Continuo Practice For The Theorbo PDF

CONTINUO
PRACTICE FOR THE THEORBO

AS INDICATED
IN SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY
AND MANUSCRIPT
ITALIAN
SOURCES
3 VOLUMES
THEODOROS KITSOS
Submitted in partial fulfillment

of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
(Music Performance Practice)
THE UNIVERSITY OF YORK

DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC
May 2005
PRINTED
ABSTRACT
Agostino Agazzari, in his treatise Del sonare sopra7 basso (1607), divided instruments
into
role in the continuo
two classes according to their
body: instruments of
'foundation', which provide chordal support; and instruments of 'ornamentation', which

play and ornament a single line. The theorbo was classified as an instrument appropriate
for both roles, a double function that, due to the peculiarities of the instrument and the
strong influence of Renaissance traditions, emerged as an idiomatic and multifarious
accompanying style, more complicated
and colourful
than that of our modern
conception, which is evident in seventeenth-century Italian
intabulated continuo
sources. Salamone Rossi's 11primo Libro de madrigali (1600), Girolamo Kapsberger's

Libro primo and Libro terzo di villanelle (1610 and 1619 respectively) and Libro primo
di arie passeggiate (1612), Flamminio Corradi's Le stravaganze d'amore (1616), and
Bellerofonte Castaldi's Capricci a due stromenti (1622) contain songs with intabulated
continuo realizations that demonstrate primarily the foundation role of the theorbo, and
reveal an accompanying style that depended more on the sonority of the instrument than
bass
line
basis:
in
the
theoretical
on a
the number of voices
the accompaniment varies,
and chord positions are frequently
faulty
downwards,
chord
transposed
and even
progressions with parallel motion and faulty inversions or problematical voice-leadings

are occasionally allowed, all in order to get what sounds effecive on the instrument.
These features are also evident in the tables of chordal realizations included in
Kapsberger's Libro terzo d'ntavolatura
di chitarone (1626) and New York, Public
Library, Ms. JOC 93-2 (c. 1680), which, together with Modena, Biblioteca Estense,Ms.
Mus. G. 239 (c. 1670), also demonstrate the ornamental function of the theorbo. The
presence of collected linear, ornamental realizations over bass notes or sequences,which
be
for
intended
imitation
to
were
to serve either as examples
or as mnemonic models
applied in an actual performance, reveal that ornamental improvisation was an essential
element of theorbo accompaniment.
ii
CONTENTS
VOLUME
I
V
Illustrations
List of Tables
V1
List ofMusical Examples
vii
X
List ofAccompanying Material

Abbreviations
xi
Acknowledgements
X11
1. Introduction
2. Notation and Instruments
3. The Sixteenth-Century Lute Song
14
4. SalamoneRossi'sChitarrone Intabulations
27
5. Girolamo Kapsberger's Chitarrone Intabulations
49
5.1. Libro primo and libro terzo di villanelle
51
5.2. Libro primo di arie passeggiate
64
5.3. Libro terzo d'intavolatura di chitarone
73
6. Flamminio Corradi's Chitarrone Intabulations
90
7.
98
Bellerofonte Castaldi's Theorbo Intabulations
8. Modena G239
113
9. New York 93-2
123
10. Conclusions
141
149
Bibliography
VOLUME II
Editorial Policy
APPENDIX
I: Songs with Intabulated Accompaniments
iii
I. 1.
Salamone Rossi, 'Cor mio, deh non languire'
1.2.
Girolamo G. Kapsberger, 'SU'desta i fiori'
8
iii
I. 3.
Girolamo G. Kapsberger, 'Ultimi
miei sospiri'
12
1.4.
Girolamo G. Kapsberger, 'Interrotte speranze'
15
I. 5.
Flamminio Corradi, 'Stravaganza d'Amore'
21
1.6.
Bellerofonte Castaldi, Corrente : 'Il mormorio D'un fresco rio'
26
APPENDIX II: Realizations

II. 1.
30
Alfabeto chart with transcription in modern notation from Girolamo
31
G. Kapsberger, Libro terzo di villanelle (Rome, 1619)

11.2.
'Passaggi diversi s le note per sonare sopra la parte' from Girolamo

G. Kapsberger, Libro terzo d'intavolatura di chicarone (Rome, 1626)
If-3-
32
[Cadences) from Girolamo G. Kapsberger, Libro terzo d'intavolatura
52
di chitarone (Rome, 1626)

II. 4.
Tavola per sonare it Chitarone per sonare sopra it Basso' from

Girolamo G. Kapsberger, Libro
terzo d'intavolatura
di chitarone
55
(Rome, 1626)
VOLUME III
The New York Public Library Theorbo Manuscript (JOC 93-2)

Introduction
11
Notes on notation and transcription
lit
Commentary
iv
Transcription of the manuscript
iv
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
2.1.
2.2.
Detail from Franciscus Bossinensis, Tenori e contrabassi intabulati

...
libro secundo (Venice, 1511), f. 52'.
Theorbo tuning as illustrated in Michael Praetorius, Syntagma

musicum II: De organographia (Wolfenbttel, 1619), 27.13
4.1.
Title page of the Canto partbook from Salamone Rossi, I! primo libro de
madrigali a cinque voci (Venice, 1600).
4.2.
29
Salamone Rossi, II primo libro de madrigals a cinque voci (Venice, 1600),

Canto partbook, 17.31
5.1.
'Fulminate' from Girolamo G. Kapsberger, Libro terzo di villanelle

(Rome, 1640), 6.54
5.2.
Kapsberger's coat of arms. Detail from the title-page of Libro primo di

arie passeggiate (Rome, 1612).
7.1.
65
Detail from Bellerofonte Castaldi, Capricci a due stromenti (Modena,

1622), 47.100
7.2.
Castaldi's self-portrait from Bellerofonte Castaldi, Capricci a due

stromenti (Modena, 1622).
8.1.
Opening of Monteverdi's 'Lamento di Arianna', Modena G239,1.114
8.2.
First page of 'Cadenze finali', Modena G239,103.115
101
LIST OF TABLES
2.1.
Tablature rhythmic signs.
2.2.
Correspondence between Italian tablature and modern notation (first nine

frets of a six-course lute in RenaissanceG tuning).
4.1.
10
Madrigals with tablature accompaniment in Rossi's, 111ibro primo de

madrigali.
7.1.
30
Songs with intabulated accompaniments in Castaldi's, Capricci a due

stromenti.
9.1.
Structure of New York 93-2.126
9.2.
Comparative table of dissonancesdesignated as durezze in New York 93-2.128
103
V1
LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES
2.1.
Archlute tuning
11
2.2.
Chitarrone tuning
12
2.3.
Nineteen-course chitarrone tuning.
13
2.4.
Chittarrone tuning according to Banchieri.
13
3.1.
Indicative melodic divisions and cadential ornaments used in Bossinensis,

Tenori e contrabassi
Iibro primo (1509) and Iibro secondo (1511).
...
3.2.
20
'Quanto sia liet'il giorno' (a) Verdelot, Del primo libro di madrigali, f. 1,
bb. 37-41 (b) Verdelot, Intavolatura, f. 3, bb. 42-6.22
4.1.
'Ohime, se tanto amate', Rossi, Il Iibro primo de madrigali, 14, bb. 45-8
(chitarrone part transcribed with the two first courses lowered an octave;
vocal parts transposed a fourth lower).
4.2.
33
Four-note arpeggiated chord according to Kapsberger, Libro primo

d'intavolatura, 4.34
4.3.
Tirsi mio, taro Tirsi', Rossi, Il libro primo de madrigali, 18, bb. 21-4
(chitarrone part transcribed with only the first course lowered an octave).
4.4.
'Anima del cor mio', Rossi, II Iibro primo de madrigali, 16, bb. 53- 4.45
4.5.
Tirsi mio, CaroTirsi', Rossi, Il Iibro primo de madrigals, 18, bb. 44-5.46
4.6.
'Udite, lacrimosi spiriti d'Averno', Rossi, Il Iibro primo de madrigals, 17,

bb. 1-3.46
4.7.
'Udite, lacrimosi spiriti d'Averno', Rossi, II Iibro primo de madrigals, 17,
35
bb. 64-6.47
5.1.
'Hor ch'amorosiaccenti', Kapsberger,Libro primo di villanelle, 19, bb.

5-6.55
5.2.
5.3.
'Negatemi pur cruda', Kapsberger, Libro primo di villanelle, 16, bb. 1-2.56
'Alla caccia', Kapsberger, Libroprimo di villanelle, 5, bb. 1-6.57
5.4.
'All'ombra', Kapsberger, Libroprimo
di villanelle, 8, (a) bb. 7-9, (b) bb.
19-20.59
5.5.
'Oluci amate', Kapsberger, Libro terzo di villanelle, 23, bb. 1-2.59
5.6.
'Alma fugace', Kapsberger, Libro terzo di villanelle, 16, bb. 1-3.60
5.7.
Partite variate sopra quest'Aria francese detta l'Alemana, Piccinini,

Intavolatura, 104, final bars.
62
Vii
di villanelle, 4, b. 1.63
5.8.
'Fiorite valli', Kapsberger, Libroprimo
5.9.
'Disperato dolore', Kapsberger, Libroprimo
5.10.
Io amo, io. ardo', Kapsberger, Libroprimo
5.11.
'Occhi soli d'Amore', Kapsberger, Libro primo di ade, 5, b. 29.67
5.12.
'Se la mia vita sete', Kapsberger, Libro primo di arie, 9, bb. 16-17.68
5.13.
'Mentre vaga Angioletta', Kapsberger, Libroprimo
5.14.
'Lasso ch'io ardo', Kapsberger, Libro primo di arie, 13, bb. 45-7.69
5.15.
'Occhi soli d'Amore', Kapsberger, Libro primo di arie, 4-5, bb. 16-17.69
5.16.
'Augelin che la voce', Kapsberger, Libro primo di arie, 28, b. 19-20.71
5.17.
Different realizations of the same passagefrom 'Lassoch'io ardo',
di villanelle, 11, b. 10-11.66

di ade, 27, b. 7.67
diarie, 21, bb. 38-9.68
Kapsberger, Libro primo di arie, 11-13.72

5.18.
'Lasso ch'io ardo', Kapsberger, Libro primo di arie, 13, b. 42.73
5.19.
'Deh come posso', Kapsberger, Libro primo di arie, 22, bb. 16-17.78
5.20.
Opening bars of the Balletto from Conserto vago (liuto, p. 4; tiorba, p.

13; chitarrino, p. 22)
5.21.
'Mentre vaga Angioletta', Kapsberger, Libro primo di arie, 19, bb. 4-5.83
5.22.
'O cor sempre dolente', Kapsberger, Libro primo di arie, 30, bb. 10-11.84
6.1.
'Baci cari e graditi', Corradi, Le stravagnze d'amore, 17, bb. 10-12.94
6.2.
'0 che felice forte', Corradi, Le stravagnze d'amore, 28, bb. 37-8.95
6.3.
'Non primavera fiori', Corradi, Le stravagnze d'amore, 31, bb. 3-4.95
6.4.
'0 che felice forte', Corradi, Le stravagnze d'amore, 25, b. 1.96
6.5.
'0 mia leggiadra e vaga pastorella', Corradi, Le stravagnze d'amore, 38,

bb. 6-8.97
7.1.
'Ohime che non possopi", Castaldi, Capricci a due stromenti, 52, bb. 1-2.105
7.2.
'Chi vuol provare', Castaldi, Capricci a due

42,
bb.
10-13.106
stromenti,
7.3.
'Hor che tutto gioioso', Castaldi, Capricci a due stromenti, 45, bb. 4-6.107
'Aita aita ben mio', Castaldi, Capricci a due stromenti, 57, bb. 1-2.108
7.4.
7.5.
81
7.6.
'Quela crudel', Castaldi, Capricci a due stromenti, 40, bb. 1-2.108

'Aita aita ben mio', Castaldi, Capricci a due stromenti, 57, bb. 12-13.109
7.7.
'Chi vuol provare', Castaldi, Capricci a due stromenti, 42, bb. 10-14.111
8.1.
Modena G239,110, bb. 19-20 [Bagnati no. 56).
118
8.2.
Modena G239,109, bb. 20-3 [Bagnati no. 41j.
119
8.3.
119
8.4.
120
8.5.
Modena G239,103, bb. 11-14 {Bagnati no. 4).
121
Viii
8.6.
Modena G239,107, bb. 5-8 {Bagnati no. 301.121
9.1.
Kapsberger's fingering pattern applied in arpeggio examples from New

York 93-2; (a) f. 1', (b) f. 3, (c) f. 6'.
9.2.
Groppo examples from New York 93-2; (a) f. 3, (b) f. 6', (c) f. 7.133
10.1.
'Tu the pallido' Kapsberger, Libro primo di arie, 26, b. 28-31.144
130
ix
LIST OF ACCOMPANYING
MATERIAL
As part fulfilment for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Music Performance Practice
a concert was given on 29 April 2005 in the Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, York. The
programme and an audio CD recording of this concert accompany this thesis and they
are attatched to the inside back cover of the present volume.
ABBREVIATIONS
Brussels 275
Brussels, Bibliotheque
Royale de Belgique, Ms. II 275 (The lute
book of Raffaelo Cavalcanti).

Brussels 704
Brussels,Bibliotheque du ConservatoirRoyale de Musique, Codex

704.
Florence LF2
Florence, Biblioteca Nationale Centrale, Ms. Landau-Finaly Mus. 2.
Florence 10431
Florence, Biblioteca Riccardiana, Ms. F 11110431.
Modena C311
Modena, Biblioteca Estense, Ms. Mus. C. 311 (The lute book of

Cosimo Bottegari).
ModenaG239
Modena, Biblioteca Estense, Ms. Mus. G. 239.
New York 93-2
New York, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts,
Astor, Tilden and Lenox Foundations, call no. JOC 93-2.
Rome4433
Rome, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Ms. Barberini Lat. 4433 (Pier

FrancescoValentini, 11leuto anatomizzato).
Note pitches are specifiedaccordingto the Helmholtz systemof pitch notation:

9
II
0
Cc
G,,
C,,,
xi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
In the years of my postgraduate studies, I have incurred more debts of gratitude than I
for
Seymour
here.
I
Peter
providing
can possibly note
especially thank my supervisor
father
like
he
importantly,
Most
to me
a
guidance and support whenever required.
was
and together with his family they offered me a warm second home.
Special thanks are due to the staff of the University for their untiring assistancein
the course of the research. In particular, I am indebted to Jonathan Wainwright
for his
invaluable advice and comments in the field of seventeenth-century music; to David

