The oldest known example of an ostinato is the three-note repetition supporting the canon of 'Sumer is icumen in', a 13th-century English round.
Cultural Impact
Athanasius Kircher, in his 1641 treatise, was the first to describe the hypnotic effects of music to cure tarantula bites and to transcribe the chaconne.
Compositional Technique
An ostinato is a musical form based on the obsessive repetition of a melodic, rhythmic, or harmonic motif, usually in the bass.
Compositional Technique
Some pieces on the album, like Luis de Briceño's 'Dança de la Hacha' and the anonymous 'Gaitas', use ostinato for descriptive and mimetic effects, such as imitating bagpipes.
Compositional Technique
The basso ostinato, or ground bass, was common in Baroque dances like the passacaglia, chaconne, English ground, folias, jácaras, and seguidillas.
Compositional Technique
The album's program showcases the variety of musical rhythms based on the ostinato technique in 17th-century Baroque Europe.
Composer's Artistic Vision
The Florentines' invention of 'recitar cantando' (sung recitation) in the late 16th century established a dialogue between the voice, expressing passions, and the bass accompaniment.
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