 | Purcell, Henry - Ground Keyboard (piano, harpsichord or organ) |
| Composer : | Purcell, Henry (1659 - 1695) | ||
| Instrumentation : | Keyboard (piano, harpsichord or organ) | ||
| Style : | Baroque | ||
| Key : | F major | ||
| Arranger : | |||
| Publisher : |  Lewis, Alastair (1974 - ) | ||
| Copyright : | Copyright © Alastair Lewis | ||
| Added by alastair-lewis, 20 Jul 2023 The musical form known as a Ground bass, or more simply a Ground, is also referred to as a basso ostinato. The term ostinato is in reference to the "obstinate" character of the musical device wherein a bass line or harmonic pattern is repeated throughout the entire piece of music, leaving the melody to be developed through many variations. The most famous example of a Ground is surely the German composer Johann Pachelbel's Canon in D. This Ground by the English baroque composer, Henry Purcell, was originally written for keyboard instruments like the harpsichord. There is liberal use of arpeggios in both the left and right hands, which strictly follow the underlying harmonic series. All of the sections employ the same 8 bar format, with 6 bars of arpeggios, followed by 2 bars of a concluding cadence. | |||
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