Griffiths,
the music librarian, for his prompt response to any of my requests; and to
Simon Ditchfield
for all the corrections he did to improve the quality of my Italian
translations.
Little of this work would have been possible without the help of my instrumental
instructor
Elizabeth Kenny. She has been an inspiring
teacher and has provided
invaluable criticism after reading draft chapters of the thesis. I would also like to
acknowledge the guidance and encouragement I have received from David Miller and
Lynda Saycewho were always ready to answer any of my countless questions.
I owe a debt of gratitude to the University of York and the Alexander S. Onassis
Public Benefit Foundation for granting me doctoral scholarships without which I would
not have been able to undertake this task.
There are many friends, inevitably too numerous to name all individually, to whom
I am very grateful for their help. Among them, I feel I should mention the names of
Chrisostomos Florackis and Aris Kartsaklas for their important assistanceduring the last
months.
Finally, I deeply express my gratitude to my parents George and Aggeliki and my
sister Vicky, for without their love and ceaselesssupport none of this would have been
possible. I am also indebted to my mother-in-law Chaido for her encouragement over
these years. Above all, I owe heartfelt thanks to Phoebe for her linguistic proofreading,
her support, and, most importantly, for her much needed love and for agreeing to be my
her.
dedicated
This
is
to
thesis
wife.
X11
1. INTRODUCTION
During the twentieth century there has been a strong movement for the revival of early
music. Although from the nineteenth century, inspired by the concept of romanticism,
prominent figures such as FrancoisJoseph Fetis and Victor-Charles Mahillon showed
particular interest in pre-classical music and instruments, it was not until the time of
Arnold
Dolmetsch
(1858-1940)
becoming
interest
this
an actual
when
started
movement that lasted throughout the twentieth century. Dolmetsch's activities guided
the movement for the early music revival, relying on two basic principles: performance
on early instruments; and research and understanding of the primary sources, the
contemporary aesthetics and the playing techniques of early instruments. The appliance
of these principles resulted in performances-not
but historically informed-through
first,
authentic as they were called at
be
the
more
may
which
character of early music
vividly appreciated.
The reconstruction of early performing
been
has
however,
not always
style,
accurate or balanced according to historical perspective. For example, basso continuo

practices of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the distinction between periods
and the differences among regions have received insufficient attention until recently.
With the tendency to look at what is closer in time and therefore more familiar, midand late-eighteen
century keyboard continuo
treatises have received exceptional
attention and their rules have been frequently applied to music that was composed
considerably earlier. Furthermore, a style extracted from the standpoint of keyboard
practice was standardized and the more idiomatic styles of other instruments were
overlooked. In particular, although for the seventeenth century the instruments of the
lute family were equally important
for continuo accompaniment, the sources that
little
have
information
scholarly
received very
contain
about their accompanying style
To
been
disproportional
has
some extent, this
they
to the role
played.
attention, and this
keyboard-orientated
is
the
musical way of thinking of
shortage of scholarship a result of
the twentieth century. More importantly
it is the tablature notational system of the
lute-family instruments, as well as their particularities, which does not allow easyaccess
to scholars, and limits the study of lute music to lutenists.
In an attempt to remedy this shortage of scholarship, and given that the history of
the theorbo was especially intertwined
development
the
of seventeenth-century
with
Italian music, the present work seeks to study and evaluate the most important theorbo
focus
The
basso
information
time.
that
this
sources
contain
about
continuo practices of
will be on tablature sources that contain either continuo accompaniments of songs or
instructions for continuo realization. Due to the character of tablature, which indicates
the placement of the fingers of the left hand on the fingerboard and the composite
rhythms, these sources provide evidence of musical conventions of continuo realization
by lute players. They offer written-out
evidence of the texture of the accompaniment
such as the choice of chords over the bass notes, the number of voices and the restriking
of them, the addition of suspensions and passing notes or the addition of melodic
ornamentation. Although
the intabulations
were primarily
intended for the use of
amateurs, this does not reduce their value, for the reason that they indicate precisely at
least the minimum of expectations of the accompaniment.
The task of examining these sources would have been extremely difficult without
the prior fundamental contributions
during the last thirty years by authors such as
Robert Spencer, Douglas Alton Smith, Kevin Mason, Tharald Borgir, Lynda Sayce and
Nigel
North. ` These writers
all contributed
lute-family
of
to the classification
' Robert Spencer, 'Chitarrone, Theorbo

407-23,
Alton
Douglas
4
(1976),
Archlute',
Early
Music,
and
Smith, 'On the Origin of the Chitarrone', Journal of the Lute Society of America, 32 (1979), 440-62,
Kevin Mason, The Chitarrone and its Repertoire in Early Seventeenth-Century Italy (Aberystwyth:
instruments, brought out the particularities of each one, and described the repertory and
their role as solo accompanying instruments or within
body.
Yet,
a
the continuo
detailed, stylistic examination of the intabulated sources has not materialized. Even in
North's continuo tutor, the indispensable tool of every modern lute player, ' some of the
has
briefly,
he
for
to cover
that
relevant sources are presented only
the reason
simply
continuo playing throughout Baroque Europe.
The important continuo role of the theorbo, or chitarrone as it was alternatively
'
called, is well documented from the very beginning of the seventeenth century. The
half
for
of
chitarrone was used extensively
the accompaniment of secular song and almost
the publications between 1600 and 1635 mention it. Similarly widespread was its use
for the accompaniment of instrumental music; its employment in sacred music, thought
frequent,
not so
should not be overlooked. This tradition, which held well throughout
the seventeenth century in Italy, is evident from as early as Giulio Caccini's landmark
publication Le nuove musiche (1601/2), where he makes clear that the chitarrone is
for
more suitable
accompanying the voice, especially that of the tenor, than any other
[instrument}'. ` Unfortunately,
although
Caccini offers valuable information
in the
preface of his collection about the vocal performance of his songs, he does not mention
Boethius Press, 1989), Tharald Borgir, The Performance of the Basso Continuo in Italian Baroque Music
(Ann Arbor: UMI
Research Press, 1987), Lynda Sayce, 'The Development of the Italianate Continuo
Lutes', 2 vols. Ph. D. diss. (Open University, 2001), Nigel North, Continuo Playing on the Lute, Archlute
and Theorbo (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1987).
' Another
modern continuo tutor is Ronald Huffman Stearns', 'Continuo for Lutenists and Guitarists: A
Tutor and Music Theory Supplement', Ph. D. diss. (Texas Tech University,
1992). Though useful in
practical terms, it lacks historical perspective, using, for instance, Robert Dowland's accompaniments to
Caccini's 'Amarilli
mia bella', or Giovanni
Pittoni's
theorbo part of ensemble music as illustrative
examples of continuo styles; Stearns, 'Continuo', 27-31.

' Throughout
the present study the terms theorbo and chitarrone will be used with no distinction and
according to the primary source's preference.
Giulio Caccini, Le nuove musiche (Florence, I. Marescotti, 1601/2; facs. edn., Florence: Studio Per
Edizioni Scelte, 1983), preface: 'pit
atto accompagnare la voce, e particolarmente qella del Tenore, the
qualunque altr ..Translations, unless otherwise stated, have been made by the author.
figuring,
bass-line
from
description
his
However,
much about accompanying style.
of
Agostino
he
we can presume that
was expecting a simple chordal accompaniment.
Agazzari, in his short treatise on continuo playing, is more descriptive and distinguishes
two continuo roles, a fundamental one and an ornamental one:
Thus we will divide the instruments into two categories: that is some like a
foundation and other like an ornament. Like a foundation are those which guide
and support the entire body of voices and instruments of the mentioned
ensemble, which are Organ, Gravicembalo etc. and similarly of few solo voices
Lute, Theorbo, Harp etc. Like an ornament are those which, with playfulness
and counterpoint, make more agreeable and sonorous the harmony. These are
Lute, Harp, Lirone, Cittern,
Spinet, Chitarrina, Violin,
Pandora and other
'
similar.
Both of the functions described by Agazzari are well demonstrated in tablature

6
for
sources
the theorbo From the sources that illustrate the chordal function, the ones
that will be examined are: Salamone Rossi's II primo Libro de madrigali a cinque voci
(1600); Girolamo G. Kapsberger's Libro primo di villanelle (1610), Libro primo di arie
passeggiate (1612), Libro terzo di villanelle (1619); Flamminio Corradi's Le stravaganze
d'amore (1616); and Bellerofonte Castaldi's Capricci a due stromenti cioe tiorba e
'
(1622).
Sources under discussion that illustrate
tiorbino
an ornamental role are:
' Agostino Agazzari, Del

facs.
1607;
basso
1
D.
Flacini,
Ii
(Siena:
edn.,
con tutti
sonare sops
stromenti
Bologna: Arnaldo Forni Editore, 1969), 6: Per tanto divideremo essi stromenti in duoi ordini: cioe in
alcuni, come fondamento: et in altri, come ornamento. Come fondamento sono quei, the guidano, e
sostengono tutto it corpo delle voci, e stromenti di detto Concerto: quail sono, Organo, Gravicembalo etc.
e similmente in occasion di poche, e soli voci, Leuto, Tiorba, Arpa etc. Come ornamento Sono quelli, the
scherzando, e contrapontegiando, rendono pi aggradevole, e sonora 1'armonia: cioe Leuto, Tiorba, Arpa,
Lirone, Cetera, Spinetto, Chitarrina, Violino, Pandora et
altri simili'.
6Lute continuo
but
importance,
inferior
due
in
sourcesare not examined the presentstudy, not
to their
because of the limitations
of this thesis. Rome 4433, entitled II leuto anatomizzato, is a very important
manuscript treatise by Pier Francesco Valentini,
which provides valuable information
about continuo
realization, ornamentation, transposition and intabulation techniques. A study of this source could be an
actual dissertation itself.
' Brussels 704,
be
in
included
by
not
will
some
authors
as
a
chitarrone
although considered
manuscript,
the present discussion. The major part of the intabulations seems to have been intended for the lute and
only a few of them-of
doubtful value-may
have been intended for the chitarrone. For a discussion of
Kapsberger's Libro terzo d'intavolatura di chitarone (1626), Modena G239 and New
York 93-2.
The first
group
consists of sources that
contain
basso
continuo
realized
accompaniments of songs. Sources that do not include a mensural vocal part have been
excluded becauseno actual relationship between the accompaniment and the vocal line
be
can
established. The second group contains documents that are primarily tutors and
illustrate how to apply variations over bass notes. Kapsberger's book of 1626 and New
York 93-2, in addition to variations, also provide tables of chordal realizations.
One of the problems associated with the revival of early music was the backwardslooking perspective in the definition of musical styles. In order to be able to understand
the nature of seventeenth-century theorbo accompanying style, it is necessaryto follow
the reverse procedure, looking through the background of these accompaniments. For
that reason, a brief discussion of the sixteenth-century Italian lute song tradition, which
precedes and often extends beyond the continuo song of the seventeenth century, will be
included in the present study. An explanation of the requisite elements of the tablature
notational system, as well as a classification and definition of the instruments of the lute
family are also essential in order to proceed to any examination of tablature sources.
these accompaniments seeJohn Walter Hill, 'Realized Continuo Accompaniments from Florence c1600',
Early Music, 11 (1983), 194-208
and the correspondence that followed: Robert Spencer, 'Florentine
Continuo c1600', Early Music, 11 (1983), 575-7 and John Walter Hill and Robert Spencer, 'Florentine
Continuo c1600', Early Music, 12 (1984), 153.
2. NOTATION AND INSTRUMENTS
Although professional lutenists were expected to be able to read mensural notation, the
notational system that has been inextricably intertwined with the lute is lute tablature.
Tablature played a very important role in Renaissancemusic and contributed to a great
extent to the popularity the lute enjoyed during this period as it functioned as a score
for a polyphonic composition that enabled the performer to play polyphony from a
single staff. Furthermore, tablature is an easy, purely practical notational system that
indicates the positions on the fingerboard where the fingers must be placed in order to
produce notes or chords. This simple accessibility to polyphony
had 'profound
implications in the creation and sustaining of a musically broad culture

[allowing]
...
the most sophisticated music of the time to enter the personal domain of the individual
musician'!
Polyphonic compositions could be arranged for solo instrumental
performance, and compositions such as chansons, frottole and madrigals could be

arranged as solo songs with lute accompaniment. Whereas tablature strengthened the
lute's position in the musical scene of the sixteenth century, this was not the casein the
seventeenth century. Styles of composition were changing and tablature was not a
system able to meet the requirements of the new trends. Almost one hundred books that
contain tablature were published in sixteenth-century Italy, whereas only about twenty
were published in the seventeenth century. Z
' Victor
Coelho, The Manuscript
Sources of Seventeenth-Century Italian Lute Music (New York:
Garland Publishing, 1995), 27.

2 Printed sources before 1600
are listed in Howard Mayer Brown, Instrumental Music Printed Before
1600." A Bibliography (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1965). Tables of printed sources after
1600 appear in Dinko Fabris, Andrea Falconieri Napoletano: Un liutista-compositore
Edizioni Torre d'Orfeo, 1987), 108 and Coelho, The Manuscript Sources, 4.
del seicento (Rome:
All of the sources discussed in the present volume employ a specific type of
Italian'
known
tablature
as
tablature.; Unlike staff notation, which indicates pitch,
Italian tablature is a graphic representation of the fingerboard of the instrument. The

horizontal lines, six in number as a general rule, represent the coursesof the lute while
be
fingers
disposed
frets
lines
to
are
the symbols
on which the
on the
represent the
line
first
lowest
The
lute
(highest
in
of
the
to
the
placed.
pitch) course of
corresponds
for
by
1
fingers
the
the tablature, while the positions of the
numbers:
are represented
first fret, 2 for the second, 3 for the third and so on; 0 is used for the open course. Time
C
indicating
if
10
that
they
they
or
are
signatures are not consistently used;
are employed,
3
duration
beat
divided
binary
division.
The
is
into
indicates
of
the
time, while
a triple
by
Tablature
is
indicated
the
staff.
note
rhythmic
a
or chord
a
symbol placed above
rhythmic symbols are similar to those found in modern notation (table 2.1).
TABLE 2.1: Tablature rhythmic signs.
or
=o
semibreve
minim
crotchet
quaver
semiquaver
The lute's pitch was nominal in the Renaissance. The lutenist was expected to
tune the first string as high as possible, just below its breaking point,, because this is
where a gut string sounds best. The remaining five courses were then tuned to the
following sequence of intervals: fourth, fourth, major third, fourth and fourth. This
' Other types
of tablature are the French, the German and the Neapolitan which constitutes a variation
of the Italian.
See for instance Luis Milan, Libro de musica de vihuela de mano inrirulado EI Maestro (Valencia: F.
Dfaz Romano,
1535/6;
facs., modern edn. and English
trans. by Charles Jacobs, Pennsylvania:
Thomas Robinson, The Schoole ofMusicke

Press, [19711), sig. Aiii
or
,
(London: T. Este, 1603; facs. edn., New York: Da Capo Press, 1973), sig. Cii. Milan's instructions refer to
Pennsylvania State University
the vihuela, the instrument that surpassed the lute in popularity in sixteenth-century Spain.
tuning, which was employed in almost every piece of lute music during the sixteenth
lutes
known
is
is
As
'Renaissance
of various sizes
tuning'.
century,
what
generally
as
were used, the sounding pitch varied, depending, each time, on the size of the
instrument and the thickness of the strings used. These factors defined the pitch of the
first string and therefore the tuning of the lute. Thus, if the first string sounded a'the
tuning was a =e-b g-d-A
string sounded g'the
first
if
A
define
Renaissance
the
tuning;
which we now
as
tuning was g -d =a-f-C-G which we now define as RenaissanceG
tuning, etc. This lack of a standard pitch, which was still common as late as the end of
lute
sixteenth century, is clearly evident in several sources of solo songs with

accompaniment such as Franciscus Bossinensis'
`
0
Adriano
Willaert's
1509
1511,
collections of
and
intabulations of 1536 of Verdelot's madrigals, or

Modena C311, a large manuscript collection of
late sixteenth-century
lute songs known as the
Bottegari lute book. ' All these sources contain
àl
the
to
tune
rubrics such as
voice
primo tasto
Ale di
La iuocc
d: 1focrS
21MnM!2
I
T-lv--N
I-
t, %
dft
eo -0
911
del canto' (to the first fret of the canto [i. e. first
course)) (see illustration 2.1). On the one hand, by
indicating a fret on the lute 'which will reproduce
the correct first pitch for the singer
the
actual
...
ILLUSTRATION2.1: Detail from

