found: New Harvard dict. of mus.(Ground, ground bass: pattern of notes, most often a single melodic phrase set in the bass, that is repeated over and over again during the course of a vocal or instrumental composition; though usually used interchangeably with basso ostinato, refers most particularly to English music of the late 16th and early 17th century, where it means either a repeating bass line or the entire composition in which that bass appears; under Ostinato: a repeating melodic phrase set in the bass is called a basso ostinato, or ground bass)
found: New Grove dict. of mus. online, Mar. 14, 2002(Ground: a melody, usually in the bass and hence often called a ground bass (basso ostinato in It.) recurring many times in succession, accompanied by continuous variation in the upper parts.; may refer to the bass melody itself, to an entire musical scheme including the harmonies and upper voices, to the process of repetition in general, or to a composition in which it occurs; ref. to Ostinato)
found: New Grove, 2nd ed. WWW site, Sept. 3, 2002(under Ostinato: The use of the term as a noun, without specifying which is the "obstinate" element, is relatively recent, and the term has long been understood, even in some 20th-century dictionaries, to be an abbreviation of basso ostinato. When a melodic-rhythmic ostinato is in the bass it may form a harmonic ostinato or ground)
found: Web. 3(Ground bass: a bass passage usu. of four or eight measures continually repeated below constantly changing melody and harmony; called also basso ostinato)
