Ostinato
A persistently recurrent melody, melodic fragment, or rhythmic pattern.

[Fig. 1: Ostinato in a motet tenor from the Montpellier MS H192, f.378v.]

[Example 1: Motet Amor potest conqueri/Ad amorem/Tenor, from the Montpellier Codex., CD463, track 4]

An ostinato is a persistently recurrent melody, melodic fragment, or rhythmic pattern. (Ostinato is Italian for "obstinate" or "stubborn," which conveys the effect of this musical device.) As illustrated in the example you have just heard, the use of ostinato in Western art music can be traced at least to the 13th century. Listeners will encounter examples of ostinato most often, however, in music of the Baroque, and of the later 19th and early 20th centuries.

An ostinato may appear in any voice part. It is encountered most often, however, in the bass. In some cases, an ostinato occupies a section within a larger work. There are even some pieces in which the ostinato is heard from beginning to end. The length of an ostinato is equally variable, ranging from a single pitch to a complete melody. Here is an example drawn from Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms (1930). It consists of twelve notes performed pizzicato by the lower strings and two harps:

[Example 2: Ostinato from the Symphony of Psalms, third mvt. performed on a keyboard.]

This ostinato is stated three times in the following passage:

[Example 3: Symphony of Psalms, mvt. 3. The CBC Symphony Orchestra and the Festival Singers of Toronto, Igor Stravinsky dir. CD 1982, vol. 4, disc 2, track 10.]

In the transition to the third scene of Wagner's Rhinegold (1854), an ostinato is used to represent the Nibelungs beating and fashioning gold on their anvils in subterranean caverns. This example shows that an ostinato can shift from one medium to another without losing its identity: in this case from melodic form to purely percussive form, and back again.

[Example 4: Wagner, The Rhinegold, transition to Scene 3. Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan, dir. CD4101, disc 2, track 6.]

The Fifth Symphony of Jean Sibelius (1915) demonstrates that an ostinato can be harmonic rather than purely melodic. In the fourth movement, this ostinato on French horns is played in thirds, with at first strings, later woodwind, against it:

[Example 5: Sibelius, Symphony No. 5, fourth mvt. City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Simon Rattle, dir. CD 2871, track 3]

Ostinato may serve expressive purposes. In the Lament of the Nymph (1638), a madrigal by Claudio Monteverdi, the text's overall mood--lamentation--is echoed by its ostinato, a slow, descending bass line beneath harmony in the minor mode:

[Example 6: Claudio Monteverdi, Lament of the Nymph (Lamento della ninfa). The Consort of Music, Anthony Rooley, dir. CD 1930, track 10.]

Chopin's Berceuse (Lullaby) in D-Flat, op. 57 (1834), demonstrates that an ostinato can serve as an illustrative device. In this piece a rocking cradle is suggested by the continuous rise and fall of a five-note ostinato that moves from the bass to the middle register, then back:

[Example 7: Chopin, Berceuse in D-Flat, op. 57. Murray Perahia, piano. CD 2363, track 6, 0:00-0:32+quick fade.]

In several works from the early twentieth century, such as Stravinsky's Rite of Spring (1913), ostinato is used to create a brutal or primitive mood. Listen, for example, to the persistent two-beat rhythmic ostinato in the bass part of Bartók's Allegro barbaro (1911):

[Example 8: Bartók, Allegro barbaro. Zoltan Kocsis, Piano. CD 3340, vol. 2, track 4.]

A wide variety of contemporary pop and rock music employs ostinato. It can also be found in jazz, where a persistently recurring melodic phrase is often called a riff, and in the blues, where it is sometimes employed for pictorial effect. In the following example, pay attention to the bass part on the piano, which is doubled by a string bass, and you will hear a two-chord ostinato that suggests the motion of a steam train chugging down the tracks. The pitch-level of the ostinato changes with each chord-change of the blues chord-sequence:

[Example 9: Meade "Lux" Lewis, Honky Tonk Train Blues (1927). CD 1164, track 17.]

Ostinato is equally common in some non-European repertories. Here is an example drawn from the ritual dance music of the Plains Indians, a tribal nation with roots in the American northwest. Listen to the brief ostinato in the drums that underpins the chanting chorus:

[Example 10: Rabbit Dance, The Los Angeles Northern Singers, Colin Bearstail, leader. CD 2006, track 4.]

Finally, listeners may encounter variation sets that use an ostinato as a theme, especially among examples of Baroque instrumental music. The terms ground, chaconne, or passacaglia are applied to such works.

Summary:

• A persistently recurrent melody, melodic fragment, or rhythmic pattern is called an ostinato.
• Ostinato can occur in any voice part, but is most often encountered in the bass.
• The length of an ostinato can range from a single pitch to a complete melody.
• Ostinato can be limited to brief sections or span entire pieces.
• An ostinato can be modified without losing its identity.
• An ostinato is usually melodic, but it is sometimes given a harmonized setting.
• Ostinato is found in classical music, jazz, pop, rock, and much non-European music.

Copyright © Columbia University, Visual & Sound Materials from the Gabe M. Wiener Music & Arts Library of Columbia University
Ostinato written by: Michael Von der Linn Recording & Mixing: Christopher Bailey	Narration: Mark Burford Technology & Design: Maurice Matiz