FranciscusBossinensis, Tenor] e
contrabass] Intabulat]
libro
...
f.
52'.
1511),
(Venice,
secundo
pitch in performance depends on the actual pitch
' Franciscus Bossinensis, Tendri

e contrabassi intabulati
perliuto,
figurato
in
per cantar e sonar
canto
col sopran
libro primo (Venice: 0. Petrucci, 1509; facs. edn., Geneva: Minkoff Reprint, 1978); id. Tenori e
contrabassi intabulati
0.
figurato
libro
(Venice:
liuto
in
secundo
rar
canto
per
can
e
sonar
col sopran
per
Petrucci, 1511; facs. edn., Geneva: Minkoff
Reprint,
1983); Adrian Willaert,
(ed.), Intavolarura de le
Scelte,
facs.
Edizioni
Studio
Per
1980);
Scotto),
1536;
Florence:
di
Verdelorro
(Venice:
[0.
edn.,
madrigali
Modena, Biblioteca Estense, Ms. Mus. C. 311.
6
(the)
instrument'.
On the other hand, as music should be performed at whatever
of
pitch suited a particular group of performers, 'lutes intended for lute accompaniment
'
be
for
the singer's range'.
would
chosen
Various lutes of different sizes were used during the Renaissance,however, the type
in most general use seems to be the one employing aG tuning (known as tenor lute)'
and today it is the usual practice to transcribe lute tablature using aG tuning. Table 2.2
shows positions of a six-course lute with such a tuning along with their equivalents in
modern notation.
Although six courses is the standard for most sixteenth-century lute music, with
the growth in popularity of the lute and the changes of its technique, the number of
courses increased in order to extend the instrument's bass register. These courses were
indicated above the staff, usually in numerical characters for Italian tablature (0 or 7 for
the seventh course, 8 for the eighth, 9 for the ninth, and so on), and they were tuned
according to the needs of each particular piece. The lowest course on a seven-courselute,
for example, could be tuned either a tone below the sixth course for some pieces, or a
fourth below for some others. By the end of the sixteenth century, the constantly
increased demand of the instrument's bass register extension led to a modification that
radically altered the instrument's structure. In order to increase the string length, thus
making lower pitches possible, a neck extension with a second peg box was added to the
instrument. The courses of the second peg box, the
contarabassi as they were called, were
unstopped, thus producing only the pitch they were tuned at. Although normal lutes
6 Howard
Mayer Brown,
'Bossinensis, Willaert,
and Verdelot:
Pitch
and the Conventions of
Transcribing Music for Lute and Voice in Italy in the Early Sixteenth-Century', Revue de Musicologie, 75
(1989), 33-4.
Douglas Alton Smith, A History of the Lute from Antiquity
The Lute Society of America, 2002), 79.
' Both theorists' descriptions
and music written
to the Renaissance. ([Lexington, VaJ:
for the lute and other instrument
or voice of the
Renaissance indicate that the notional tuning designated for the lute was usually that of G. Furthermore,
the size of the tenor lute seems to be the most convenient for players' fingers.
be
in
largely
lutes
had
1600,
them
to
continued
played after
extended-neck
supplanted
popularity in Italy. With the neck extension being a sign of modernity, it is significant
that, in seventeenth-century Italy, almost every print of solo music in Italian tablature
was intended for extended lutes with only one exception, that of Gardano's collection of
'
dances
1611.
popular
of
TABLE 2.2: Correspondence between Italian tablature and modern notation (first nine frets of a
six-course lute in RenaissanceG tuning).
Free
II
III
IV
VI
VII
VIII
IX
Ist coune
2nd coune
AF
-0
R.
lktf
-0
#0
3rd course
4th course
SAP
f
-"
6.
10.0.
fi
r-? --+
i-- 7--r
Schcoune
6th coune
s Angelo Gardano (pub. ), Ballad
modemi faci! i per sonar sopra it Auto (Venetia: A. Gardano, 1611;
facs. edn., Geneva: Minkoff Reprint, 1980).
10
Extended lutes can be distinguished into two types: the archlute (referred to as
liuto, arciliuto and liuto attiorbato) and the chitarrone or theorbo as it was alternatively
"
10
It
lute's
The
Renaissance
the
almost always
called.
outcome
evolution.
archlute was
of
carried the, by then, standardized Renaissance G tuning for the six or possibly seven
fingerboard courses, while the bass courses fitted on the neck extension, whose number
from
diatonically
instrument
to
tuned
another,
with each course a stepone
were
varied
down from its neighbour. Thus, the tuning of a thirteen-course archlute is as follows
(example 2.1):
EXAMPLE2.1: Archlute tuning
CL
aa
es
Alessandro Piccinini claims to have invented the neck extension and the archlute
(arciliuto) in 1595 but his claim is doubtful because there is evidence that the neck
12
by
The
1580
'most
c.
chitarrone,
extension already existed.
probably evolved
which was
a member of the Camerata of Florence, as a necessaryadjunct of the new style of song
13
writing, musica recitativa', is a large-bodied lute, whose particular characteristic, apart
from the neck extension, is the discontinuous progress in pitch of the open fingerboard
courses(example 2.2).
10Although it has
often been considered that the chitarrone differs from the theorbo, the approach of
Henri Quittard who, in his pioneering article about the theorbo as an accompaniment instrument, treats
the chitarrone and the theorbo as having no practical differences seems to be appropriate. Henri Quittard,
'Le thorbe comme instrument d'accompangement', Revue musicale mensuelle, Societe Internationale de
Musique, 6 (1910), 221-37;
instrument
362-84.
The terms chitarrone and rheorbo seem to refer to the same
with the first being usually preferred, as more legitimate,
first
during
half of
the
only
seventeenth-century and only in Italy. SeeSmith, 'On the Origin of the Chitarrone', 461-2.
" On the origins, development and usage of the
archlute up to c. 1650 see Sayce, 'The Development', i.
1-31.
" Mason, Chitarrone, 25-7 and Smith, History of the Lute, 82-4.
13Spencer, 'Chitarrone, Theorbo and Archlute', 408.
11
EXAMPLE2.2: Chitarrone tuning
aa
This tuning, known as 're-entrant', is in essencea Renaissancetuning with the first

two courses lowered an octave. Piccinini is quite clear in his description about the way
bass
lutes:
tuning
through
established
was
re-entrant
Moreover liuti grandissimi were also made, much appreciated in Bologna, to
play passamezzi, arias and similar pieces in ensemble together with other, small
lutes. The quality of these such large lutes revealed itself all the more when the
tuning was raised so high that the first string, unable to be tuned so high, was
replaced with another, thicker string tuned an octave lower. This succeeded
done
ii
it
is
After
time,
that
thus
still
today.
when
effect
some
such
good
with
bei canrare began to flourish {in the 1570's in Ferrara} it seemed to these
being
be
hurl
these
that
grandi,
so sweet, would
very appropriate to
virtuosi
finding
for
it
But
low
their
them
tuned
needs,
too
much
accompany a singer.
furnish
found
them with thinner strings and tune them up to a
to
necessary
was
for
the voice. Since the second [string) could not be tuned so
pitch comfortable
high, they were tuned down an octave just like the first one. Thus they
accomplished their aim, and this became the beginning of the Tiorba, or
Chirarrone. l'
" Alessandro Piccinini Intavolatura di liuto,

facs.
1623;
Moscatelli,
di
G.
P.
(Bologna:
et
chitarrone
edn., Florence: Studio Per Edizioni Scelte, 1982), 5: '& oltre di cio si facevano liuti grandissimi, the in
Bologna erano molto apprezzati, per suonare in concerto con altri Liuti piccoli passiemezi, Arie, & alter
simili,
E la bont di questi Liuti
cosi grandi
si scopriva maggiormente,
perche li tenevano alti
d'accordatura talmente, the la prima corda, non potendo arrivare cosi alta vi posero in vece di quella
un altra'corda
grossa accordandola un'ottava pi bassa, il the riusciva per quall'effetto benissimo, come
hoggidl ancor si usa. Doppo alcun tempo, cominciando fiorir il bel cantare parve quei Virtuosi, the
fossero
dolci,
Liuti
cosi
molto proposito d'uno, the canta, per accompagnamento;
questi
grandi, per esser
ma trovandoli molto pi bassi del bisogno loro, furno necessitati fornirli di corde piu sottili tirandoli in
le
dell'altra
le
1'essempio
E
corda
seconde non potevano arrivare con
tuono commodo alla voce. perche
delta
Tiorba,
loro
fu
balsa;
il
intento
hebbero
P
il
&
veto
principio
piu
cosi
questo
accordono un'ottava
Chitarrone'. Translation from Smith, History of the Lute, 83.
12
Although
the fourteen courses and the re-entrant tuning in A seem to be widely
fact
for
documented,
the
the
accepted
chitarrone, various alterations are
reflecting thus
that the chitarrone was a new and still developing instrument, according to the needs
and the personal taste of the players. Girolamo Kapsberger's late works, for example, call
for a nineteen-course instrument where courses 15-19 do not extend the range lower,
but fill
in chromatic notes missing between courses 7-14 (example 2.3); Michael
Praetorius gives a re-entrant tuning in

G for his theorba1S(illustration
Spn
r.
_.
^b.
T.h.
rIr---------
for
Adriano Banchieri, who also
while
Ell
:
for
his
tuning
chlttarrone,
aG
adopts
--..
2.2),
---
--.. _
a
p
L
D
C
II
A
0a.._
''
r.
the second course is in lute pitch,
flnri,
"7...
i,
an4m L7uf mt
f. 2: i: t. n
D
m.flmmmi
f. 9Eutce.
Vl
4ar:
while the first course is tuned 'come

ILLUSTRATION 2.2: Theorbo tuning as illustrated
lute
in
(as
pitch
piace'
preferred) either
in Michael Praetorius, Syntagma musicum 1k De
16
lower
(example
2.4).
or an octave
EXAMPLE 2.3: Nineteen-course
organographia (Wolfenbttel,
chitarrone
1619), 27.
tuning.
6
0
--
a@--
s'.
Q6-cy
EXAMPLE 2.4: Chittarrone tuning according to Banchieri.

O
come piece
13
6a
" Michael Praetorius, Syntagma

musicum 1L" De organographia (Wolfenbttel:
E. Holwein, 1619; fats.
edn., Kassel: Brenreiter Verlag, 1958), 27.

16Adriano Banchieri, Conclusioni
net suono dell'organo (Bologna: n. pub., 1609; facs. edn., Bologna:
Arnaldo Forni Editore, 1968), 53. For the possibility of alternative tunings,
described
not
which are
anywhere but they might be suggested by the context of the music, see Andrea Damiani, An Hypothesis
on the Tuning of the Italian Theorbo', LuteBor Quarterly, 7 (summer, 1999) <http: //www. marincola. com>,
accessed25 May 2004.
13
3. THE SIXTEENTH-CENTURY
LUTE SONG
If there is one characteristic of the Middle Ages that fundamentally influenced the
it
is
deeply
European
the
thought
thinking
contemporary
and
affected
western way of
The
interest
in the principles and virtues of
the
growing
ancient world.
rediscovery of
in
is
humanism;
led
Greeks
Romans
this
to the rise of
evident
the ancient
and the
The
Renaissance
Baroque
the
the
study of the
era.
culture of
and
almost every aspect of
held
Baroque
in
Renaissance
its
prominent
principles
a
position
and
and
ancient world
for
Greek
Roman
the
and
norms
served
as
models
writers and
ancient
education and
for
literature,
Although
imitate.
architecture, sculpture, painting and theatre
artists to
be
for
imitated,
that
could
music this was not the case.
there were actual models
Comparable examples of ancient Greek music that could have served as models for
imitation were not available and thus only an indirect imitation could occur. As Claude
Palisca points out, 'the humanism that touched music was a literary and scientific
humanism and not a strictly musical one'. `
Music as a discipline, becauseof its arithmetical character, was a component of the
quadrivium of mathematical arts, together with arithmetic, geometry and astronomy.
However, the natural alliance of music with the trivium
(grammar,
of verbal arts
rhetoric and logic) has always attracted theorists' and composers' attention!
Gioseffo
Zarlino3 not only mentioned the parallels between grammar and music, but he drew
knowledge
formulate
his
in
of
grammatical
punctuation
to
a theory of
upon
order
` Claude V. Palisca, 'Humanism
and Music',
in Albert
Rabil, Jr. (ed.), Renaissance Humanism:
Foundations, Forms andlegacy (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1988), 450.
' Despite the redefinition and expansion of the liberal arts in the
early Renaissance,music, as a
speculativescience,wasstill grouped under the quadrivium.
' Gioseffo Zarlino, Le isritutioni
Gregg Press, 1966), 221-6.
harmoniche (Venice: n. pub., 1558; repr. 1573; facs. edn., Ridgewood:
for
Nicola
Vicentino'
their
advised singers to use oration as model
musical cadences.
performance, adopting
rhetorical
principles
of Aristotle,
Quintilian
and Cicero.
According to Vicentino, the singers should use diverse ways of singing in order to move
the affections of their auditors, just as orators use their eloquence in order to adapt the
form of their rhetorical speech to its content and expression. The idea that music should
for
in
the
this
move
particular way was a new goal
affections
composers and performers.
Whether deliberately or unconsciously, composers and performers were approaching the
task of bringing
life to both secular and sacred music in a rhetorical manner. The
complex multi-layered musical textures of polyphonic composition were not consistent

with the new trends as the mingling of voices in polyphony was thought to impede the
communication of the text. On the contrary, the expression of a free, solo voice, which
bearer
be
the
of the text and message of the musical setting, could
main
would
communicate them more clearly to the audience.
Despite the fact that the first important polemics against polyphonic composition
decades
last
launched
in
the
of the sixteenth century, the idea of solo singing was
were
not something new. In Baldassare Castiglione's I! libro del cortegiano (1528) solo and
following
in
the
ensemble singing were contrasted
way:
In my opinion beautiful music is the good singing from a book, with confidence
and in fine style; but the singing to [the accompaniment of} the viola' is even
better, because nearly all the sweetness consists in the solo and, with greater
follow
that fine style and the melody; the ears are not
attention, we note and
occupied with more than a single voice, and every little error is more clearly
noticed; that does not happen in group singing because the one [voice) bears the
'Nicola Vincentino, Lntica musica ridotta 7a

al moderns prattica (Rome: A. Barre, 1555; facs. edn.,
Kassel:Brenreiter, 1959), f. 94".
' The term
viola probably refers to an instrument which is a member of the family of the plucked
instruments and appears to be the predecessor of the vihuela and four-course guitar; seeJune M. Yakeley,
'La guitarra a lo espanol': Aspects of Guitar Performance Practice 1525-1775 (The Lute Society Booklets,
8; Guildford: The Lute Society, 2002), 6.
15
other. But above all, I consider the most wonderful the recitative singing to the
delightfu1.6
for
is
that
to
the
this adds
most
words such a grace and virtue
viola;
Concerning
instrumental
solo singing with
be
distinguished:
traditions
can
associated,
accompaniment,
an unwritten
two separated, though
one, which is usually the
improvised singing of poetry over the accompaniment of simple chordal sequences,and

