Among the Variations on an Original Theme, WoO 80 from 1806 constitutes a special case in that Beethoven consciously draws on older practices. A chromatically descending bass line in the theme provides the foundation for the variations, its ostinato-like repetition lending the composition the air of a passacaglia. The revised musical text of the Henle Urtext edition, with an extensive preface and commentary section, was prepared on the basis of the Critical Report in the Beethoven Complete Editi