ostinato
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ostinato:
see ground bassground bass,melodic phrase used repeatedly as a bass line. In its earlier form, developed in the 13th and 14th cent., the ground or basso ostinato [Ital.,=obstinate] never varied in harmonization or pitch. The tenor, or pes, of Sumer Is Icumen In is such a ground.
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ostinato
a. a continuously reiterated musical phrase
b. (as modifier): an ostinato passage
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005