《Greensleeves to a Ground》是一首匿名作品，最早出現在 1706 年倫敦出版的《The Division Flute》第一集。此書是巴洛克時期英國常見的樂譜集，專為笛類（Recorder）所編，內含大量以「ground bass」（固定低音）為基礎的變奏曲。

「Greensleeves」本身是一首16世紀英格蘭的知名民謠，旋律以多里安/愛奧利亞調式為基礎，常與伊麗莎白一世時期的音樂文化聯繫在一起。至17–18世紀，這個旋律成為變奏和即興的重要題材，被廣泛應用於「division」的傳統之中。

《Greensleeves to a Ground》就是以這首旋律的和聲進行作為「ground」，長笛在上方不斷變奏，而吉他（原本多為大鍵琴或魯特琴）則負責持續的和聲支撐，展現出巴洛克即興變奏藝術的精髓。

Background

Greensleeves to a Ground is an anonymous work first published in 1706 in London, in the first volume of The Division Flute. This collection, common in the English Baroque period, was designed for the recorder and features many variation pieces based on a “ground bass” (a repeating bass pattern).

The melody Greensleeves itself dates back to the 16th century, a famous English tune often associated with the Elizabethan era. It is modal in character (Dorian/Aeolian) and became a favorite subject for variations and improvisations in the 17th and 18th centuries.

In Greensleeves to a Ground, the harmony of Greensleeves serves as the repeating ground, while the flute spins out a series of ornate variations above it. The guitar (originally harpsichord or lute) provides harmonic support, embodying the Baroque art of improvisation over a fixed bass.