noun
- a musical composition in moderate triple time, typically consisting of variations on a ground bass
Usage: music
Examples
- Bach’s Passacaglia in C minor is considered one of his greatest organ works.
- The composer wrote a beautiful passacaglia for string orchestra.
- Students studied the structure of a passacaglia in their music theory class.
- The passacaglia featured thirty-two variations over a repeating bass line.
- Handel’s passacaglia demonstrates the Baroque mastery of variation form.
- The orchestra performed a modern passacaglia that updated the traditional form.