MUS 1204 · Counterpoint: The Partimento Foundation

Led by Francesco Gasparini Simulacrum

Working from a figured bass teaches the upper voices to sing. The partimento tradition as the foundation for free counterpoint.

1. Module 1

   The Figured Bass and What It Asks

   Led by Francesco Gasparini Simulacrum

   The question

   The figures above a bass tell you what intervals are required above it. They do not tell you how to make those upper voices sing. What is the difference between a harmonically correct realisation and a musically alive one?

   Outcome

   The student can read standard figured bass symbols and produce a two-voice realisation with a melodically interesting top voice.

   Sub-units

   1. ○ 1.1 Realise a Short Figured Bass Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   Begin the course → Print certificate of completion
2. Module 2

   From Continuo to Free Counterpoint

   Led by Francesco Gasparini Simulacrum

   The question

   When the figured bass is removed, the bass still implies what it wants above it — if you have played enough basses to have internalised the shapes. What is the transition from figured bass to free counterpoint?

   Outcome

   The student can produce a free upper voice over an unfigured bass.

   Sub-units

   1. ○ 2.1 Unfigured Bass Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   Open this module → Print certificate of completion
3. Module 3

   The Bass as Teacher

   Led by Francesco Gasparini Simulacrum

   The question

   Porpora gave his students the same bass forty times. By the fortieth variation, the bass was inside them. What does the partimento bass teach that the figured bass treatise cannot?

   Outcome

   The student can identify characteristic Neapolitan bass patterns and write multiple upper voices above each.

   Sub-units

   1. ○ 3.1 Three Bass Patterns Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   Open this module → Print certificate of completion
4. Module 4

   Three-Part Writing

   Led by Francesco Gasparini Simulacrum

   The question

   The art of the inner voice is the art of being useful without being obtrusive. What constraints does the middle voice face that the outer voices do not — and what opportunity does it create?

   Outcome

   The student can add a third voice to a two-part framework avoiding forbidden parallels with both outer voices.

   Sub-units

   1. ○ 4.1 Add a Middle Voice Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   Open this module → Print certificate of completion
5. Module 5

   The Practical Musician

   Led by Francesco Gasparini Simulacrum

   The question

   Gasparini wrote for keyboard players who needed to realise figured bass in performance — not for theorists. What does the practical tradition offer that species counterpoint alone cannot?

   Outcome

   The student can describe the connection between continuo practice and contrapuntal ability.

   Sub-units

   1. ○ 5.1 Final Essay: The Practical Musician Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   Open this module → Print certificate of completion