal, or lyric in character—often leading to a conclusive return or climactic development. The tempo is commonly dignified or grave, though individual variations can take on diverse moods.

Notable examples of passacaglias include Johann Sebastian Bach’s Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582, for organ, which stands as a paradigmatic model of the form. The technique was widely exploited by Baroque composers and continued to influence later generations, who adapted the ground-bass principle in Romantic, modern, and contemporary works. In these later contexts, composers sometimes broadened or de-emphasized the bass ostinato, experimenting with variations that extended the concept beyond its Baroque roots.

Today, passacaglias remain a recognized and revived form, valued for their architectural clarity and expressive potential as variations unfold over a persistent harmonic anchor.