This essay is the first of a series devoted to how the versets (i.e. short partimenti) by Stanislao Mattei (1750–1825) can be realized at the keyboard. The versets by Mattei are intended to be realized in three parts with great concern for contrapuntal quality. Typically, instead of focusing on just one realization, students had to
Mattei, Verset 1 in C Major Read More »
The 100 versetti —versets— by Stanislao Mattei are a remarkable collection of short partimenti as part of his treatise Pratica d’accompagnamento. While the length of many partimenti can be intimidating, Mattei’s versets are so concise that they are easily accessible and memorizable. The 100 versets by Mattei are probably intended to be realized in three
The 100 Versets by Stanislao Mattei Read More »
The Monte is a widely used schema in the 17th and 18th centuries and exists in many variants. In this essay, I will focus on the schema’s characteristics. Just as a Fonte, a Monte is a sequential schema in which each segment constitutes a cadence, often a ⑦–① cadence or clausula cantizans as well. However,
The Monte: The Basics Read More »
I have already explored the voice-leading pattern that Robert Gjerdingen calls a Prinner to some extend in four essays (The Traditional Prinner, Variants of the Prinner (Part 1), Variants of the Prinner (Part 2): Sequential Prinners and Variants of the Prinner (Part 3)). To that series I will add another essay, although from a structural
Variants of the Prinner (Part 4): The Stabat Mater Prinner Read More »
In my previous three essays (Diatonic Moti del Basso that Rise Stepwise, Diatonic Moti del basso that Descend Stepwise and Chromatic Moti del Basso), I dealt with conjunct moti del basso, both diatonically and chromatically. The topic of this essay is disjunct moti del basso, which are characterized by a sequential progression: a model that consists of
Disjunct Moti del Basso Read More »
In my previous two essays (Diatonic Moti del Basso that Rise Stepwise and Diatonic Moti del basso that Descend Stepwise), I dealt with the moti del basso that rise and descend stepwise. The topic of this essay is chromatic moti del basso, both rising and descending. There are 3 such basic bass progressions. Two of
Chromatic Moti del Basso Read More »
In my essay Diatonic Moti del Basso that Rise Stepwise, I explain that each note of a diatonic ascending moto normally has minimum two sonorities per bass note. (There are of course alternative settings for the ascending RO with one sonority per bass note; see my essay The Rule of the Octave in Three Parts.)
Diatonic Moti del Basso that Descend Stepwise Read More »
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
Diatonic Moti del Basso that Rise Stepwise Read 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
Suspensions in the Bass Read More »
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
Suspensions in the Upper Voice(s) Read More »