ROSALIA (Germ. Vetter Michel, Schusterfleck). A form of Melody, Vocal or Instrumental, in which a Figure is repeated several times in succession, transposed a note higher at each reiteration.
The name is derived from an old Italian Canto popolare, ‘Rosalia, mia cara,
’ the Melody of which is constructed upon this principle.
The well-known German Volkslied, ‘Gestern Abend war Vetter Michel da,
’ begins with a similar repetition, and hence the figure is frequently called in Germany, ‘Vetter Michel...