This essay explores Telemann’s views on the number of parts of a thoroughbass realization, as presented in his Singe-, Spiel- und General-Bass-Übungen. In the SSGBÜ, chords are typically four-part (bass plus three upper parts). For consecutive sixth chords, Telemann recommends three-part chords. In specific cases, five-part and full-voiced chords may be used. Additionally, when necessary,
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This essay explores Telemann’s views on the range of the right hand and on the possible doubling of the singing voice by its upper part, as presented in his Singe-, Spiel- und General-Bass-Übungen. In the Singe-, Spiel- und General-Bass-Übungen, Telemann defines the standard range of the upper part of the right hand as extending from
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This essay is the first in a series exploring Georg Philipp Telemann’s Singe-, Spiel- und General-Bass-Übungen. Telemann’s Singe-, Spiel- und General-Bass-Übungen (1733–1734) comprise 48 songs that include not only written-out continuo realizations but also instructions on how to create them. This collection is therefore an invaluable source for understanding German continuo practice of that time.
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The Folia originated in late 15th-century Portugal and Spain, and by the 17th and 18th centuries had become a widely used framework all over Europe with a number of guises. In this essay, I focus on the so-called ‘late Folia’, which I will refer to simply as ‘the Folia’. The Folia is a minor-mode schema
A Corelli (or Corellian) Leapfrog —a term coined by Gjerdingen in homage to Arcangelo Corelli— is a contrapuntal technique typically involving two upper voices above a bass. Consider the opening three bars of the following realisation of the fourth verset in G major by the Bolognese counterpoint master Stanislao Mattei (1750–1825). (For more on Mattei
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This essay is the fourth and last of a series devoted to changing-note schemata, a type of dichotomous schema with a treble and/or a bass whose melodic shape look like a gruppetto or a musical turn (~). In this essay, I will discuss the schema that Robert O. Gjerdingen has labelled the Jupiter. A Jupiter
This essay is the third of a series devoted to changing-note schemata, a type of dichotomous schema with a treble and/or a bass whose melodic shape look like a gruppetto or a musical turn (~). In this essay, I will discuss the schema that Robert O. Gjerdingen has labelled the Pastorella. A Pastorella is a
This essay is the second of a series devoted to changing-note schemata, a type of dichotomous schema with a treble and/or a bass whose melodic shape look like a gruppetto or a musical turn (~). In this essay, I will discuss the schema that Robert O. Gjerdingen has labelled the Aprile, after the Neapolitan-trained soprano
This essay is the first of a series devoted to changing-note schemata, a type of dichotomous schema with a treble and/or a bass whose melodic shape look like a gruppetto or a musical turn (~). In this essay, I will discuss the schema that Robert O. Gjerdingen has labelled the Meyer, after Leonard B. Meyer
A dichotomous schema consists consists of a question segment and an answer segment. The question segment has a harmonically and melodically open ending, while the answer segment has a (rather) closed ending. Examples of dichotomous schemata are: the paired Do-Re-Mi, the Meyer, the Aprile and the Pastorella.
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