Passamezzo

The passamezzo (plural: passamezzi or passamezzos) is an Italian folk dance of the 16th and early 17th centuries.

Many pieces in named "passamezzo" follow one of two chord progressions that came to be named after the dance, passamezzo antico and passamezzo moderno.[1]

Name

There are many variant spellings. In Italian or international usage, the name is also rendered as pass'e mez(z)o, passo e mezzo, and passomez(z)o. In early English usage, the names frequently incorporated the word measure in a folk etymology, giving such renderings as passemeasure, passingmeasure, passy-measures or passemeasure(s) pavan, particularly to designate the passamezzo antico progression. Passamezzi following the passamezzo moderno progression are designated "quadro pavan" or "quadran(t) pavan."[1]

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Giuseppe Gerbino and Alexander Silbiger. "Passamezzo". In Macy, Laura. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. (subscription required)

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