The Development of the Passacaglia for Organ through German and South African Composers

Adams, Mikyle

The Development of the Passacaglia for Organ through German and South African Composers

Thesis / Dissertation

2026

Publisher

University of Cape Town

Department

College of Music

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Abstract

Since the 19th century, the passacaglia has been associated with a musical form that includes a set of ground-bass or ostinato variations, however, its beginnings can be traced back to Spain in the early 17th century where it was termed pasacalle. The meaning of the term pasacalle (later passacaglia) is a combination of two Spanish words, pasar which translates as ‘to pass' and calle, which translates as ‘street'. When it emerged in France and Italy, the term initially alluded to the ritornellos improvised between songs. It is in Italy that the term passacaglia was established, initially as passacaglio which, at the time, referred to a single statement of a chord scheme and passacagli, the plural of it which referred to a succession or collection of multiple statements. However, these terms, including the feminine term passacaglia, and its other spelling variations, were utilised with minimal distinction throughout the century