Apart from the unnecessary personal attacks by Alfonso, I find this whole
discussion quite humorous, with occasional tangential leaps into unrelated
areas, inconsistencies and general ill-thought-out rants by most of the
contributors (self included). So if we can focus a little better...I'll try
to remind myself and others what on earth we are talking about, or at least
what I believe we might be talking about ;-)
Basso continuo practice and ideology are not always one and the same, they
both changed over time, with occasional parallel paths of transcendent
oneness (much like our discussion!). That there were players who ignored or
deliberately broke rules is clear and provable. That there were players who
followed the rules religiously might also have been true (more difficult to
prove, but likely). That the more anarchic players are not likely to have
been befriended by Bach ('keyboard Hussars!' he called them) is also true,
although he himself stretched the practice into uncomfortable areas (tut
tut!).
I welcome Alfonso's contribution of the rules, but do not think they help
complete beginners. On the contrary, I much prefer students to feel their
way into the practice, learning what works and what doesn't, so that LATER,
when they do study the rules (which they should) they can assess for
themselves whether to follow them or not. This would help preserve the
individuality of their contribution. Many lute students are frightened off
from studying continuo because of the number of rules they encounter early
on. I want students to realize that they can make a huge contribution by
initially only playing the bass line. There is also the practice of
improvisation above the bass by treble lutes - a list of rules for that
practice would be very scary; best just jump in and use your ears.
I am content that there is as much difference of opinion now as there was in
the 17th and 18th centuries. Long may that be the case.
For what it's worth (not much, admittedly) I have a very good grasp of
harmony, counterpoint and figured bass, and period styles. I used to teach
it as Fretboard Harmony at the Royal Scottish Academy Of Music. I also play
jazz with a Big Band, and despite noting the similarities between rhythm and
soloing with a BB and playing continuo in a baroque group, have never got
them mixed up.
Hmm...
Rob
www.rmguitar.info
-----Original Message-----
From: Howard Posner [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: 30 July 2007 18:44
To: lute@cs.dartmouth.edu
Subject: [LUTE] Re: Early Baroque basso continuo rules
On Monday, Jul 30, 2007, at 10:20 America/Los_Angeles, David Rastall
wrote:
> I don't think that orchestra members or
> choristers were encouraged to improvise their parts.
True generally, but of course, if we're talking about the continuo
players in the orchestra, they had no choice but to improvise. I just
bring this up in case it's not clear that the subject is broadening
beyond the subject line.
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