The passacaglia and chaconne have their
origins in dance music and are very similar. The simplest description of a
passacaglia is a piece of music based on a repeated bass figure while
a chaconne is a piece of music based on a repeated chord pattern. Of
course, composers being what they are, have produced numerous exceptions to
this supposed 'rule', bet let's use it as a starting point.
Precursors
During the Renaissance various forms of instrumental variation became
popular, particularly for dance music. Some of these involved a slow
repeated tune in the 'tenor' - a line usually towards the middle of the
texture rather than at the bottom. A popular tune for such treatment was
La Spagna.
By the the early 16th century instrumental pieces often called
Variations on a Ground were starting to become popular, particularly in
England. These consisted of variations over a 'ground' (repeated) bass. A
prominent master of this form was
Purcell.
Passacaglia
Purcell was able to
effortlessly integrate vocal passacaglias into his stage works. Some fine
examples include How happy the lover from King Arthur.
The difference from the variations on a ground was that the passacaglia was
usually in a stately triple time suitable (if necessary) for dancing.
The early development of the Passacaglia is closely associated with the
pipe organ. The advent of the pedal
board allowed the organist to play additional notes using the feet.
Initially this was used mainly to reinforce the harmony but as players'
pedal technique developed certain composers began to exploit the
possibilities of the pedals playing melodies in their own right and
providing an extra polyphonic line. A repeated slow bass line played by the
feet while the hands played faster moving passages over the top did not
stretch the organist's technique too far. Nor did it stretch the organist's
concentration too far - it is amazing how much adding another line increases
the degree of difficulty for the performer. At least if that additional line
was a repeated pattern the organist could set the feet into 'auto-pilot'.
Good examples of the early form of organ passacaglia can be found amongst
the works of Buxtehude. By the time we arrive at
J. S. Bach we are in the
presence of a composer/performer for whom the pedal board could at times
achieve equal status with the 'manuals' (organ keyboards). Bach was in
demand as a tester of new organs. He was also a prodigious improviser. It
seems probable that he would at times have improvised a passacaglia as an
ideal vehicle to try out and show off a new organ.
A great starting point for getting the feel of a
passacaglia (and also for the participation classical music asks of a
listener) is Bach's
Passacaille & fugue BWV 582 for organ. The work opens with the bass
theme played alone on the pedals. If you are coming to this sort of music
for the first time it may be a good idea to hum along with that bass line -
unless of course you are at a live concert. Harmonies and snippets of
melodies start to be added over the top, but the repeated theme is still
clearly there. For one variation, the theme gets a small rhythmic variation
in the pedals but is still clearly recognisable. After a while it migrates
up to the keyboard freeing up the pedals for some independent flourishes of
their own. The basic theme is now in the middle of the texture. For several
variations, the pedals are abandoned altogether and the theme becomes
'hidden' amongst notes of equal status or the notes lightly touched in
passing. At this point you should still be able to hum the theme without
hearing it specifically. As you become more used to this sort of music you
will find that your mind fills in such melodies, either consciously or
unconsciously. It is this active participation of the listener - where the
listener in effect becomes involved as another performer in their own right
- that is central to much of classical music. After Bach teases his way to
the upper reaches of the keyboard with the theme more implied than stated,
he returns the theme to the pedals for the run home. One final point to
note. Throughout the piece each variation over the theme has been
recognisably separate from the one before. The music doesn't stop, but there
is a feeling for where one variation finishes and the next one starts. For
the final two statements of the theme, the upper melodies tumble over the
expected break making it really one double-length variation and creating
additional tension when the expected break does not come.
Although not labelled a passacaglia or canon, Pachelbel's popular
Canon in D major fits the form with 3 violins playing a canon above a
short repeated bass patern.
By the nineteenth century the passacaglia dropped from favour. The
prescriptive nature of the form did not fit with the new romantic winds of
change which propelled composers to more open-ended forms to allow them to
express deep emotions. This was at times a pity because it ignored the
dramatic possibilities offered by a known format. One of the finest examples
could be seen in Purcell's
little opera Dido and Aeneas
from 1689. The farewell of Dido (Dido's Lament) is in the form
of a passacaglia. The repeated downward motion of the passacaglia bass adds
a sombre theme, but the final outburst of "remember me" straddles the
expected divide between expected variations. The bass continues as if
nothing has happened but the vocal line has cast itself adrift from its
'proper' form to create the disturbing impact of that only the well-mannered
and predictable breaking from the expected mold can generate.
