Originating in Spain as O guárdame las vacas ("O let us put the cows to pasture" or, "look after the cows for me", occasionally known as Seculorum del primer tono in reference to the similarity between the a g f e d melody line and that of the chief termination, "Seculorum, Amen", of the first psalm tone), a romanesca is composed of a sequence of four chords with a simple, repeating bass, which provide the groundwork for variations and improvisation. A famous example is the refrain of "
Greensleeves" (whose verses follow the progression of the passamezzo antico, of which the romanesca is an alteration) Play (help·info). The romanesca is usually in triple meter and its soprano formula (melody) resembles that of the passamezzo antico but a third higher. The harmonic bass pattern of the romanesca is:
Romanesca is also the name of two early music ensembles: one, La Romanesca, founded in 1978 in Australia by John Griffiths; and the other, Romanesca, founded in 1988 in England by Nigel North. Both specialize in the performance of early plucked string instruments.
