Passacaille en Valse in E minor - "Il pendolo dell' orologio".

Very few pieces of mine happen to have such an eloquent title. In essence, this composition is a passacaglia for solo keyboard (though, on account of the dynamic markings, the preferred instrument should be a piano, hence why no harpsichord recording is provided in this video) with a rather strong valse-like rhythmic ostinato throughout its entirety.

As for the nickname in Italian I have given it, I should probably point out that, perhaps due to either the tempo or the overall character of the piece, it brought to my imaginations the swinging of an oversized clockwork pendulum amidst cogwheels and gears turning all around. Alternatively on hindsight  however, maybe even Geppetto's workshop as depicted in the old Disney movie (for some reason that one shot of walls filled to the brim with a myriad clowckwork devices and similar mechanical apparati aplenty left an unerasable mark on my childhood memory), all of which I found significant enough to add that extra touch of personality to the piece.

Enjoy!

YouTube video: 

Edited April 12, 20232 yr by Fugax Contrapunctus

Hi Pabio!

It's a decent passacaglia for me. The move to F# minor in b.22 onwards is unexpected and it's weird in a good way. For me I don't know why but I feel like this piece is very sacrastic in tone. Those false relations, unexpected modultation, dissonances are very mocking for me.

You should put the dynamic markings in the middle of the two staffs instead having them under the LH staff as this may cause confusion!

For bar 59-61 I think you can simply write the left hand notes on the treble clef with the stems downwards to avoid confusion. This can reduce those lines indicating the movement of voices there!

Thanks for sharing!

Henry

It's a chromatic harmonic consecutive scope which i wonder how it might triumph as a fuga progression programme as epidodal to a simille Tema chromatica! It's protypal!