> > The exercises in the books by Corbetta et al include examples showing > which > > alfabeto chords match the the notes of the bass part e.g. The Regola per > > sonar sopra la parte on p.70 on Corbetta's are surely intended to help the > > player devise a strummed accompaniment.
This type of rule of thumb already appeared in the earliest alfabeto songbooks. Application of these rules leads in many occasions to completely wrong harmonies. Of course Corbetta knew that, and in the following pages (you were probably speaking of his book from 1643 ?) he has given a lot more cadences, based on the figures of the bass. For that he had to step outside the rigid system of alfabeto and start plucking. Others (earlier figures) like Biagio Marini, Domenico Obizzi and Pietro Millioni have used alfabeto in a more sensible way, often just ignoring the line of the bass. That has resulted in a fine, guitaristic version of early continuo. Already in 1981 Robert Strizich has pointed at harmonic conflicts between the alfabeto harmonies and the top melody, in songs of Kapsberger. This is by no means an isolated case. > It is also self-evident that the > accompaniments to the vocal pieces in Corbetta's Guitarre royale of 1671 > are > intended to be mostly strummed. Why else should he put the note values > on > the stave rather than above it? Mostly strummed indeed, but not all. As far as the available sources seem to imply, Corbetta's accompaniments have not become standard procedure. With Grenerin and Matteis (as well as Sanz and de Murcia) there are considerably fewer battuto chords. In plucked harmonies the chord position--and with that the position of the bass--is much more an issue. These composers have made an attempt to use the guitar for a real basso continuo, whereas in La Guitarre royalle Corbetta is still somewhere halfway the early battuto practice. Diligently as ever, Lex To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
