The volume explores the long-lasting phenomenon of basso continuo in the Italian peninsula, from its origins - i.e. from the "regole per suonare sopra il basso" which collects and develops the contrappunto alla mente's legacy - up to the late partimento pedagogy. In addition to a bibliographic update, the volume presents case studies providing the reader with new information on performative contexts and performance practice between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, and shedding new lights on sacred and secular genres and repertoires cultivated in churches, theatres, academies, noble chambers and domestic environments. Particular attention is given to the relationship between counterpoint, improvisation and instrumentation, to the analysis of primary sources in relation to book formats and the type of notation chosen to convey the accompaniment. Furthermore, a few chapters focus on peculiar issues of accompaniment pedagogy according to unpublished or neglected sources.

Basso continuo accompaniment calls upon a complex tapestry of harmonic, rhythmic, compositional, analytical and improvisational skills. The evolving knowledge that underpinned the performance of basso continuo was built up and transmitted from the late 1500s to the second half of the eighteenth century, when changes in instruments together with the assertion of control by composers over their works brought about its demise. By tracing the development of basso continuo over time and across the regions of Italy where differing practices emerged, Giulia Nuti accesses this body of musical usage. Sources include the music itself, introductions and specific instructions and requirements in song books and operas, contemporary accounts of performances and, in the later period of basso continuo, description and instruction offered in theoretical treatises. Changes in instruments and instrumental usage and the resulting sounds available to composers and performers are considered, as well as the altering relationship between the improvising continuo player and the composer. Extensive documentation from both manuscript and printed sources, some very rare and others better known, in the original language, followed by a precise English translation, is offered in support of the arguments. There are also many musical examples, transcribed and in facsimile. Giulia Nuti provides both a scholarly account of the history of basso continuo and a performance-driven interpretation of how this music might be played.

Covers the Italian Baroque period (1600-1730), dealing with basso continuo realizations, the use of bass line instruments and their terminology, and the functions of the various kinds of lutes. Borgir challenges the notion that the independent basso continuo is one of the hallmarks of the Baroque style. " . . . a major reconsideration of the sound of 17th-century Italian music . . . "

Performance practice is the study of how music was performed over the centuries, both by its originators (the composers and performers who introduced the works) and, later, by revivalists. This first of its kind Dictionary offers entries on composers, musiciansperformers, technical terms, performance centers, musical instruments, and genres, all aimed at elucidating issues in performance practice. This A-Z guide will help students, scholars, and listeners understand how musical works were originally performed and subsequently changed over the centuries. Compiled by a leading scholar in the field, this work will serve as both a point-of-entry for beginners as well as a roadmap for advanced scholarship in the field.