Ewald Demeyere

While mastering the first four categories of the regole (cadences, the rule of the octave (RO), suspensions and modulations) was already equivalent to mastering a considerable part of the musical syntax, the assimilation of the moti del basso (or movimenti del basso) proved highly important to the eighteenth-century composer from a structural perspective. (For more […]

In my essay Suspensions in the Upper Voice(s), I explain how a chord on a bass note that lasts two beats can be enriched with an on-beat dissonance in one or two voices. In this essay, I will deal with suspensions in the bass. They are mostly set with a 4/2 sonority, to which the

Once the basic cadences (see my essay Cadences: The Basics), the rule of the octave (see my series of essays on this rule) and modulations were sufficiently trained, the partimento student embarked on the study of suspensions. He learned that suspensions could occur in the upper voices and in the bass, and that specific circumstances

In my essays The Rule of the Octave in Major According to Fenaroli and The Rule of the Octave in Minor According to Fenaroli, I deal with the rule of the octave, a means of knowing which chord to play on each note of a major and minor scale in the bass, both ascending and

The best-known version of the rule of the octave is undoubtedly the one taught by Fedele Fenaroli and reinterpreted by Emmanuele Imbimbo, a version with a first-choice sonority for each scale step. (For more information on that type of rule of the octave see my essays The Rule of the Octave in Major According to

The best-known version of the rule of the octave is undoubtedly the one taught by Fedele Fenaroli and reinterpreted by Emmanuele Imbimbo, a version that is based on a four-part realization. (For more information on that type of rule of the octave see my essays The Rule of the Octave in Major According to Fenaroli

An important early topic within partimento training is what is nowadays usually called the rule of the octave. The rule of the octave gives one specific, first-choice chord for each note of a major and minor scale in the bass, both ascending and descending. While different versions of the rule of the octave exist, I

Another early topic within partimento training is what is commonly known today as the rule of the octave. The rule of the octave suggests one specific, first-choice chord for each note of a major and minor scale in the bass, both ascending and descending. While different versions of the rule of the octave exist, I

One of the first things a partimento student in the Neapolitan tradition had to study were three types of cadences: the simple cadence (cadenza semplice), the compound cadence (cadenza composta) and the double cadence (cadenza doppia). Those cadences are based in the sources on a ①–⑤–① bass progression. The type of cadence largely depends on