For
a written one, which relies on written-out arrangements of polyphonic compositions.
former,
For
latter,
the
as
the
a considerable number of prints and manuscripts survive.
little
due
its
to
nature,
expected
evidence exists; this is mainly
descriptions of
few
for
improvised
intabulated
tunes
or
accompaniments
simple
performances and a
'
in
held
Both
the
traditions
those
performance
position
solo
a prominent
of
singing.
Italy.
Nevertheless,
life
Renaissance
they were not regarded as reflecting
of
musical
literate music and Renaissancemusic theorists hardly refer to them until the end of the
drawing
Of
their
the two
they
to
started
solo
singing.
attention
sixteenth century when
for
Modern
is
their
preference
traditions,
the
evident.
written one
solo performance
historians have tended to reinforce the pre-eminence of the written musical text giving
late
idea
was
a
the
that
sixteenth-century phenomenon associated
virtuosity
vocal
rise to
both
birth
However,
of the sixteenth-century solo song traditions
of opera.
with the
6BaltassareCastiglione, 11libro del corcegiano(Florence:P. Giunta, 1528; modern ed. in Carlo Cordie
(ed.), Opere di Baldassare Castiglione, Giovanni Della Casa, Benvenuto Cellini (La Letteratura italiana,
bene
Editore,
11960)),
it
Ricciardi
Milan:
Riccardo
107:
'Bella
27;
a
testi,
cantar
parmi
e
musica
storia
...
libro sicuramente e con bella maniera; ma ancor molto pia it cantare alla viola, perchP tutta la dolcezza
consiste quasi in un solo, e con molto maggior attenzion si nota es intende it bel modo e 1'aria non essendo
occupate le orecchie in pi the in una sot voce, e meglio ancor vi si discerne ogni piccolo errore; it the non
accade cantando in compagnia, perchP l'uno aiuta 1'altro. Ma sopra tutto parmi gratissimo it cantare alla
viola per recitare; it the tanto di venustl ed efficacia aggiunge alle parole the b gran maraviglia'.
Concerning the unwritten tradition see inter alia Nino Pirrotta's various articles included in his Music
from
Ages
MA:
Culture
in
Italy
Middle
Baroque:
(Cambridge,
A
Essays
Collection
the
to
the
and
of
Harvard University Press, 1984); William
F. Prizer, 'The Frottola and the Unwritten
musicali, 15 (1986), 3-37; James Haar, 'Monophony and the Unwritten
Traditions'
Tradition',
Studi
in Howard Mayer
Brown and Stanley Sadie (eds.) Performance Practice: Music Before 1600 (The New Grove Handbooks in
Music; Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1989), 240-66.
16
development
in
important
the
role
of seventeenth-century vocal writing and
played an
the style of its accompaniment.
Judging from the publications of the sixteenth century the lute was at that time
the most popular instrument
for secular vocal accompaniment. The number of
keyboard
far
lute
larger
is
than
tablature
of
accompaniments
publications containing
keyboard's
in
despite
think
the
superiority
what
we
of
now
as
score accompaniments,
reproducing complex, polyphonic
textures. Furthermore,
the lute's popularity
is
for
lute
iconography
Renaissance
The
in
the
can
and
poetry!
preference
evident
reflected
by
humanist
be
taking
the
and symbolic thought into account. The
explained
partly
lute was frequently used to represent the lyre of Apollo
and Orpheus and 'the
be
lute
humanism
in which
can
seen
and
as
a
manifestation of
combination of voice
imitate
to
sought
performers
the musical recitation
of ancient Greek poets who
9
kithara'
Renaissance
iconography representing ancient
the
themselves
on
accompanied
but
keyboard
lutes
includes
instruments
or
other
chordal
string
rarely
poets commonly
instruments. Vincenzo Galilei also points out some practical advantages of the lute, such
different
to
on
courses, the use of equal temperament or
play unisons
as the ability
10Although there is no direct mention of the lute's
ability to produce various
portability.
dynamics and tone colours this would have been considered as an important advantage
for
Galilei
the
time.
the
approach
of
rhetorical
example, writes that
with
and consistent
[the best organists) never could, never can, never will expressthe effects of
Harmony like hardness, softness, bitterness and sweetness,and consequently the
See Douglas Alton Smith, 'A Brief History of the Lute as Cultural Symbol' in Philipe Canguilhem et
al. (eds.) Luths et luthistes en occident: acres du colloque 13-15 mai 1998 (Paris: Cite de la musique,
1999), 43-4.
' Kevin Mason, 'Per Cantare Sonare: Accompanying Italian Lute Song
of the Late Sixteenth Century' in
Victor
A. Coelho, (ed.) Performance on Lute, Guitar, and Vihuela: Historical
Interpretation
Practice and Modern
(Cambridge Studies in Performance Practice, 6; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1997), 75.
10See Vincenzo Galilei, Fronimo dialogo (Venice: G. Scotto, 1584; facs.
edn., Bologna: Arnaldo Forni
Editore, 1969), 51-2.
17
fury,
in
finally
such
tranquility
and
shouting, moaning, shrieking, weeping and
"
do
Excellent
Players
Lute
the
of the
a graceful and marvelous way as
...
About
forty
sources containing
from
sixteenth-century
accompaniments
examples of
Italy
songs with
lute
tablature
survive today in both printed
and
12The majority date from the period 1570 to 1600 and present a
form.
manuscript
600
songs, mainly settings of light strophic poetry such as villanelle,
repertory of about
frottola
balletti.
About
250
the
genre,
songs, almost entirely of
canzonette, arie and
from
from
between
1500
1520,
1520 and 1570
to
the
the
period
period
while
survive
intabulations
limited
of
song
number
exist, consisting mostly of madrigals
only a very
lute
However,
this
scarcity
of
song sources in the middle of the
and sacred works.
be
weighted against the evidence of literal sources, which say that
century should
lute
during
to
the
the mid-sixteenth century to a greater
poetry
sung
was
strophic
"
few
surviving examples suggest. Tablature accompaniments are
extent than those
divided into two categories: those with one or more vocal parts in mensural notation and
those without mensural notation, either providing a song-text and known as 'texted
intabulations', or without text at all. The absence of mensural notation in the second
implies
intabulations
either, most probably, that the song melody was
category of
by
lutenist
intabulations
the
the
also
singer,
that
the
who
was
or
maybe
were
memorized
used as accompaniments to
a solo or vocal ensemble. As for
the tablature
format
that
come
along
mensural
the
with
vocal parts,
of the source
accompaniments
defines the performance medium:
sources with
only one vocal part imply
a solo
" Ibid. 51: 'non hanno possuto, non possano ne portanno mai, espimeregli affetti delle Armonie come la
durezza, mollezza, asprezza, & dolcezza; & consequenmente i gridi,
ultimamente
fanno
...
i lamenti, gli stridi, i pianti, &
la quiete e 1'fuore, con tanta gratia, & maraviglia, come gli Eccellenti Sonatori nel Liuto
'.
"=A catalogue of these sources with descriptions can be found in Reichard Falkenstein, 'The Late
Sixteenth-Century
Repertory of Florentine Lute Song', Ph. D. diss. (State University
of New York at
Buffalo, 1997), app. 2-3, pp. 289-322.

" SeeDonna G. Gardamone, The Canzone Villanesca alla Napolitana
and Related Forms, 1537-1570,2
45:
Ann
Arbor:
UMI
in
Musicology,
Research
(Studies
Press, 1981), i. 161-78.
vols.
18
performance with lute accompaniment, while sourcesthat contain all the vocal parts can
be performed either as solo songs or vocal ensemble songs with lute accompaniment.
Regardless of any dissimilarities,
sixteenth-century
Italian
such as place of provenance, dating or format,
solo song intabulations
appear to share one common
from
derive
a pre-existing polyphonic vocal model and when
characteristic: they usually
this is not the case,they seem to have been conceived using the principles of polyphonic
composition. However, the extent of the arrangement's accuracy according to the vocal
model, the complexity of polyphony, the technique of intabulation or the ornamentation
depended on various factors such as the genre of the song, the time the intabulation was
his
intentions.
intabulator's
the
or
skills
made and
Franciscus Bossinensis' frottole collections of 1509 and 1511 show clearly the
intabulation technique and accompanying style of the first two decades of the sixteenth
frottole
he
intabulated
the
correspond to pieces in Ottaviano Petrucci's
century; most of
four-voice frottola
collections.
The frottola,
bears
as a genre,
all the essential
function
in
to
successfully as solo song: the Canto has a distinctive
order
characteristics
by
leaps, supplies harmonic foundation, while
Basso,
the
often moving
solistic character,
the tenor mainly, but also the alto, offer a harmonically directed polyphonic filling. The
frottola texture has been described as having 'much in common with that of Baroque
basso
in
though
the earlier music the realization is superficially
continuo,
songs with
14
In
Bossinensis'
than
purely
chordal'.
rather
contrapuntal
collections, the Cantus of the
is
the solo voice and it is given in mensural notation above the
version
polyphonic
Tenor
The
Bassus
parts of the vocal model are reproduced literally by the
and
tablature.
lute. The Altus is usually omitted, giving a two-part character to the accompaniment.
However, in places where the musical writing is strictly homo-rhythmic, showing early
harmonic
rather than exclusively contrapuntal thinking,
of
evidence
the Altus part is
" Howard Mayer Brown, Music in the Renaissance (Prentice Hall History
of Music Series; EnglewoodCliffs, NJ.: Prentice-Hall, 1976), 10.
19
included. The only modifications to the vocal models that occur are the addition of
longdivisions
division
cadential
of
and
simple
ornaments
the
rhythmic
melodic
and
held notes (see example 3.1). The intabulation principles employed by Bossinensis are
virtually
identical to those in the remaining frottola sources, indicating a `persistent
tradition
frottola,
in
the
practices
performance
of
corresponding to the entrenched
"
form
itself'.
in
the
compositional
EXAMPLE 3.1: Indicative melodic divisions and cadential ornaments used in Bossinensis, Tenori
(1509)
libro
libro
(1511).
and
primo
secondo
contrabassi
e
...
,0
-.
l1w
ff
I
II
f
A madrigal collection of 1536 entitled Intavolatura de li madrigali di Verdelocto is

the most important source of mid-sixteenth-century
lute solo song, since it bears the
distinguished
Adrian
Willaert,
the
of
one
most
name of
musicians of the time, and the
intabulations were presumably made by him. The volume contains twenty-two songs
"
'The Renaissance Lute in Solo Song

and Chamber Ensemble: An
Examination of Musical Sources to ca. 1530', Ph. D. diss. (Stanford University, 1987), 211.
Kent
David
Underwood,
20
and all of them have concordances among the four-voice madrigals in Phillipe Verdelot's
I1 primo libro di madrigali (1533). Willaert's intabulations are based on the same roots
by
for
both
Bossinensis;
is the note-for-note transcription of the
those
the
aim
as are
different
due
though
they
slightly
principles
to the different styles of
used
vocal model
their repertoires. Willaert
also leaves the Cantus part to be sung, but in his
intabulations the Altus part is never omitted.
His goal is the literal intabulation of all
three lower voices of the vocal model, with no additional divisions or ornaments, and the
16
full
is
triadic sonority of the accompaniment. Although Willaert is
the
result of that
in
his
he
intervenes
in the Cantus in order to
accompaniment
settings,
straightforward
improve the text placement, particularly at cadences." Example 3.2 shows the strong
from
the weak resolution note of the cadential suspension to the on-beat
syllable shift
better
that
sounds
when only the Cantus part is sung.
ending note, an effect
Apart from Willaert, the other leading music figure of the sixteenth century who
fame
Galilei.
lute
is
Vincenzo
His
songs
rests primarily on his opposition to
compiled
the polyphonic medium of composition, which is well demonstrated in his Dialogo della
musica antics e della musica moderna of 1581. Although it is held that his activities
from
lute
his
the
to
song
resulted
association with Giovanni Bardi's and
with regard
Girolamo Mei's circles, 'Galilei's interest in recitation formulas and native Italian song
from
discussions
late
his
life
in
with Florentine intellectuals but dates
was not acquired
from the very beginning of his recorded career'."' Three sources contain Galilei's lute
Florence
LF2 and Florence 10431, and one print,
intabulations:
two
manuscripts,
song
the revised and expanded edition of Fronimo dalogo published in 1584. The three
16Leslie Chapman Hubbell,
'Sixteenth-Century
Italian Songs for Solo Voice and Lute', Ph. D. diss.
(Northwestern University, 1982), 155.

" Bernard Thomas (ed.), Intavolatura de li madrigali di Verdelorro de
cantare e sonare nel lauto (1536)
(RenaissanceMusic Prints, 3; [London): London Pro Musica, [1980)), 4-5.
is Howard Mayer Brown, 'Vicenzo Galilei's First Book of Lute Music' in Victor A. Coelho, (ed.), Music
Galileo
(University
Age
Science
in
the
of
and
of Western Ontario Series in Philosophy of Science, 51;
Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic, 1992), 173.
21
format
in which they are presented, in the repertory they contain
differ
in
the
sources
and in the intabulation technique they employ.
EXAMPLE 3.2: 'Quanto sia liet'il giorno' (a) Verdelot, Del primo libro di madrigali, f. 1, bb. 3741 (b) Verdelot, Intavolatura, f. 3, bb. 42-6. "
(a)
37
CanIW
Mt
00
L
Altus
ari va-
scR,.
mo
stri a
mo
n.
no
M
A.
tP
Banut
(b)
no
Tenor
mo
no
41
aria- mo - ri,
no
n.
ac[ia - mo
I
I
Cantut
uric-MO
no
IN
cU
[Luce in A7
(1) dow h cone m4
ri.
rr r
[I]
5 (r
Florence 10431, among some short solo lute pieces, contains three tablature song
da
in
intended
These
case,
to accompany
each
arie
are,
cantare,
accompaniments.
improvised singing of poetry and, because of their improvisatory
nature, they lack
for
The
is
texture
the
the
tablatures
solo
voice.
of
notation
simple, consisting
mensural
bass
line.
Florence
dialogo
harmonisations
LF2
Fronimo
the
of
and
of 1584,
of chordal
hand,
intabulations
dialogo
Fronimo
of
a
polyphonic
the
are
other
model.
vocal
on
both
two
and
a
motet,
songs,
a
madrigal
presenting their mensural vocal model
contains
in score format above the lute tablature accompaniment. One song calls for the Bassusto
be sung while the other calls for the Cantus. Consistent with the basic principle of the
intabulation technique that Galilei sets in Fronimo dialogo, namely that the tablature
" On the editorial policy for the musical examples see volume II,
p. iii.
22
faithful
be
as possible to the texture of the polyphonic vocal model, the song
as
should
accompaniments are masterful intabulations that carefully reproduce note-for-note their
All
impression
the
therefore
the
giving
the
an
of
model,
part
original.
vocal
writing of
voices are intabulated, even the solo one, suggesting thus that any of the vocal
for
lute
for
intended
transcriptions
solo
could also serve as accompaniments
solo song.
Florence LF2, however, presents a different approach to the way part music is
for
found
bound
lute
The
solo
voice
and
accompaniment.
manuscript was
adapted
first
Fronimo
dialogo
1568
the
edition
together with
of
and was probably compiled in
20
be
used as additional teaching or performance material. The manuscript
order to
contains, together with some solo pieces, nine madrigals and one canzona alla napolitana
lute
for
The
solo
songs
with
accompaniment.
songs are arranged
arranged as
solo bass,
is
in
mensural notation, with the tablature arrangement of the
part
provided
whose
vocal model placed on the opposing page, thus making the accompaniment by the
singer himself inconvenient, unless one of the parts was memorized. The intabulations
do
the
not accurately reproduce the texture of the polyphonic vocal
accompaniment
of
because
first
five
frets
they
to
are
restricted
the
of the lute and any
model, primarily
fifth
fret
intabulation
the
past
that
require
are omitted. Furthermore, rhythmic
notes
in
homo-rhythmic
to
order
provide
of
notes
are
often
altered
a
values
texture. The
intabulations
in
LF2
is
Florence
goal
not the accurate reproduction of the part
primary
writing
of the vocal model, as it is in Fronimo dialogo, but the creation of readily
based
intabulations
on the vocal model. This discrepancy can be explained by
playable
the nature of the sources: the examples of Fronimo dialogo were intended for circulation
be
ideal
intabulation
had
to
examples
they
as
of
and so
as possible, while the Florence
LF2 intabulations were for personal use, probably intended for a student, and 'Galilei's
20Claude V. Palisca 'Vincenzo Galilei's Arrangements for Voice

and Lute', in Gustave Reeseand Robert
Snow (eds.),
Essays in Musicology in Honor of Dragan Plamenac on his 70th Birthday (Pittsburgh:
University of Pittsburgh Press, 1969), 212.
23
be
Yet,
individuali21
this
to
the
response
a
that
may
abilities
style
of
arranging
discrepancy demonstrates the contrast between theory and practice: Fronimo dialogo
intabulation
Florence
LF2
theoretical
on
the
approach
while
reflects a practical
shows
by
response the performer.
Both of the intabulation practices used by Galilei are present in the prints and
decades
last
However,
the
the
of
the closer to the end
sixteenth
century.
of
manuscripts
become.
literal
Although the vocal part writing
less
the
the
arrangements
of the century
still
for
the tablature accompaniment arrangement, various
remains the model
it.
The
type, as well as the amount, of the modifications applied
to
modifications occur
from
source to source. The most commonly encountered
to the arrangements varies
bass,
line
total
the
the
the
partial
or
even
omission
are:
of
any
except
modifications
downward
filler,
harmonic
the
octave transposition of notes or passagesof
addition of
the bass part, the downward octave transposition of the upper parts, the addition of
between
leaps,
the addition
notes
passing
of new counterpoint,
the addition or
All
in
the
and
thirds
use'of
cadential
cadential
suspensions
major
chords.
of
of
restriking
fioretti
in
Simone
di
features
Verovio's
Ghirlanda
presented
are
musicali of
these
well
1589 and all these, of course, are features of seventeenth-century continuo playing.
The next stage of lute song accompaniment was a newly-composed, or improvised,
harmonically-conceived accompaniment above the bass line of the vocal model, without
Alessandro
Striggio the elder describes
texture
this
of
to
the
model.
polyphonic
referring
this style of accompaniment, while a guest in Ferrara, in 1584:
I also had written the intabulation [of the piece] for the lute but I forgot it in
...
Mantua at my departure. But this will be of little importance becauseMr Giulio
[Caccini} will be able to play beautifully, either on the lute or the harpsichord,
22
bass
above the
" Falkenstein,'Late Sixteenth-CenturyRepertory', 69.

