Partimento – praktyka czy sztuka?1

• Authors: Solecka Joanna

Title variants

Partimento – Practice or Art?

• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

Partimento practice originated in Italy and the most important centre of this art was Naples. In general, partimento is a kind of an abbreviated form of musical notation. It uses the notation of basso continuo: it provides one voice, which in most cases is the bass part supported with figures of b.c. notation. The figures may be neglected if the performer is supposed to follow the so-called rule of the octave. Practicing partimento was a way to master compositional skills: thorough bass, harmony, counterpoint, form, texture, motivic coherence. Practicing this art was rewarded with an unparalleled fluency in improvisation on keyboard instruments. It was the basic method of composition teaching at the famous conservatories in Naples. The conservatories were founded in the 16th century as orphanages but from the 17th century onward they turned into important professional schools of music. The students of the conservatories attained the highest degree of musical knowledge enabling them to pursue great careers as composers and performers (both in the vocal and instrumental realm) in Italy and abroad. Besides Naples the art of partimento was taught in other Italian cities, e.g. Rome and Bologna. Its influence was also seen in other countries, mostly in Germany. Besides being exercises, the partimento notation was also included in pieces of music not necessarily intended for teaching purposes. Bernardo Pasquini (1637–1710) was one of the very first composers to write partimenti; however, he did not use the word “partimento”. His works for one or two keyboards, written as b.c., were called by him for example “basso”, “basso continuo”, “sonata”, “versetto”. An interesting question nowadays is if partimento is an old-fashion method of teaching or an inspiration for artists seeking for individual ways of own expression.

Keywords

EN

partimento; basso continuo; Italian music; improvisation

• Publisher: Uniwersytet Jagielloński. Koło Naukowe Studentów Muzykologii UJ
• Journal: Kwartalnik Młodych Muzykologów UJ
• Year: 2019
• Issue: 2(41)
• Pages: 23-42

Dates

online

2019-07-31

Contributors

author

Solecka Joanna

• Akademia Muzyczna w Krakowie

References

• Opracowania
• Cafiero R., The Early Reception of Neapolitan Partimento Theory in France: A Survey, „Journal of Music Theory” 51 (2007), nr 1.
• Bach C.P.E., O prawdziwej sztuce gry na instrumentach klawiszowych (tyt. oryg. Versuch über die Wahre Art das Clavier zu spielen), tłum. J. Solecka, M. Kraft, Kraków 2017.
• Bellotti E., Porter B., Pasquini e l’improvvisatione. Un approccio pedagogico, [w:] Atti Pasquini Symposium. Convegno Internazionale, Smarano, 27–30 Maggio 2010, red. A. Carideo, Trento 2012.
• Bonaventura A., Bernardo Pasquini, Ascoli Piceno 1923.
• Borgir T., The Performance of the basso continuo in Italian Baroque Music, Ann Arbor 1987.
• Buelow G.J., Thorough-Bass Accompaniment According to Johann David Heinichen, Lincoln–London 1986.
• Compendium Improvisation. Fantasieren nach historischen Quellen des 17. und 18. Jahrhunderts, red. M. Schwenkreis, Basel 2018.
• Continuo Playing According to Händel: His Figure Bass Excersises, wstęp i oprac. D. Ledbetter, Oxford 1990.
• Durante F., Bassi e fughe. Un manuale inedito per riscoprire la vera prassi esecutiva della Scuola napoletana del Settecento, red. G.A. Pastore, Padova 2003.
• Fellerer K.G., Der Partimento-Spieler. Übungen im Generalbass-Spiel und in gebundener Improvisation, Leipzig 1940.
• Florimo F., La scuola musicale di Napoli e i suoi conservatori. Con uno sguardo sulla storia della musica in Italia, Napoli 1880.
• Gingras B., Partimento-fugue in Eighteenth-Century Germany: A Bridge Between Thoroughbass Lesson and Fugal Composition, „Eighteenth- Century Music” 5 (2008), nr 1.
• Gjerdingen R.O., Music in the Galant Style, New York 2007.
• Händel G.F., Aufzeichnungen zur Kompositionslehre aus den Handschriften im Fitzwilliam Museum Cambridge, red. A. Mann, Kassel 1978.
• IJzerman J., Harmony, Counterpoint, Partimento. A New Method Inspired by Old Masters, New York 2018.
• Monuments of Partimenti, red. R.O. Gjerdingen, http://faculty-web.at.northwestern.edu/music/gjerdingen/partimenti/index.htm [dostęp: 9.06.2019].
• Morelli A., La virtù in corte. Bernardo Pasquini (1637–1710), Lucca 2016.
• Paraschivescu N., Die Partimenti Giovanni Paisiellos. Wege zu einem praxisbezogenen Verständnis, Basel 2019.
• Paraschivescu N., Francesco Durantes Perfidia-Sonate. Ein Schlüssel zum Verständnis der Partimento-Praxis, „Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft für Musiktheorie” 7 (2010).
• Partimento and Continuo Playing in Theory and in Practice, red. D. Moelants, Leuven 2010.
• Renwick W., The Langloz Manuscript: Fugal Improvisation Through Figured Bass, New York 2001.
• Sanguinetti G., The Art of Partimento: History, Theory, and Practice, New York 2012.
• Sanguinetti G., The Realisation of Partimenti: An Introduction, „Journal of Music Theory” 51 (2007), nr 1.
• Stella G., Partimenti in the Age of Romanticism: Raimondi, Platania, and Boucheron, „Journal of Music Theory” 51 (2007), nr 1.
• Tour P. van, Counterpoint and Partimento: Methods of Teaching Composition in Late Eighteenth-Century Naples, «Studia Musicologica Upsaliensia», Uppsala 2015.
• Dyskografia
• Partimenti: Improvisations on basso continuo, wyk. Ch. Rieger (klawesyn), Clavi Music, nr 8553282, 2014.
• Partimenti Napoletani: Music for Keyboard Instruments by Paisiello, Durante & Dol, wyk. K. Heutjer (skrzypce), N. Paraschivescu (klawesyn i organy), Deutsche HM, nr 19075896222, 2018.
• Pasquini: Sonatas for Two Organs, wyk. L. Scandali (organy), H. Jourdan (organy i klawesyn), Brillant Classics, nr 94347, 2013.
• Pasquini: Virtuoso Music for Two Harpsichords, wyk. A. Cremonesi, A. de Marchi (klawesyn), Pan Classic, nr 10247, 2012.

Notes

PL

Artykuł został opracowany na podstawie pracy doktorskiej pt. Partimento – duet wykonawcy z kompozytorem, od szkicu do improwizacji i kompozycji. Realizacja wybranych Partimenti Bernardo Pasquiniego, napisanej pod kierunkiem prof. dr. hab. Dariusza Bąkowskiego-Koisa na Wydziale Instrumentalnym Akademii Muzycznej w Krakowie w 2017 roku.