Baroque variation procedures shared techniques of improvisation found in sixteenth-century dance variations. Among sixteenth-century dances, the Pavane and the Passamezzo have strong chordal textures. In the Pavane, each strain is varied through diminution and changes in accompanimental texture before going to the next (AA' BB' CC' etc.) In the Passamezzo, a single strain is varied through free passagi and strict figurations. The brevity of Passamezzo themes (acting as chord roots) makes more demands on the composer, who has to search out a variety of textures and melodic and rhythmic ideas. The variable elements in both dances are controlled by a prescribed harmonic framework; florid melodies of the Pavane are controlled by a strong gravitation toward members of the governing chords while the passagi used in the Passamezzo are limited by the chord tones within a slower harmonic rhythm. The growing dependence upon figuration and motives as a unifying device in the late sixteenth century points to procedures common in Baroque variations.

Works: P. P. Borrono: Salterello Secondo dette el Vercelese (160); A. de Valderravano: Diferencias sobre el tenor del Conde Claros (163); Diego Pisador: Las Bacas sus Differencias (164); Iacomo Gorzanis: Passamezzo Anticho (165).

Index Classifications: 1500s

Contributed by: Jir Shin Boey