:z Riccardo Gandolfi, 'Lettere inedite scritte da musicisti e letterati,
appartementi alla seconda meta del
di
Stato
di
dal
Archivo
R.
Firenze', Rivista musicale italiana, 20 (1913), 530: '...
XVI,
estratte
secolo
24
Documents containing accompaniments composed above the bass are rare in the
lute
Italian
However,
song
repertory.
a considerable number of such
sixteenth-century
lute
Cavalcanti
known
in
Brussels
is
275,
as the
which
accompaniments are preserved
book. The manuscript presents almost two hundred and fifty tablatures of which eightyThere
da
These
lute
cantare.
are madrigals, villanelle, canzonette, and arie
songs.
two are
is no mensural notation for the solo voice for all four types of songs; the text is provided
due
for
for
first
to their
the arie,
the
three types, while
underneath the tablature
improvisatory character, there is no text. Although the arrangements in Brussels 275
"
less
Galilei's
be
identical
or
to some of
manuscript arrangements, more
seem to
in
them
their
are
arranged
polyphonic
vocal
of
model, many
accurately representing
what might
be called a basso continuo
latter
In
the
style of accompaniment.
bass
his
harmonized
it
has
Cavalcanti
the
taken
of
with chords
model and
arrangements
lute.
These
the
arrangements show that polyphonic compositions
to
play
on
that are easy
during
That
is
late
the
not to
sixteenth century.
were sometimes performed as monodies
by
but
lute,
that their textures were
voice and
say they were simply performed
24
homophony
from
through arrangement.
polyphony to
transformed
The process of moving from a literal intabulation to a liberal one, or even further,
bass,
decrease
the
the
above
of the
reflects
to newly composed accompaniment
importance of counterpoint. Meanwhile, harmony was gaining in importance and that
led to a homophonically-directed
medium
of composition.
The transition
from
homophony
to
was not a sudden event as we are sometimes tempted to
polyphony
believe. The two styles coexisted for a long period with no strict boundary between
haveno ancora scritto la intavolatura per it lautto et me lo scordai in Mantova nel mio partire. Ma
importar poco, poi the it s' Giulio port benissimo sonare, o con it lautto, o con it cembalo sopra il basso'.
" Victor Coelho, 'Raffaello Cavalcanti's Lute Book (1590) and the Ideal of Singing and Playing' in
Vaccaro,Jean M. (ed.) Le concert des voix et des instruments Renaissance(Paris: tditions du Centre
429-31.
1995),
de
la
recherchescientifique,
nationale
24Falkenstein, 'Late Sixteenth-Century Repertory', 152.
UNIVERSITY
OF YORK
25
frottole,
in
hand,
On
there
polyphonic
which
the one
are
compositions, such as
them.
signs of a harmonic way of thinking
are evident. On the other hand; there are
homophonic
in nature, contain
which,
compositions,
although
seventeenth-century
in
Likewise,
the seventeenth-century tablature accompaniments
elaborate counterpoint.
into
to
elements of earlier sixteenth-century practices.
run
expect
one should
26
4. SALAMONE ROSSI'S CHITARRONE
INTABULATIONS
The Jewish composer and instrumentalist Salamone Rossi lived and worked during the
heyday of the Mantuan Court under the patronage of the Gonzaga family. As Don
Harrn suggests, in his monograph about Rossi's life and works, he might have been
born in or around 1570 and died probably in or shortly after 1628.1 Throughout his life,
Rossi witnessed the polarity between two different worlds, not only in purely musical
but
lived
in
he
old,
period when new styles of composition were set against
terms, as
between
Court,
he
had
Christian
in
the
to
the
and the
move
of
terms
world
as
also social
houses of the nobility and the Jewish community with its individual social and religious
by
Court
indicating
Rossi
hand,
On
the
special
privileges
the
was
given
one
activities.
from
being
his
highly
he
granted exemption
regarded as a musician, such as
that
was
On
inferiority.
Jews'
badge
the
the
social and religious
which represented
wearing the
his
in
fact
Jewish
'Rossi
hand,
the
reason
salary,
that
was
undoubtedly
the
was
other
low
his
the
throughout
those
musicians
on
staff,
remained
of
other
comparison with
he
instrumental
in
Rossi's
This
music: as a composer of
music
polarity emerges
career'?
has been credited as the one who established the trio sonata, the classic medium of
Baroque chamber music, in his Sinfonie e Galiarde (1607); 3 as a composer of vocal music
4
'a
he has been described as moderate, somewhat conservative madrigalist' ,
' Don Harrn, Salamone Rossi: Jewish Musician in Late Renaissance Mantua (Oxford Monographs on
Music; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), 12.
2 Susan Helen Parisi, 'Ducal Patronage of Music in Mantua, 1587-1627:
An Archival Study', Ph. D.
dirs. (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1989), 492.
' Manfred F. Bukofzer, Music in the Baroque Em: From Monteverdi to Bach (London: J. M. Dent &
SonsLtd, 1948), 53.
Judith
Cohen, 'Salamone Rossi's Madrigal
Assaph Studies in the Arts, 9 (1986-7), 157.
Style: Observations and Conjectures', Orbis Musicae:
Rossi's compositional works fall into three categories: secular vocal, instrumental
His
book
Hebrew
secular
vocal
works
consist
works.
of
one
of canzonette, six
sacred
and
books of madrigals and one book of madrigaletti. The instrumental works include four
books of sinfonie, sonate, canzoni and various dances. His only sacred work is a
Hebrew
33
of
settings
psalms, hymns and synagogue songs
polyphonic
collection of
Songs
Solomon)
(1622/3).
Hashirim
of
asherlishlomo(The
entitled
Among Rossi's vocal publications I1 primo libro di madrigali a cinque voci of 1600
during
been
his
lifetime,
have
the
popular
to
most
seems
judging
from the re-
from
followed,
inclusion
his
in
the
as
that
as
well
of
a
number
of
madrigals
publications
format
is
in
The
part-book
collection
and the title page of the canto
various anthologies.
4.1):
(see
illustration
1600
also
print reads
part of the
CANTO
/ IL LIBRO PRIMO / DE MADRIGALI
SALAMONE
/A
CINQUE
VOCI, / DI
ROSSI HEBREO / con alcuni di detti Madrigali per cantar nel /
Chittarrone, con la sua intavolatura / posta nel Soprano. / Novamente composti,

& dad in luce. / In Venetia, Appresso Ricciardo Amadino, / MDC.
This volume was reissued with minor corrections in 1603,1607

in
Antwerp
1618
it
in
omitting
reprinted
and 1612. Phali se
the chitarrone tablature but supplying a
for
figured
bass
all the madrigals.
part
separate
Eduard Birnbaum
lists earlier editions
but
1596
1598
of
and
relies on
from
Carl
Ferdinand
Becker,
Francois
Joseph
Fetis
information
and
unsubstantiated
Herman Mendel!
However, evidence suggests that the 1600 edition was the first:
Rossi's dedication to his patron Vincenzo Gonzaga, the Duke of Mantua, which appears
dated
furthermore,
is
16
September
1600,
in
1600;
the
the edition of
edition of
only
1600 reads 'novamente composti, & dati in luce' (recently composed and published)
while
the subsequent editions read 'novamente corretto, & ristampato'
(recently
corrected and reissued).

' Eduard Birnbaum, Jdische Musiker am Hofe von Mantua 1542-1628 (Vienna: Wainzer & Sohn,
1893), 24.
28
4.1: Title page of the Canto partbook from SalamoneRossi, 11

ILLUSTRATION
primo libro de
madrigalsa cinque voci (Venice, 1600).
29
I! libro primo de madrigali contains nineteen compositions featuring poems by

Battista Guarini, Cecare Rinaldi and Livio Celiano. Guarini is the preferred poet and is
by
by
by
his
Rinaldi
Celiano
texts,
three
thirteen
of
one; two texts
and
only
represented
five
for
first
by
The
implied
seventeen madrigals, as
the title, are
remain unidentified.
4.1)
for
(see
Six
table
six voices.
of the works
voices while the two concluding ones are
are supplied with Italian tablature which is contained in the Canto partbook.
TABLE 4.1: Madrigals with tablature accompaniment in Rossi's, 11libro primo de madrigali.
Page
Title
Poet
14
'OhimP, se tanto amate' (Alas, if you love so much)
Guarini
15
'Cor mio, deh non languire' (My heart, do not languish)
Guarini
16
'Anima del cor mio' (Soul of my heart)
Anon.
17
'Udite, lacrimosi spiriti d'Averno' (Hear, watery spirits of Avernus)
Guarini
18
'Tirsi mio, CaroTirsi' (My Thyrsis, dear Thyrsis)
Guarini
19
'Parlo, misero, o taccio?' (Poor me! should I speak or keep silent? )
Guarini
The tablatures are designated 'per it chittarrone' and are printed on either the left
or right
facing pages of the Canto part carrying the same page numbering
(see
illustration 4.2). These intabulations are not only the sole arrangements of this kind in
Rossi's work, but they also represent the earliest known documentation of music for the
For
in
they
that
occupy
a
prominent
the study of the style of
reason
position
chitarrone.
in
the
early seventeenth-century music.
chitarrone
accompaniment on
Rossi's intabulations
have repeatedly been misinterpreted
have
and
mystified
for
The
for
definition
is
many
years.
main
reason
this
the
performers
and
scholars
of the
instrument intended for the accompaniment of the madrigals. The designation 'per it
chittarrone' leads us to expect the use of a chitarrone with a re-entrant tuning, namely
lowered
However,
first
an
octave.
the first transcriptions in modern
two courses
the
30
'
lute
based
Renaissance
1877,
tuning.
as
as
early
on
were
appeared
which
notation,
Vincent d'Indy, the editor of this first edition, was presumably unaware of the re-entrant
little,
lived
in
he
a period when
tuning as
if anything at all, was known about the
features.
its
particular
chitarrone and
Ydtelacriaie6.17
blab9
ii?
4i-
,=o-.
I.-
Ee
ll
--+
a .1
-6--
ea' ---;
_-
9
-f
"o
a+
IA9
aJa^=leoao-l=-ea-}_
--} i31
_.
'
;
II1!
1-
'-;
+
1:513
. .
I*
+ --a
" 3--1
3
144
O-i-3
--o
_lefembitcepiete
` -e--t)-
__LII.
---
rr=i-0=i='4A
E--l
n-
-_A. i]
114
"NBpnJfihfatls "1
=LF1
U,
-,
-r,
e--t-r-----
chemafoia morreNSpufacfuii
::M
r1: '
=f4
F=
63
1=
Mieomandach'ievisa Perchela vita mi.

