Passacaglia and "Dido's Lament"

An excellent reason to listen to Great Courses is to learn things like:

Passacaglia (don't pronounce the "g") & "Dido's Lament"

What's even better is when something I learned in one course (Classical Mythology) helps me appreciate something I learn in another course (How to Listen to and Understand Great Music.) Queen Dido, you see, was in love with Æneas, but decided to kill herself when Æneas -- who also loved Dido -- followed the will of the gods and left Dido to go found Rome. And in one of the early English operas, Dido sings of her feelings just before the end. [Yes, I'm learning about opera. Amazing. Never thought I would.]

Having two courses connected in this way is not unusual, of course. Having attended a liberal arts school like Luther College, I grow to expect it. And it's nice when it happens. Those connections solidify learning.

What is strange is to find out that "Dido's Lament" is a passacaglia, which is a word I just learned during the course, and that another word for it is "chaccone" which, coincidentally, is the name of this week's song recommendation from my friend David Peter! I didn't know either of these words until this week, and now I know both of them. And I have two pieces of music to which they relate. That is cool. That is learning.

[And no, I don't know whatever minor technicality might make a pessacaglia different from a chaccone. I'm not a music major and never intend to be one.]

If you want to learn what a passacaglia is (or what a chaccone is) I suggest the Naxos online dictionary of musical terms. OK, honestly, having heard an example of a passacaglia (such as Dido's Lament) and then having someone explain it would give you a better understanding. But the definition is a good start.