UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA
MUSIC OF THE BAROQUE
MUH 5345 (Spring 2010) - Warfield
Basso Continuo Assignment - Instructions
MATERIALS (all supplied to you as PDF documents via email attachment):
- Giulio Caccini, "Se in questo scolorito languido volto" [opening 16 mm.] from Nuove musiche... (1614)
- Lodovico Viadana, Dixit Dominus (Psalm 109) [opening 19 m.] from Salmi a quattro chori (1612)
- Agostino Agazzari, Del suonare sopra il basso... (1607) [translated excerpt from F.T. Arnold, The Art of Thoroughbass...]
- Francesco Bianchiardi, Breve regola per imparar a sonare sopra il Basso... (1607) [translated excerpt from F.T. Arnold, The Art of Thoroughbass...]
OBJECTIVE: Utilizing your knowledge of continuo practice, based on your readings in the Schulenberg textbook and the two additional written items (Agazzari and Bianchiardi), you are to provide a complete, written realization of the continuo part as it might have been played by a keyboard foundation instrument. Your realization should take into account such general principles as:
- The presumed pitches indicated by either the figures or the type of bass movement.
- The general considerations of range and voice leading.
- The treatment of solo entrances.
- The treatment of moving notes.
- Any other considerations you feel are necessary.
WORKING METHOD (SUGGESTED): You may work in any way you like, but to ensure your best work, consider doing the following:
- Look over both examples and pick one or the other for your project.
- Begin by "analyzing" the entire section, taking note of such things as cadences, unusual figures, potential problem points due to range, resolutions, etc.
- On a working copy, fill in some of those spots with tentative solutions.
- Fill in the remaining passages.
- Play/test your work and revise as needed.
- Prepare a final, neat draft for submission. (See next item for details.)
FINALE FORMAT: Your final draft will meet the following criteria:
a two-stave piano score, using treble and bass clefs
lower staff will be the bass line from your chosen excerpt
include all figures from the example below the bass staff, i.e., copy the basso continuo part from the excerpt
upper staff will be your "original" realization of the part.
the submission should be a "clean" (meaning no significant erasures or crossed-out pasasges) copy in either pencil, ink, or a computer-produced music-writing program
Important Reminder: Even though continuo practice superficially resembles "part writing" as it is taught in most theory classes nowadays, the actual practice of "realizing" continuo was an improvised art, which allowed for multiple acceptable interpretations (down to the choice of pitches). At the same time, some of the general principles that define modern part-writing, e.g., prohibitions against parallel 5ths and octaves,control of dissonances, preference to full triads, etc., should apply to your work. Read Agazzari and Bianchiardi as guides and not hard rules.
GRADING CRITERIA:
Correct pitches - 50%
Use of range, spacing, voice-leading, and resolutions - 50%
DUE DATE : Wednesday, 14 April 2010 @ 5:00 pm.