During the nineteenth century, the passacaglia remained in favour with
organists and organ composers but found little place in mainstream romantic
music. The most notable exception is the final movement of
Brahms'
Fourth Symphony
Although the movement is labelled by Brahms simply as Allegro Energico,
it is clearly a passacaglia in structure. After an opening introduction, one
becomes of a repeated rising pattern in the bass. At times this bass pattern
and even its implication disappears, but soon returns to underpin the whole
movement. Brahms' Variation on a theme of Haydn also finishes
with a passacaglia. A fine example of the the form being used for the
romantic organ is C�sar
Franck's Choral No.2 in b minor. Here the passacaglia melody
is clearly stated on the pedals at the beginning but before long makes its
way up several octaves to the keyboard. Indeed, the theme is sometimes split
in half with the first half being played on the pedals and the second half
at a higher pitch. Franck allows himself several rhapsodic interludes and a
brief coda in the major, but for the most part the principles of the
passacaglia are strictly adhered to.
By the 20th century, many composers were starting to look back to
classical forms and the passacaglia saw something of a resurgence. For
example, the third movement of
Ravels's Piano Trio is a
Passacaille.
Grainger's Green Bushes is a wonderful Passacaglia on an
English Folk Song. One of the most powerful examples is
Britten's use of the form
in the Lyke Wake Dirge from the Serenade for Tenor, Horn
and Strings. Here the melody is not is the bass but the solo tenor
vocal line. The accompanying instruments continually vary their harmony and
textures, to frightening effect when the horn enters, but the soloist
continues relentlessly with the unchanged melody.
Britten also uses a
passacaglia for the fourth of his Sea Interludes from
Peter Grimes.
Webern also wrote a
passacaglia that receives occasional performances in the concert hall. In
his film music for Henry 5
Walton uses a passacaglia
for the death of Falstaff. Andre Previn in his work Diversions uses a
passacaglia which is a tribute to Brahms,
Shostakovich and
Britten and their own use of that
form.
.
Chaconne
The practice of a repeated chord pattern as the basis of a piece of music
as used in the chaconne is probably slightly more familiar to contemporary
listeners than the repeated bass as used in the passacaglia. The 12 bar
blues has become one of the most recognised and listened-to chord
progressions in modern popular music. During the Renaissance another chord
progression became popular as the basis for instrumental variations. It was
called La Follia and composers continued to write variation on La
Follia well into the 19th century. However, both of these are examples
of a pre-set chord pattern. In a chaconne a composer could create their own
chord pattern but many are very similar.
Lully, who was instrumental in the development of the French
Baroque opera form, often used a chaconne as the finale to an opera or stage
piece. This stately 'presentation dance' allowed each of the characters to
parade in front of the audience in a form of prolonged curtain call. This
tradition was continued by later composers in the tradition and
Rameau has left us with some of
the finest orchestral chaconnes.
The chaconne was a set dance with set steps and so when dancers were
involved it was always in triple time at a stately tempo. Composers however
began to incorporate the chaconne into instrumental suites and other pieces
not specifically intended for dancing. Perhaps the most famous example comes
from Bach's Partita No.2 for
solo violin. The violin is a melodic instrument not designed for
playing chords. It would seem strange therefore to write a chaconne, based
on chordal patterns, for a solo violin. But in the mighty ciaccona
Bach spells out the chord from time to time but leaves the listener to fill
in the implied harmonies for the rest of the time. This is not music for
casual listening (oh, that's a pretty tune") since the listener is an
active participant. It requires concentration on the part of the violinist
and the listener but the rewards are enormous. Over the years, composers
have orchestrated and arranged works like this with their harmonies fleshed
out. This makes it more easily accessible to the listener but less
rewarding. We urge you to get to know such works in their original form
first before progressing to orchestrations and arrangements. When you are
ready, we would then recommend what we feel is the finest transcription of
the ciaccona - that by Busoni for piano.
The opening movement of Handel's
Organ Concerto Op.7 No.1 is a fine and lengthy chaconne. It is
unusual in that it is in duple time then half way through changes to triple
time. Handel often interspersed organ concerti between the movements of his
oratorios, and the chaconne would have been an ideal form for a prodigious
keyboard improviser like Handel. He could write out the orchestral parts
with their set chord progressions leaving himself free to improvise in his
solo part.
Some interesting more recent examples of the chaconne include
Corigliano's Chaconne based on the music he wrote for the film
The Red Violin.
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