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accompaniment. bass. basso continuo, in music, a system of partially improvised accompaniment played on a bass line, usually on a keyboard instrument. The use of basso continuo was customary during the 17th and 18th centuries, when only the bass line was written out, or “thorough” (archaic spelling of “through”), giving considerable ...
- Monody
monody, style of accompanied solo song consisting of a vocal...
- Monody
- Instrumentation
- Function of The Continuo
- Figured Bass
- History
- Summary
Continuo parts were generally not written for a specific instrumental lineup, so the exact instrumentation used in performance would depend on what was available to the ensemble in question. This is in contrast to more recent classical music, which tends to be written for specific instruments. However, the continuo needs to have at least one instru...
Most Western music is centred around moving harmony with a strong bass line. This is true of most classical music, pop and jazz. In basso continuo the bass line is written out exactly, while the chordal instrument (or instruments) improvise an accompanying harmony part based upon the implied underlying chord progression. In tandem, these two parts ...
While the bass part would have been written out (or realised) exactly using standard notation, the chordal instruments would improvise, at least to some extent, using a notation called figured bass (also sometimes referred to as thoroughbass). The chordal instruments read from the same part as the bass instruments, and use the bass notes, in combin...
Almost all Western music used continuo parts during the Baroque era, which lasted approximately from 1600-1750. One text that was extremely influential was Del sonare sopra ’l basso (“On Playing upon the Thoroughbass”), a kind of continuo and figured bass instruction manual from the early 17th Century by the Italian composer Agostino Agazzari. Cont...
So, that concludes our look at basso continuo. We’ve looked at how players would be expected to improvise an accompaniment part using figured bass, and at the history of continuo during the Baroque period and beyond. Thanks for reading!
Basso continuo parts, almost universal in the Baroque era (1600–1750), provided the harmonic structure of the music by supplying a bassline and a chord progression. The phrase is often shortened to continuo, and the instrumentalists playing the continuo part are called the continuo group. A harpsichordist and a bassist play continuo for a ...
The meaning of BASSO is a bass singer; especially : an operatic bass.
What is a basso continuo? - Classical Music
HOW TO PLAY BASSO CONTINUO / If you’re learning to play figured bass and need some basso continuo examples, a basso continuo demonstration, or just need an e...
- 19 min
- 30.8K
- Alice M. Chuaqui Baldwin, harpsichordist
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What is basso continuo?
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What is figured bass?
Figured bass, also known as “basso continuo” or simply “continuo,” is a musical notation system that flourished during the Baroque era (approximately 1600-1750). This system plays a crucial role in understanding Baroque music’s harmonic structure and performance practice. It represents a foundational element of Western music theory, bridging the gap between composition and ...