M
rv-T-ri
III
Hntr74
IC]
DI mills mottildi
a Da milli: morildi
".
' Per.
lafuaiaQordavoslia 8 Ismiaetud
0
F===1
quafima pcrpena warts
- f-
kF
e--.
tirate aud'ai:
fu LaTladbsaCradelLimladbaaeredd
piSddinferno
1 l.
tb.
lbl,,.
ltd
b
b.
i-1.. a
li
.
.-;
ab!
e__Ji.
;i
--
-rr-Tr-`rd,
s--c
di ptieditotmeeto
-t_z-t9
---a-e
=FEEf=Fi=ffL]
-eo-
T -.
l
-c,
2.3! rO-
i--'
+-AOf.
r--T-C-2 IN-O:k*a
0
R
aeuarrti
fitto
"A
U. Vdice .i
laceimoo fpirriSaue
rJ
---
i3---
--o
r-r
; If-ea
---
=s}-;
=. 1 -- -1
o-ut- --+54
---1-1--; =
aA93
''-'3
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bl u,. 1.11.
t t
'"
e-,ee-
- - ---
_.
Din
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cu
r-, r=
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hi ii i 22
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o
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17
; ---i-r-
9ò8cL(cearrene.
riatto
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-TTi-w
r- 7! =t-- lii
"9
"'Y"''TtIIel
[]
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di dcauo as
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GL "... co 8ti
---v-EY-f
ILLUSTRATION4.2: Salamone Rossi, Ii primo libro de madrigals a Cinque voci (Venice, 1600),
Canto partbook, 17.
Leslie Chapman Hubbell,
in a brief description of Rossi's publication'
which
d'Averno',
del
lacrimosi
'Udite,
'Anima
cor
mio,
spiriti
and
contains transcriptions of
Renaissance
Hubbell,
followed
d'Indy
the
tuning.
who considers
adopted
and
simply
having
'differed
detail',
in
the
the
theorbo
treats
chitarrone
as
a
that the chitarrone and
'conventional Gl tuning' acknowledging that 'on some chitarroni the pitches of the
6 Vincent D'Indy (ed.), Cantiques de Salomon Rossi: Choix de 22 Madcigaux cinq voix (Paris: S.
Naumbourg,
1877). This edition contains transcriptions for only four of the six chitarrone madrigals.
These are: 'OhimP, se tanto amate', 'Cor mio, deh non languire',
'Anima del cor mio', and 'Udite,
lacrimosi spiriti d'Averno'.
' Hubbell, 'Sixteenth-CenturyItalian Songs',289-303.
31
first
lower
[i.
the
than
the
the
and
sottana e.
second courses] sounded an octave
canto and
written'!
The idea of re-entrant tuning is introduced but, instead of providing useful
information about the actual pitch produced by the two first coursesof the chitarrone, it
because
does
is
the
tablature
that
not
confusion
more
a
notational
produces
system
finger
but
the
rather shows
positions on the fingerboard of the
represent pitch
instrument. What Hubbell presumably meant is that the pitches of the first two courses
but
lower
if
in
to
compared
the
transcriptions;
an
octave
what
appears
even
sound
would
that was the case,someoneunfamiliar with the tablature would be unable to identify the
lower.
notes that would sound an octave
Kevin Mason, in his study for the chitarrone and its repertoire, reproached D'Indy
for having 'mistranscribed the tablature using renaissancelute, tuning rather than the
'
by
However,
Mason
the
the
tuning'.
results
transcriptions
of
re-entrant
proposed
proper
be
first
Transcribing
the
to
tablature
the
two courses lowered
unsatisfactory.
with
appear
bass
indicates
line's
Mason
integrity
the
abolishes
an octave as
and produces many
bass
4.1).
below
line
(example
4
the
course
often
the
chords,
second
crosses
as
arbitrary
Further problems occur in the voice leading as octave leaps appear in melodies
intended to be conjunct. Mason, despite acknowledging the problems, accepts a priori
the re-entrant tuning and avoids giving an explanation:
In imitative passages,however, the chitarrone transposes some entries down an
octave or changes the line in some other way because of the re-entrant tuning.
Although such breaks in the voice-leading of the accompaniment would hardly
be noticeable in the ensemble, they remain less than ideal and it is difficult
to
say whether or not such an accompaniment was acceptable or if Rossi simply did
for
know
how
For an alternate
the chitarrone at this early date
to write
not
...
breaks in the voice
mode of performance-solo voice with chitarronethe
...
'Ibid. 293.
' Mason, Chicarrone, 45 n.
32
leading causedby the re-entrant tuning would certainly be more noticeable than
in the ensemble version. 10
EXAMPLE 4.1: 'Ohime, se tanto amate', Rossi, Il libro primo
de madrigali,
14, bb. 45-8
(chitarrone part transcribed with the two first courses lowered an octave; vocal parts transposed a
fourth lower).
43
E17
FT
Alto
(1)
c.
1-0
Ma
to
Ma
w cor
cor
mio
vor
mio
vor .R-
LL
- re
to
Che
vi - t'hab - bit
da
to
Che
vi - c'hab - bit
da
EREI
FFS
E-UL
Quinto
Tenore
Ma
trot
mio
vor - re
re
Che
vi . t'hab - bit
da
Ma
to cot
mio
vor - to
to
Che
vi -t 'hab - bia
da
T
I-uu
hr=
F--X
Chicnrmne
1L
1 1
11
(1) The to follows the later editions; 1600 and 1603 editions sharea misprint.
Other sources in the literature. concerning the chitarrone also reveal similar
fact
in
despite
tuning
the preface
that
the
the
the
composer
provides
usually
problems,
books
for
is
it.
Kapsberger's
of music
no ambiguity about
solo
of the edition and there
feature
leading
inaccuracies. If such
4
chords
as
well as voice
chitarrone occasionally
lapses are present in the music of an acknowledged great composer and one who was
his
day,
best
then why not consider this way of writing
player
of
the
chitarrone
probably
for
idiomatic
This
is
however,
the
maybe,
chitarrone?
and
a
possibility,
as permissible,
be
firstly,
into
fewer
details
taken
account:
the
should
occurrences of chords in
various
Kapsberger's Libro
di
chitarone (1626)
and Libro
quarto
` Ibid. 45-8.
33
d'intavolatura di chitarone (1640) compared to Libro primo d'intavolatura di chitarone

(1604) show his concern rather than tolerance in the matter; secondly, as, according to
Kapsberger four-note chords should be arpeggiated with a specific fingering pattern, the
bass
first
4.2);
furthermore,
in
differs
(see
true
the
4
note
comes
the
as
example
effect of
his tablature accompaniments of songs, which will
be discussed in the following
chapter, arbitrary 4 chords are almost absent.

EXAMPLE 4.2:
Four-note
arpeggiated
chord
according
to
Kapsberger,
Libro
primo
d lntavolatura, 4.
AW
,
=e
The transcription of the tablature with just the first string lowered an octave, an
by
be
Andrea
Banchieri,
theorists
such as
also appearsto
option offered
unsatisfactory.
Despite the fact that the problem of 4 chords is not present in such a transcription, the
4.3).
(see
Lynda Sayce,in her excellent study
still
occurs
example
voice-leading problem
lutes,
first
Italian
the
tuning
suggests
the
continuo
with only
course lowered an
on
"
for
Rossi's
tablature. Based on Piccinini's account quoted in chapter 2, p. 12,
octave
follows:
issue
is
justified
the voice-leading
as
[Piccinini)
makes clear that this was a secondary consideration, less important
than maximizing
counterpoint
the basic timbre of the lute. Any resultant infelicities
or chord voicing
of
are much less obvious when the lute is
accompanying a voice than when it is playing solo, because much of the

listener's attention is focused on the text, and the combined resonance of voice
"
lute
jumps
inoffensive.
can render any awkward octave
and
Although
such a stance is reasonable, this does not seem to be the case for Rossi's
intabulations because,as will be shown below, they lean towards Renaissancetraditions

fine
quality to contain voice-leading inconsistencies.
and are of very
" Sayce, 'Development', i. 70.

" Ibid. i. 54-5.
34
Judging from the voice-leading and the chord spacing, the tablature indicates that
first
in
Rossi's
just
implied
instrument
the
or
publication
the chitarrone
was not an
with
the first two courses lowered an octave but rather an instrument with Renaissancelute
tuning. Rossi's chitarrone was closer to the instrument modern scholars call 'archlute'
rather than to the chitarrone.
EXAMPLE 4.3: Tirsi
mio, caro Tirsi',
de madrigals, 18, bb. 21-4
Rossi, 11 libro primo
(chitarrone part transcribed with only the first course lowered an octave).
zl
Canto
Alto
r
fw
Ver - re -d
pur
It
pia
Ver - to - rk
pur
It
pia
Ver - to -d
pur
pia
Ver - to - t
pur
pia
fl
Di
tua
Fit
11it
as
Di
tut
Eil
ILil
as
Di
tua
Pd
I tut
as
Di
Fil
Ij jl tuo
as
v
tuo
zenorc
Quiaco
Bam
21
9 e
C6irnrrone
1i
i-2--3
1
9
wo
-2
In his complete edition of Rossi's works Harrn decided to transcribe the chitarrone
based
According
Renaissance
tuning.
to Harrn, the tablature calls for
on a
tablature
be
it
different
tunings so can
consistent with the vocal parts: a nominal chitarrone
two
-a)
fourth
A
(A-d
higher in D (d -a -e c =g-d)
in
tuning
plus
a
second
g-b-e
tuning
a
for two of the pieces ('Ohime, se tanto amate' and 'Cor mio, deh non languire'). 13
However, the employment of a second tuning in D seems to be an inappropriate choice,
dimensions,
instrument
fretted
it
of
very
small
requires
an
with
an
as
approximate
" Don Harrn (ed.), Salamone Rossi: Complete Works, 13 vols. (Corpus Mensurabilis Musicae, 100;
American Institute of Musicology; Neuhausen: Hnssler-Verlag, 1995), i. p. sac.
35
A
historically.
is
instrument
length
30
cm, an
whose existence unsupported
of
string
but
in
for
in
France,
been
have
in
D
is
solo repertory
used
possible and might
tuning
"
Castaldi's
dimensions.
Bellerofonte
for
instrument
of small
this case
a re-entrant tuned
Capricci a due stromenti (1622) requires a very small instrument, which Castaldi calls
is
that
a smaller theorbo tuned an octave above the standard theorbo
tiorbino al ottava,
But
its
in
A
even
unfretted contrabasses.
with
and retaining the re-entrant tuning
"
far
45
is
53
Castaldi's tiorbino, with a fretted string length of approximately
cm,
cm to
larger than the instrument required to accommodate the tuning in D proposed by
Harrn.
In fact, 'Ohime, se tanto amate' and 'Cor mio, deh non languire' do not call for a
different instrument. Occasional discrepancies between keyboard or lute tablatures and
key
be
in
one
while the
notated
their vocal counterpart(s), where the vocal part(s) may
is
implicit
"'obligatory
implies
transposition"
that
suggest
an
another,
accompaniment
16
17`h
late
in
16' and early
in the notation of much vocal music
centuries'. This is
the
by
some theoretical writings
also supported
of the time. Among Rossi's chitarrone
languire'
deh
'Cor
'Ohime,
are the only ones set
non
tanto
and
mio,
amate'
se
madrigals,
in a high clef combination (G2, C2, C3, C3, F). Michael Praetorius, referring to vocal
is
high
in
clear that such a piece
clef combination,
pieces
" Alexander Dunn, 'Style and Development in the Theorbo Works of Robert de Visee: An Introductory
Study', Ph. D. diss. (University of California, 1989), 61.
" David West Dolata, 'The Sonatas and Dance Music in the Capricci a due stromenti (1622) of
Bellerofonte Castaldi (1580-1649)',
Ph. D. diss., 2 vols. (Case Western Reserve University, 1998), i. 91.
16Andrew Parrott, 'Transposition in Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610: An "Aberration"
Defended', Early
Music, 12 (1984), 491. On transposition, seealso Patrizio Barbieri, 'Chiavette and Modal Transposition in
Italian Practice (c. 1500-1837)',
Recercare, 3 (1991), 5-79, Roger Bowers, 'An "Aberration"
Reviewed:
Clef-Systems
Music,
in
Monteverdi's
Early
Inconsistent
Mass
Vespers
1610',
Reconciliation
of
of
and
the
31 (2003), 527-30 and Andrew Parrott, 'Monteverdi: Onwards and Downwards', Early Music, 32 (2004),
303-18.
36
flat
be
flat
fourth
but
has
has
down
durum
if
it
in
if
it
transposed,
no
a
must
a
down a fifth in mollem maturaliter, when it is put into a tablature or score by
"
foundation
lutenists
instruments.
or all the others who use the
organists and
Since 'Ohime, se tanto amate' and 'Cor mio, deh non languire' are both in the Dorian
mode in G, these two madrigals example the expectation of transposition performance
fourth.
down
In that case
transposition
their
performance would entail
practices, and
a
for
the chitarrone is one in A.
tuning
the required
Rossi's accompaniments require an eleven-course instrument with seven courses
on the fingerboard (the seventh course is occasionally stopped on the first fret) and four
from
Such
different
instrument
is
an
what the modern
added unstopped contrabasses.
but
It
is
to
closer what we now call archlute
musician would call a chitarrone.
with an A
forget
However,
that the use of terms is more distinct today than
tuning.
one should not
it was in the early-1600s. Adriano Banchieri is the only one who mentions the possible
for
for
in
his
Renaissance
tuning
the
tuning
though
chitarrone,
calling
aG
case
use of
(see chapter 2, p. 13). It is interesting that both Banchieri and Rossi use the same
double
double
t
and
r (chittarrone) although the establishment of
unusual spelling with
between
is
impossible.
Whether
Rossi's use of the term chittarrone
them
connection
a
indicates his conception of the chitarrone as an instrument or is an attempt by Rossi to
his
acquaintance with
signal
the contemporary modern trends is difficult
to say.
Whatever the case, the chitarrone madrigals hold an important place in Rossi's musical
Rossi
'one
first
because
Alfred
Einstein
the
credited
as
of
and
earliest
monodists'
output.
"' Judith
his
chitarrone madrigals.
of
Cohen acknowledges that 'the six chitarrone
" Michael Praetorius, Syntagma musicum III. ' Termini musici (Wolfenbttel:
E. Holwein, 1619; facs.
80-1:
Wenn
b
Verlag,
1958),
Kassel:
Brenreiter
er
mol, per quartam inferiorem in durum; Wenn
edn.,
4 dar,
in
inferiorem
mollem, naturaliter in die Tabulatur oder Partitur von
per
quartam
aber
er
Organisten, Lauttenisten und allen andern, die sich der Fundament Instrumenten gebrauchen, gebracht
unnd transoniret werden muss'.
1Alfred Einstein, 'SalamoneRossi as a Composerof Madrigals', Hebrew Union College Annual, 23

(1950-1), 393.
37
in
idiom,
their
though
not
equal
the
are the
use
of
elements
of
madrigals,
new monodic
'9
in
Rossi's
madrigal oeuvre'.
most ambitious compositions
Having clarified the issue of the instrument that was intended to accompany
Rossi's madrigals and its tuning, a comparison between the vocal model and the
instrumental accompaniment is now possible. That comparison is useful not only for the
definition of accompanying style but also for the definition of the performance medium.
Apart from the option of a solo voice performance with chitarrone accompaniment, it
has been suggested that 'they may also be performed a cappella or with chitarrone
2 A performance option as a cappella
but
is
madrigals
unchallengeable
accompaniment'
a possible performance as ensemble pieces with chitarrone accompaniment is only
arguable.
'Cor mio, deh non languire' is a representative example of how the intabulator
treats the vocal model in order to generate the accompaniment. At first sight (see
is
intabulation
does
I.
it
I,
1)
that
the
evident
part
not reproduce the vocal
appendix
fairly
by
has
It
texture
a
consistent
means of melodic and motivic
model note-for-note.
but
is
the
the
of
accompaniment
more vertical with the voices treated
approach
activity
filling
harmonic
as
rather than as independent elements. The only voice that is
is
Basso,
the
while the chords are revoiced according to
reproduced almost unaltered
for
instrument
is
As
the
the
the
sounds
on
and
what
convenient
well
player.
what
between
homophony
be
it
polyphony
sits
and
would
accompaniment
useful to compare
in detail the chitarrone tablature with the vocal model. In particular, we see:
b. 2:
the omission of the Tenore motif and addition of aD on the third beat of the
bar; this breaks the rhythm into two minims, providing rhythmic articulation
in
A
following
bar.
the
cadence
the
preparing
major
and
at
" Cohen, 'Salamone Rossi's Madrigal Style', 163.

