A set of variations based on a chorale melody. Since the 18th century the terms ‘chorale partita’ (which, strictly, should be ‘choral partite’) and ‘chorale variations’ have mostly been used interchangeably. In the late 17th century the chorale partitas developed by central German composers, especially Pachelbel, differ from earlier chorale variations in using structural principles formerly associated with variation sets based on secular songs and dances; each variation retains the original proportions and often the original rhythmic values of the pre-existing melody as well as its basic harmonic properties.
See Chorale settings.
ROBERT L. MARSHALL