Moto Continuo

Some of my favorite pieces and passages to play are ones that go through a ton of equal-length notes. According to this answer on Stack Exchange (which cites a wikipedia page, which in turn cites the Harvard Dictonary of Music), this type of piece is called a "perpetuum mobile". I think the italian term "moto perpetuo" sounds nicer, and it seems like the term originated from a Paganini piece by the same name.

From the Harvard Dictionary of Music:

Perpetuum mobile [L., perpetual motion]. A term used by Paganini (op.11), Weber (last movement of Piano Sonata op.19), and others to denote pieces which proceed from the beginning to the end in the same rapid motion, e.g., 16th-notes in presto. Pieces of this type, although not labeled thus, occur also in Chopin's etudes.

Interestingly, though the Harvard Dictionary source only uses this term in the context of a full piece, the Wikipedia page explicitly says it also applies to "figurations" and "passages" without providing an additional source. To distinguish between the Harvard definition and the Wikpedia, my proposal is to use the term "moto continuo" (continuous motion) to refer to specific parts and passages of a larger non-moto-perpetuo piece.

I think the main reason I like these types of runs is because they can serve as a benchmark for both player skill and instrument playability. Of course, they do so in a limited fashion (some instruments are "playable" in ways that would not necessarily make them good for these types of figurations), but I have found these pieces to be very good for comparing different layouts and spacings of keys for my HXCSTR project. As a bonus, many of these pieces are easier to play on the HXCSTR than they are on their original instruments. In some cases, like Solfeggietto, a piece that would require two hands on the piano is practical to play with one hand on the HXCSTR.

Here's a list of some of my favorite examples of moto perpetuo:

*: not counting repetitions

TODO

add to table

• TODO: find other cc recordings of classical pieces
• bach violin partita no1 in b minor bwv 1002 mvt.2
• https://crosseyedpianist.com/2012/07/14/perpetuum-mobile/
  • debussy images book 1 mouvement
  • Francis Poulenc - Trois Mouvements Perpétuels
• surely something exists by vivaldi
• toccata and fugue (especially the fugue)
• lots of things by xi and dj taka
  • glorious crown
  • quaver
• katekyo hitman ost - leader of the discipline committee
• au5 fractal smoke
• https://soundcloud.com/ariiol/media-offline @2:01
• dynamite pia no jac