Ciaconna from Canzoni overo sonate concertate per chiesa e camera, Book 3, Op. 12

Although Merula
never held a position in Venice, he was closely linked to the Venetian school
and followed the lead of Monteverdi, especially with regard to his sacred
music. He travelled to Venice on several occasions and even took part in an
operatic collaboration in 1643, writing music on a libretto by Giulio Strozzi.
In 17th-century Italy the term ciaconna
or chaconne came to mean a set of variations over an ostinato bass, and
although it’s origins are likely to be in the New World (perhaps Mexico), the form
eventually became interchangeable with the Passacaglia. In contrast to the
passacaglia though, the chaconne is always in a major key and retains much of
its dance-like origins through the tension created from alternating a 3/4 and
3/2 metre. In Merula’s lively Ciaconna,
the ground bass itself is treated with some freedom, including a section with
diminutive variations during which the top parts take over the rhythmic
ostinato.