20Ibid. 159.
38
bb. 3-5: the support of the beginning of the new phrase on the third crotchet beat of b.
3 by providing a full chord announcing the Basso's a of b. 4a minim earlier. By
doing so, the strong beat shifts from the beginning of the bar to the third beat.
In b. 4, Alto's e' is absent, being considered a tied note, while the passing d' is
4
first
beat
b.
A
The
the
of
serves as a prolongation of the
on
added
omitted.
4
b.
beat
The
third
of
added a gives more strength to the
previous chord's sound.
beat
held
b.
dissonance
Alto
The
5.
it
the
third
note c'
the
on
of
as also restrikes
is also restruck on the first beat of b. 5 in order to keep the note alive, as the
fades
fairly
being
instruments
soon after
sounded.
sound on plucked
b. 7:
bar,
half
Alto
Quinto
of the
and
parts at the second
the omission of the
highlight
in
the Basso'smovement.
to
order
presumably
b. 8:
fourth
beat,
d
C
the
the
connects
cadential
on
which
the addition of a passing
E
the
major of the new section.
opening
major with
b. 9:
the omission of the Alto and Quinto passing a, simplifying
the rhythm of the
bar into two minims. The addition of an Eon the third beat in order to keep the
sound of the instrument alive.
b. 11: the restriking of the held Quinto a in order to maintain the effect of the
dissonance and duplication of the root of the chord prolonging the resonance.
b. 13: the omission of Tenor passing b.
b. 16: the addition of an octave leap in the bassline.
bb. 17-19: the simplification
of the rhythm of the accompaniment into semibreves,
full
but
providing
a
also
support to the Canto melisma.
giving space
b. 20: the alteration of the character of the cadential chord on the first beat. The
Tenore has agl
producing an E major chord while the chitarrone tablature
displays an E minor chord. The possibility of a mistake by the intabulator looks

G4,
fret
two
tablature
reads
the
one
the
third
on
of the second course
unlikely as
(g') and one on the open fourth course (g). By altering the major tonality and
39
thus the dominant function of the E chord, the intabulator possibly intended to
detach the two sections from each other. If he had retained the major chord then
a V-VI relationship would connect the two sections.
bb. 21-2: the addition of an F on the first beat of b. 21 providing support to the
in
combination with the octave-lowered C on the third
previous chord which,
beat, giving emphasis to the bass line, is preparing for what will follow in b. 22:
been
fifth
leap
has
bridge
in
to
of
the ascending
added
order
a stepwise passage
the bassline, giving the chitarrone a totally different role to the one it had in the
The
bass
(bb.
17-20).
line is an octave
the
register of
chitarrone
previous section
lower compared to the vocal model and the added passage runs across the
contrabass courses of the instrument providing a harp-like sound as the courses
are unstopped.
b. 25: the vocal scheme of
#4#
has been simplified to 4#4. As the intabulator does not
beginning
b
Tenore
bar;
the
the
c'
the
at
the
preceding passing is
employ
of
duplicated
beat
is
dissonant
Canto
is
The
the
third
the
part
while
a'on
omitted.
because
(as
it is sung by
the
rest
the
notes
are
of
not restruck
chord) obviously
the Canto.
bb. 27-8: the simplification of the rhythm from crotchets to minims in order to liberate
the delivery of the text.
b. 29: the passing d of the Basso has been moved a crotchet earlier, to the first beat of
fundamental
bar,
becoming
the
a
minim.
Thus, an isorhythmic
balance is
preserved and a43 suspension with the Canto is created.

bb. 30-3: the omission of the Tenore entrance, which is quite important to the vocal
different,
bridges
it
two
though texturally similar, sections. After the
model as
b.
31, the accompaniment rhythm is simplified from crotchets to
half
second
of
bb.
27-8,
in
thus making the Basso passage more distinguishable.
as
minims
40
This rhythmic simplification continues until b. 36. An octave leap is also added
in the bassline on the fourth beat of b. 33.
b. 36: the simplification of the Basso's rhythm into two crotchets on the first half of
the bar; the addition of a43 suspension at the second half of the bar.
bb. 39-40: the omission of the Tenore d'on the fourth beat of b. 39 and of the Alto d'
40.
b.
d'
beat
The
Alto
is
in
the
omitted
order to avoid parallel
of
second
on
fifths between the first and the second beat of the chitarrone part (c=g7d =a).
bb. 41-3: the simplification
firstOn
into
the
the
of
accompaniment rhythm
minims.
beat of b. 43, the Quinto
b has been replaced by the preceding (or the
beat
bar,
been
d'
has
Alto
the
third
the
the
of
same
c'
on
while,
subsequent)
following
by
The
harmonic
the
passing
c:
sequence of E major-(C
replaced
by
dominant-tonic
is
therefore
the
replaced
major)-D minor
sequence of C
first
inversion
C
C
An
to a root
the
added
modifies
major
major-F major.
f
been
down.
has
Basso
transposed
the
octave
an
position and
bb. 44-5: the transposition of the Bassog an octave lower in b. 44 and restriking of the
dissonant chord in the second half of the bar; The addition of g, which is above
the Canto part, to this dissonant chord requires further comment. On first sight
it seemsthat the g'has been added for the sake of enrichment of the sound of the
dissonance. Yet, more importantly,
the g' is placed in order to justify the e,
beginning
Canto
higher
C
is
than
the
the
the
Part, of
major chord at
also
which
45.
b.
in
In
to
those
this manner,
two
understand
order
why
chords
are
voiced
of
45.
depth
b.
look
in
into
bBasso
The
have
in
Basso
.
the
to
passage
passagec
we
because
it
is
significance
particular
marks the entrance of the section that
of
ag
final
line
it
is
imitated,
the
the
of
poem,
transposed a sixth
and
accommodates
bb.
48-9
by
Canto
in
final
Canto
line
the
the
the
where
sings
of the
upwards
b
highest
by
Furthermore,
the
the
c'
and
are
the Basso
poem.
notes sung
The
intabulator,
the
madrigal.
throughout
acknowledging the importance of
41
Basso's passage, draws attention to it by omitting
the Alto and Tenore parts
for
both
fourth
beat;
Tenore
for
important
is
c' on the
this
one note, the
except
the instrument's
resonance and to support of the Canto entrance. The
intabulator places all the notes of the passage on the fourth course of the
fact
fret
first
he
despite
that
the
of the third
could easily use the
chitarrone
for
b.
he
That
for
third
the
avoids any timbre
open
course
way
c' and
course
differentiation resulting from the course change, which is easily noticeable to a
A
difference
Tenore
listener.
in
timbre
the
c' of
combination
with
well-trained
the fourth beat would entail the possibility of creating a different phrasing: that
would be c-b-c-d;
as all these notes would be on the third course, with a new
fourth
beat
bar,
leading
the
the
to g. In order to avoid
on
of
entrance of an a
such a misinterpretation,
the intabulator prefers to place the Basso passageon
beat
fingering
hand
fourth
Such
involves
the
second
of
a
shift on
the
a
course.
by
is
bar;
the
to
the
chord
using
cadential
maintain
the only way
sound of
the
by
by
is
If
the
the
the
produced
open
e,
which
second
course.
the e' produced
been
been
fifth
have
had
fret
its
then
the
course,
sound would
used,
of
second
from
left-hand
by
Basso
the
thus
the
the
shift,
separating
passage
terminated
Such
is
The
C
connection of the
chord.
a
separation
undesirable.
cadential major
bass passageand the cadential C major chord is dictated not only by the Canto
but
by
is
the
the
that
text
that
sounds
when
passage
starts
still
also
minim
by
keeps
-b-a-g
'chi
(who
the
tien'
c
passage:
vivo
alive). And,
accommodated
indeed, the intabulator keeps the sound of the cadential C major chord alive by
C.
he
had
If
by
fret
the
the
a
the
third
used
c
produced
c
with
of the
replacing
beat
the
the
stop
right-hand
the
sound
would
with
shift
at
second
sixth course,
by
Cof
bar,
the open contrabass course, no such problems
using
the
whereas
of
is
richer.
the
sound
occur and
42
b. 46: the omission of the Alto part and the Tenore passing notes in the second half of
the bar. The accompaniment rhythm is simplified to minims and the chord at
bar
been
has
from
is
Alto
beginning
E
G
the
the
to
the
of
altered
major as
minor
absent.
b. 47: the addition of a43
but
suspension
without a restriking of the dissonance.
Instead, the Basso e has been lowered an octave.

b. 48: the omission of the Quinto part and simplification
of the accompaniment
full
into
chords.
minims with
rhythm
b. 50: the dissonance is not restruck but an E has been added in order to provide
cadential articulation.
bb. 51-2: the accompaniment rhythm is simplified into minims.
bb. 54-5: the duplication of the Canto part with restriking of the dissonance; the
fat
Alto
omission of the
the second half of b. 54 modifies the
4s#
to a4
The comparison between the vocal model and the chitarrone accompaniment
indicates strongly that the composition of the vocal model came first followed by the
from
That
the
extracted
tablature,
was
vocal
model.
was the common
which
chitarrone
However,
Rossi's
'do
the
century.
tablatures
throughout
sixteenth
chitarrone
practice
but
it,
the
polyphony
render
a
playable
reduction
vocal
of
reproduce
note-for-note
not
from the "rules" of polyphony to the "rules of play"' providing 'a second reading of
2' and they were prepared by
had
someone
structures',
who
a really good
existing musical
knowledge of the instrument.
The modifications
by
the intabulator
made
can be
follows:
summarised as
"
The revoicing of the chords according to what is more convenient or
instrument
bb.
(e.
2,23).
the
on
g.
convincing
more
sounds
" David Nutter, 'Salomone Rossi's Chitarrone Madrigals', in Paola Besutti, Teresa Maria Gialdroni and
Rodolfo Baroncini (eds.), Claudio Monteverdi: Studi e prospective (Florence: Olschki, 1998), 235; 238.
43
The partial or total omission of voices, except the Basso part, although in
"
linear
instrument,
than
the
showing
rather
on
a vertical
most casesreadily playable
bb.
(e.
7,46).
g.
approach to the accompaniment
The rhythmic
"
accompaniment simplification
based on the harmonic
dictate
is
to
text
note repetitions, thus making the
placement
there
no
rhythm as
bb.
15-19,31-4).
(e.
g.
texture thinner
"
The downward octave transposition of notes or passagesof the Bassopart,
instrument,
the
the
of
resonance
as well as the addition of
thus taking advantage of
bb.
(e.
harmonic
2,43-5).
leaps
g.
articulation
to provide
octave
"
The addition
43
of cadential
dissonance (e.g. bb. 5-6,44),
suspensions and a restriking
of the
by
been
described,
has
that
among
others,
a practice
Girolamo Frescobaldi:
In suspensions or [other) dissonances as well as in the middle of the work, [the
leave
instrument
be
in
the
empty;
together
to
order
not
struck
notes) should
"
be
likes.
repeated as the player
this striking may
"
The addition of passing notes between leaps in order to connect chords or
b.
(e.
8,22).
is
in
there
g.
no vocal activity
phrases, places where
"
The addition of harmonic support to the entrancesof new phrases(e.g.
bb. 13,48).
"
The modification of the harmonic texture that applies in:

1. the chord itself (e.g. b. 46, E minor changed to G major)
2. the character of the chord (e.g. b. 20, major chord changed to
minor)
_' Girolamo Frescobaldi, Toccate e partite d'iatavolatura di cimbalo

libro primo (Rome: N. Bordoni,
...
1616), pref.: 'e cosl nelle ligature, b veto durezze, come anche nel mezzo del opera si batteranno insieme,
battimento
it
beneplacito
l'Istromento:
lasciar
di chi suona'.
qual
ripiglierassi
voto
per non
44
3. the position of a chord (e.g. b. 43, first inversion C major appears

in root position) and,
5#
4. harmonic sequences(e.g. b. 54,4
becomes4 #).
The modifications applied in 'Cor mio, deh non languire' also occur, more or less, in the
remaining chitarrone madrigals.
A further comment is required for some particular features extracted from the other
chitarrone madrigals. These are:
"
The extensive use of major thirds in cadential chords in the tablature
when the third of the chord is not present in the vocal model (example 4.4).
EXAMPLE4.4: Ànima del cor mio', Rossi, Il libro primo de madrigals, 16, bb. 53-4.
ss
Canto
FIM
E
pio,
sem
Alto
Vi
-UF
pia
Tenore EPH
EXU
fe - dees - sein
Qwnto
PiQ.
m
F92
um
pio,
--
va
il
[1]
11
Chictaccone
"
The insertion of a new bass line in a place where the Basso rests in bb.
44-5 of 'Tirsi mio, caroTirsi' (example4.5).
45
EXAMPLE4.5: Tirsi mio, CaroTirsi', Rossi, 111ibroprimp de madrigali, 18, bb. 44-5.
43
r
RE
ng
Alm
Canto
r-
li
Fil
Ii
C6t,
ChL,
co
- me
co - me
re
ee
di,
ch2,
di,
co - me
Tenore
Qwnro
Fil
ti
ChM
Fil
Ii
Cht,
Fil
li
Bauo
tX
Chi,
co - me
op
do
-3
Chirmrrone
[1]
aW11
e
3
3
0-2
3
3
e-
a---r---3
(1)
(1) Semnd caw
"
rtdf
(2) Orisiml due Cf XChI
The modification of the openingsof someof the madrigals such as'Udite,
lacrimosi spiriti d'Averno' (example 4.6).
EXAMPLE4.6: 'Udite, lacrimosi spiriti d'Averno', Rossi, 111ibroprimo de madrigali, 17, bb. 1-3.
Cam
"
dl
It
"
Ire.
it
- cri
m,
la
cri
re,
I -
cri
cc.
4-
cri
[!.
cri
AI[O
U "Idi
"
Tenone
U-
di
Quioco
U-
di
co
Chicnrcone
46
"
The contradiction of the Canto b' in the fourth beat of b. 65 of 'Udite,

d'Averno' with the b'6 of the accompaniment, an effect used to
lacrimosi spiriti
'morte'
(death),
and implying a rhetorical approach to
the
of
painting
enhance
word
4.7).
(example
intabulation
the
EXAMPLE4.7: 'Udite, lacrimosi spiriti d'Averno', Rossi, I1 libro primo de madrigali, 17, bb.
64-6.
64
Canto
EH
ti
Di
It
mil
mot
"
di
t'il
ri
q4t
Alto
Elm
Tenore
mil - It
Di
mot
di
t'il
"
ri
ENEE
Elm
ti
EILL
Quinto EPEE
mil - It
mot
di
t'il
ri
"
ca
to
Ogg
mPE
P;
Di
ti
mil - It
mor
"
5! 9
[1]
4
FA
1
0
Chittarrone
di
t'il
-3
3 I
3
Returning to the issue of possible ways of performance, the various discrepancies

between the tablature and the vocal parts, with the exception of the Canto, indicate that
the intabulations were conceived as accompaniments to a solo performance rather than as
Even
if
performance.
to
ensemble
an
we assume that some of the
accompaniments
discrepancies, such as the cadential suspensions, are bearable or that they were expected
feature
different
(a
be
in
in the accompanied
than
common
a
way
written
to
performed
harmonies
instrumental
the
repertoire),
clash
of
major
and
minor
and the
madrigal and
modification
of passing notes to
fundamental
ones present bigger
problems.
Furthermore, the overall treatment of the accompaniment shows that it has only one
aim:
to support
the Canto. Yet,
although
Rossi's chitarrone
intabulations
sit
47
intriguingly
between two traditions, they lean towards the style of sixteenth-century
lute song accompaniments rather than to the later improvised style of continuo songs
becausethey are still dependent on the vocal model and therefore consistent with the
find
in
Most
late
the
we
century.
the
of
modifications
traditions
sixteenth
of
performing
Rossi's tablatures occur also in earlier lute song publications, such as Simone Verovio's
Ghirlanda di fioretti musicale (1589).
Rossi's chitarrone accompaniments cannot be described as a complete novelty but
they can be seen as a precursor of the new accompaniment style as they include writtendown examples of what would later be considered improvised accompaniment above the
bass line. The same principle applies to the chitarrone madrigals themselves as, despite
by
harmonically,
harmonic
fact
'their
supported
and are
that
the
melodies are conceived
basseswhich generate predominantly chordal accompaniments', 23they go so far as to
take 'the more traditional
form of polyphonic music and refashion it in a style that
partakes of the new gains of expressive solo singing without sacrificing the contrapuntal
24
harmonic
tensions typical of secondaprattica madrigals'.
elaboration of motifs and
23Joel Newman, 'The Madrigals of Salamon de'Rossi', Ph. D. diss. (Columbia University, 1962), 200.
" Nutter, 'Salomone Rossi's Chitarrone Madrigals', 220.
48
S. GIROLAMO
KAPSBERGER'S CHITARRONE
INTABULATIONS
If there is one musician inextricably intertwined with the chitarrone that is Giovanni
Girolamo Kapsberger. The 'nobile alemano' (noble German), a description used in his
lutenist
important
the
most
of the seventeenth century
publications, was undoubtedly
in Italy. Thus, any information he provides with his intabulations about performing
is
technique
extremely valuable.
style and
'
in
died
He
born
in
1580
1651.
in
Kapsberger was
grew up
and
or around
Venice, where his father, a military official, was stationed. Nothing is known of his life
first
d'intavolatura
di
in
1604,
his
Libro
the
primo
chicarone
until the appearance of
Shortly
its
for
publication,
the
after
chitarrone.
printed solo music
Kapsberger left
Venice for Rome where he spent the rest of his life. Kapsberger's Roman musical
first,
from
his
in
At
Rome
be
into
divided
two
phases.
settlement
until
activity can
knightly
by
Orders
he
1623,
or
prominent artistic communities,
was patronized
about
2
During this time, Kapsberger
families
Bentivoglio.
by powerful Roman
such as the
firmly
himself
as a composer primarily
established
of secular music. He published
fourteen volumes that contain almost every category of secular music that was in fashion
during
the early seventeenth century: madrigals; arie in recitative style; strophic
for
dances
instrumental
instrumental
music;
sinfonie
and
ensembles; and
villanelle; solo
Pope
Kapsberger's
Urban
VIII's
The
coincides
of
activity
with
phase
second
opera.
` The birth date is established by his death certificate that bears the date 17 January 1651 and states
German
died
Kapsberger
Hieronymous
'Johannes
the
at the age of seventy-one' (jo. Hieronymus
that
Kapsberger Germanus etatis sue annorum septuag. ' primo). A complete transcription
of his death
Kast,
'Biographische
Notizen
des
Musikern
in
Paul
17jahrhundrets',
zu
rmischen
certificate appears
Analecta Musicologica, 1 (1963), 48.
' On Kapsberger's patronage see Victor
Coelho, 'G. G. Kapsberger in Rome, 1604-1645:
Biographical Data', journal of the Lute Society ofAmerica, 16 (1983), 111-32.
New
he
in
in
(1623-1644)
the service of
the
was
employed
papal
court
when
pontificate
Cardinal FrancescoBarberini, the nephew of the Pope. During this time, Kapsberger's
interest, clearly reflecting Barberini's patronage, shifted to sacred and dramatic music.
is known of Kapsberger's activities after Barberini ran away from Rome
Nothing
between 1645 and 1646 in order to escapean inquiry for account discrepancies.
As a composer, Kapsberger was praised by, among others, Vincenzo Giustiniani,
Pietro della Valle, and Athanasius Kircher who, in his Musurgia
Universalis, used
dramaticus
in
illustrate
from
Kapsberger's
to
the
and
order
stylus
work
examples
described him as Monteverdi's successorin recitative-style composition:
There was once Claudio Monteverdi among the most celebrated in this kind of
by
his
Ariadne;
witnessed
as
style,
he was succeeded by Hieronymous
Kapsberger who published various [works] in recitative style, composed with

