[Listening extract audio not available in printed QP. Skeleton score in Insert.] The extract features a repeating bass pattern of eight bars heard five time...
Question 1 Report
[Listening extract audio not available in printed QP. Skeleton score in Insert.]
The extract features a repeating bass pattern of eight bars heard five times while the melody above varies.
(a) Give the musical term for a repeating bass pattern used in this way. [1]
(b) What is one Baroque composer known for this technique. [1]
[Total: 2 marks]
Answer Details
(a) The correct answer is ground bass (also called basso ostinato or ostinato). [1]
A ground bass is a short bass pattern that repeats continuously throughout a piece or section while the upper parts (melody and harmony) vary freely above it. This creates a framework of harmonic stability in the bass against which the composer can build increasingly elaborate melodic and rhythmic variations. The technique was extremely popular in the Baroque period and was used in forms such as the passacaglia and chaconne. The repetitive nature of the bass gives the music a strong sense of unity while allowing creative freedom in the upper voices.
(b) The correct answer is Henry Purcell (also acceptable: Handel, Monteverdi). [1]
Purcell is particularly celebrated for his use of the ground bass technique. His aria "When I am laid in earth" (Dido's Lament) from the opera Dido and Aeneas is one of the most famous examples in all music: a descending chromatic bass line repeats while the vocal melody above expresses increasing emotional intensity. Handel also used ground bass patterns in various works, and Monteverdi employed ostinato basses in his early Baroque operas and madrigals.
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