Basso continuo

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Basso continuo parts, almost universal in the

harmonic structure of the music by supplying a bassline and a chord progression
. The phrase is often shortened to continuo, and the instrumentalists playing the continuo part are called the continuo group.

A harpsichordist and a bassist play continuo for a small group of singers (the solo ensemble of the Kreuznacher Diakonie Choir).

Forces

The composition of the continuo group is often left to the discretion of the performers (or, for a large performance, the

sacred music
. A double bass may be added, particularly when accompanying a lower-pitched solo voice (e.g., a bass singer).

In larger orchestral works, typically performers match the

Johannespassion which calls for "bassono grosso".[1]

The keyboard (or other chord-playing instrument) player realizes (that is, adds in an improvised fashion) a continuo part by playing, in addition to the notated bass line, notes above it to complete chords, either determined ahead of time or

staff notation for a player, in place of improvisation. With the rise in historically informed performance, however, the number of performers who are able to improvise their parts from the figures, as Baroque players would have done, has increased.[citation needed
]

Notation

Main article: Figured bass

Chord-playing continuo instrument parts are often written in figured bass. A part so annotated consists of a

inversions
of which chords are to be played.

The phrase

V chord
(spelled B–D–G, from bottom note of the chord to the top).

History

Basso continuo, though an essential structural and identifying element of the Baroque period, continued to be used in many works, mostly (but not limited to) sacred choral works, of the

C. P. E. Bach's Concerto in D minor for flute, strings and basso continuo. Examples of its use in the 19th century are rarer, but they do exist: masses by Anton Bruckner, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Franz Schubert
, for example, have a basso continuo part that was for an organist.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Johann Sebastian Bach: Die Johannes-Passion, Bärenreiter, 1988, 3rd edition, 1999
  2. ^ "Classical Era (1750–1820)", TheGreatHistoryofArts.Weebly.com. Accessed: 27 July 2017.
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