passacaglia

pas·sa·ca·glia

noun
\ˌpä-sə-ˈkäl-yə, ˌpa-sə-ˈkal-yə\

Definition of PASSACAGLIA

1

a : an old Italian or Spanish dance tune b : an instrumental musical composition consisting of variations usually on a ground bass in moderately slow triple time

2

: an old dance performed to a passacaglia

Origin of PASSACAGLIA

modification of Spanish pasacalle, from pasar to pass + calle street, from Latin callis path — more at pase

First Known Use: 1659