Responding to Nadia Boulanger's insistence that her students master traditional forms, Copland built this Passacaglia with an eight-bar theme and eight variations, the last two of which reach a big climax. He wrote, "The work appeared cold to some critics when it was first heard, but Mademoiselle recognized the underlying emotion in it right away. The Passacaglia is dedicated to her."
- Vivian Perlis, 1998