Yes, Alexander Dean's dissertation is a very good read. You can download it
here:
https://urresearch.rochester.edu/institutionalPublicationPublicView.action;jsessionid=FEA663FAC81002C4A93F225435EB74D8?institutionalItemVersionId=10524
As I understand it, certain chords (dimished 7th, for instance) cannot be
produced within the frame of alfabeto. These chords were replaced by
alfabeto chords of another degree (ii - I instead of the vii dim -I, or the
L chord instead of a E flat major, sorry for being so technical). Thus,
playing together with an instrumentalist who performs literally from the
bass this would lead to harmonic clashes. Dean goes so far to say that these
clashes maybe were sought to get a richer pre-cadential tension. I think we
can't tell. Perhaps they were just alternatives. You'll find these at p.240.
The point about triadic harmony is that it includes only the basic notes.
But you can add to this e.g. adding 7ths to a chord does not alter its
basic notes. And you can use a basic triad to accompany a 7th in the
bass.
I'm quite sure I said that for better understanding we should we should look
at the _early_ stage (so, not at Valdambrini or Corbetta).
Of course you can add whatever you like. The question is, however, who did
what. And when. The basis of early alfabeto, as it has come to us in songs
and dances from >1600 - 1620, is predominantly very stereotype. This is to
say that [probably] alfabeto and cifras were [at least] originally used to
give a hand for remembering the chords to your tune. This was most likely
also its function in the printed villanelle repertoire from Italy. Feel free
to speculate about fantastic harmonic experiments, but it would be helpful
to know the sources. We should indeed use our imagination, but how far
should that go?
I may bring to mind my 'dissonance' article (also in The Lute 47) in which I
give the example of the manuscript of Pedruil (c.1614), with all kinds of
extra notes added.
The fact that Sanz doesn't explicitly describe everything doesn't mean
that he intended it to be done in the simplest possible way. If you read
everything that Doisi de Velasco says it is obvious that the acompaniment
may be strummed but you can combine the two.
again, both are much later
You seem to have an exraordinary narrow pedantic approach to most things
which seems to reflect the environment in which you work rather than what
players really did or do in practice.
[perhaps] I'd better ignore that
Lex
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