being
by
imitated
excellent skill and taste, and they are certainly most worthy of
3
musicians.
However, Kapsberger's reputation as a composer has been heavily damaged because of

Giovanni
Battista
Doni's
defamation,
which
from
derive
to
seems
a personal
disagreement! Doni's opinion is echoed in the writings of Sir John Hawkins, Wilhelm
'
described
inferior
Kapsberger
Fortune,
Nigel
Ambros and
who all
as an
monodist.
With regard to Kapsberger's skill as a performer there is no ambiguity. Even
Doni, his severest critic,
in a letter to Marin Mersenne in 1626, writes that 'he
[Kapsberger) also plays the theorbo very well, of which he is considered the finest
' Athanasius Kircher, Musurgia Universalis (Rome: F. Corbelletti,
1650), 594: Tuit hoc styli genere
Claudius
Monteverde,
olim
uti eius Ariadne ostendit; cum secutus Hieronymus
cum primis celebris
Capspergerus varia edidit
stylo recitativo;
que summo cum iudicio
& peritia
composita, ac certe
dignissima sunt quale Musici imitentur'.

'Coelho, 'Kapsberger in Rome', 106-8.
' John Hawkins, A General History of the Science and Practice of Music, 5 vols. (London: T. Payne
1776), iii. 183-4 and iv. 183-4; Wilhelm
August Ambros, Geschichte derMusik,
5 vols. (Breslau: F. E.
C. Leuckart, 1862-82), vol. iv, 129; Nigel Fortune, 'Italian Secular Song from 1600 to 1635: The Origins
Ph.
D.
diss.
Monody',
Accompanied
(University
Development
of
of Cambridge, 1954), 192.
and
50
' Most
have
in
Kapsberger's
Rome'.
that
of
we
master
performances were presumably
held in academies, such as the Accademia degli Umoristi, or even his own academy that
7 During the time he was
house.
held
his
in
under the patronage of the Barberini
was
family, he did not participate in any of the Barberini operas as a continuo player and his
been
limited
have
'seem
to the academies-both
to
performances
in and out of the
Barberini Palace-of which no record survives'! Even though there is no direct evidence
that Kapsberger was performing as a continuo player in ensembles, an idea of his
from
be
the publications that contain intabulated song
gleaned
accompaniment style can
bass.
instructions
These publications are: Libro
playing
on
over
a
accompaniments and
primo and Libro terzo di villanelle of 1610 and 1619 respectively, Libro primo de arie
d'intavolatura
di
Libro
1612
terzo
and
chicarone of 1626.
passeggiate of
5.1.
Libro primo and libro terzo di villanelle
Kapsberger is known to have composed seven books of villanelle. All of them, together
basso
line
first
continuo
the
provide
a
the
and
a
guitar
alfabeto,
part(s),
while
with
vocal
books
third
the
also contain a chitarrone tablature accompaniment. Books one and
and
three are engraved, while the rest are printed. This explains why tablature is not
included in the printed books, as tablature typographical characters were not common
Although
known,
is
it seems to be one
the
the
name
thus
of
engraver not
expensive.
and
have
Kapsberger's
Bordones
Libro primo di arie
to
also
appears
the
engraved
who
of
6 Cornelis de Waard, (ed.), Correspondance du P. Marin Mersenne

religieux minime, i (Paris: G.
Beauchesne, 1932), 438: 'Il joue aussi fort bien de la Tiorbe en laquelle it est estim6 le premier maistre
que nous ayons Rome'.
' Coelho, 'Kapsberger in Rome', 116-7. For the musical activity in Roman
academies see Frederick
Hammond, Music & Spectacle in Baroque Rome (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1994), 103-13.
Ibid. 128.
51
books
letters
layout
1612,
to
the
one and
and
page
are similar
as the
passeggiate of
'
three. The title pages of the first and the third book read:
LIBRO PRIMO DI VILLANELLE
/12
et 3 voci accommodate per qual si
voglia / strumento con l'intavolatura del Chitarone / et alfabeto per la Chitarra

Spagnola / DEL SIG: GIO: GIROLAMO
RACCOLTO
KAPSPERGER NOBILE ALEMAno /
/ Dal Sig: Cavalier Flamminio Flamminii
/ del ordine di S
Stefano / Con Privilegio et licenza de superiori In Roma. 1610.

LIBRO TERZO / DI VILLANELLE
/a1.2.
et 3. voci accommodate per qual si
del
l'intavolatura
Chitarone
/
la
Chitarra
/
con
et
alfabeto
per
vo glia stromento
Spagnola / DEL SIG. ` GIO. GIROLAMO
KAPSPERGER. / Nobile Alemano. /
Raccolto. / Dal Sig. ' Francesco Porta / IN ROMA. / Con Privilegio et licenza de
/ Superiori / 1619.
The title pages of both books are followed by the prefatory material, which consists
The
introductory
dedicatory
to
the
the
reader.
editor's
editor of
address
poem
and
of a
the first book, Flamminio Flamminii,
is fairly illuminating
about the nature of the
been
follows.
describes
[which)
have
'scherzi
He
the
pieces
that
as
amorozi
music
...
10
be
but
keeps
few
Kapsberger's
days',
in
true
might
not
noble
which
with
composed a
status.
The villanelle that follow the prefatory material are presented in score format with
below
bass
line
the
the
tablature
chitarrone
placed
and
with
aligned,
the parts vertically
"
highest
The
All
texts
the
the
are
strophic.
voice.
villanella
the guitar alfabeto above
text of the first stanza is placed underneath the vocal part(s), while the text of the
bottom
(see
illustration
is/are
the
the
placed
at
of
page
remaining stanza(s)
5.1). In the
first book the bass part has no continuo figuring. Although the character of the chord
bass
defined
by
is
be
has
the
note
the mensural vocal part(s),
usually
to
placed above
that
' Kathi Meyer and Eva J. O'Mera, 'The Printing of Music 1473-1934',
The Dolphin, 2 (1935), 190.
10Kapsberger, Libro primo di villanelle, 3: 'Questi scherzi amorosi

in pochi giorni composti sono
...
stati'.
Transcriptions of the alfabeto chords used in Kapsberger'seditions can be found in appendix II, part
II. 1.
52
for
In
is
solo
such cases, the chitarrone
the
especially
voice
songs.
case,
this
not always
be
have
to
consulted.
the
alfabeto
guitar
or
tablature
bass line
is figured
according
In the third
to the early seventeenth-century
book, however, the

madrigal
figuring
by
flats
for
Kapsberger
figures
The
are
sharps
and
major and minor thirds,
used
practice.
6
for
first
6
43 for cadentialsuspensions,
4
or secondinversion chords.
and or
In order for the tablature to be consistent with the mensural notation a tuning
in A is required for the chitarrone. Concerning the type of instrument designated for the
Kapsberger's
is
the
chitarrone
as
corpus
there
no
uncertainty,
whole
of
accompaniment,
first
lowered
for
instrument
tuning
the
two
courses
a
re-entrant
with
with
an
music calls
12
first
define
in
However,
the
to
the accompanying style
attempts
one
of
very
an octave.
faro
donna
by
in
Stanley
Buetens,
'Che
Kapsberger's
gratta'
of early seventeenth-century
13
first
lowered
from the first book appears transcribed with only the
an octave.
course
Buetens does not explain this decision, reflecting the confusion on the nature of the
Concerning
its
the number of courses,
the
time
of
publication.
tuning
at
chitarrone and
diatonically
7-11
for
instrument
first
book
tuned
with courses
a twelve-course
the
calls
book
The
F#.
in
'S'io
third
tuned
sospiro',
as
and course twelve, which appearsonly once
by
is
implied
instrument,
for
the use of course
as
an eighteen-course
seems to call
However,
it
F#.
dolore'
is
in
'Disperato
just
is
tuned
as
and
once
used
eighteen, which
book.
12-17
be
the
entire
are not used throughout
pointed out that courses
should
" Although Kapsbergerdescribesthe re-entrant tuning in the prefaceof his Libro terzo d'intavolatura
di chitarone (1626), the use of the re-entrant tuning is implied from his first chitarrone book both by the
fingering
for
for
latter
leading
the
of
a
specific
the
use
pattern
see
arpeggiation;
of the music and
voice
TheodorosKitsos, 'Arpeggiated Chordsin Early Seventeenth-CenturyItaly', The Lute, 42 (2002), 54-72.
" StanleyBuetens,Theorbo Accompanimentsof Early Seventeenth-CenturyItalian Monody',Journal of
43-4.
6
(1973),
Society
Lute
ofAmerica,
the
53
CU
ti
jmnmat acc
esr
uiminat ' acc est
M"
C.
ri
losiiicor
%anrpiSour
A B(i
m'anren
N
P-4
"
inat' occi
ert
hf
elr'ar.
torfa
feri
certh'
fir, i
en
ta'occlii
J
0
'
8
sCs
M,
. '"
({ } ;.
L il
Ji
ia
si Cie
r'aua
i (A!
n'aua
OtlO farrla
ZL"
vona tr"
ria vosraer
ii
ra prorro
CH.
LCA
bI
crcza c to " omo aua(ike nonv osi occ ' 6d1''cc4 e- i occlateg"
ccrra
ro vi
drama
A-
x
DrhverSC
'
jw4te
-fl-
An d'
km;
fauille,
jOaLAStme
liice
tr'eSt!
anYOroS4
crr// Otcie0eirocCla'Seueri
Slfeglra
lenrpreanrwtt'
YugraJ
alktl /1 voS7'/
la/rlfa[
/
fllfaAN
Yc'rJr !K f/Ol
t/i'io
uon rarq
kSb'al"ira/A *al[[ctert
su yt6r'a!?
Oct/ri
ir,
e yitlali
iingt rba
J//'a'enOttl
JEantna
Occ/ AW
" JA
_
iiratr
i vOSrf't .arq/f
a,
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,
c6/r"o ldgaoseb'o
truai
occ%i enb"oa%mioll'd
cte frer
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st
degno
i
si
occ%6eGl'ocar oal,
t do .
a
CO8
se
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r>'a
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non v'a/mie non v'oaore

Aa 1ila iilOre"
lerelld
"
ILLUSTRATION
5.1: 'Fulminate' from Girolamo G. Kapsberger,Libro terzo di
villanelle (Rome,
1640), 6.
54
The transcription of the tablature with the two first courses lowered an octave does
b.
display
5 of 'Hor ch'amorosi accenti'
the
problems,
with
only
exception
any
not
of
(example
been
5.1),
have
4
which might
an oversight of
where an arbitrary chord appears
the re-entrant tuning.
EXAMPLE5.1: 'Hor ch'amorosi accenti', Kapsberger, Libro primo di villanelle, 19, bb. 5-6.
G
Cor - ri, cot - ri Al - Is eet
J.
che na-scon - d'il coo
Chinrone
This is the only
kind
this
occurrence of
throughout
Kapsberger's villanelle
first
intabulated
if
his
that,
ever
accompaniments of songs
we assume
accompaniments,
few
days.
is
he
Besides that, there
Flamminii
accurate,
that
composed within a
saying
are places in the intabulations where a sophisticated use of the re-entrant tuning occurs,
like the opening bar of 'Negatemi pur cruda', where the bass f# is placed on the second
fifth
be
it
the
course
where would
expected (example 5.2).
course and not on
Although
there are some common features, the tablature accompaniments of
Kapsberger's villanelle show a completely different approach to the accompaniment

in
due
Rossi's
This
in
is
the
to
one
encountered
to the
comparison
madrigals.
style
dissimilar style of composition and the different form of the music in their collections.
While Rossi presents accompaniments of madrigals based on pre-existing polyphonic
for
Kapsberger
harmonically
essential
offers
accompaniments
models,
conceived
vocal
basso
line.
On
hand,
Rossi's madrigals were
continuo
the
clear
a
with
one
strophic songs
55
based
on the old polyphonic compositional manner, though adding modern
composed
hand,
Kapsberger's
On
the
villanelle work the other way round, as they
other
elements.
few
Kapsberger's
The
retain
old-fashioned
texture
elements.
of
which
are continuo songs
villanelle is predominately chordal with the technique of imitation
not often used.
When used though, usually in two or three-voice villanelle, it does not usually affect the
being
chordal character of the accompaniment, with the most characteristic example
fourteenth-century
'Alla
in
Italian caccia
to
the
caccia', which refers
that of the opening
(example 5.3). The text setting is, in general terms, syllabic with a few fully notated
before
in
'usually
than
occur
no
more
the
once
a
piece,
occur
and
which
ornaments
"
cadenceseither at the end of a section or at the end of a piece'.
Examining Kapsberger's intabulated accompaniments in detail, various expected
be
found.
fiori'
features
desta
'SU'
i
is
to
a good example of these
are
and unexpected
features (appendix I, part 1.2).
EXAMPLE 5.2: 'Negatemi pur cruda', Kapsberger, Libroprimo
RE
CAB
It - mi
put
cru
da
Ne - ga
cc -
1
mi
pur
ccu
da
Ne - ga
to - mi
pur
cru
da
Ne - ga
di villanelle, 16, bb. 1-2.
9
F9E
's
v:
J.J J.
O
B
Y.
Chinrone
" James Forbes, 'The Nonliturgical

Ph. D. diss. (University
of North
Vocal Music of Johannes Hieronymous Kapsberger (1580-1651)',
Carolina at Chapel Hill,
1977), 216. For more about the musical
Kapsberger's
in
ibid.
189-222.
villanelle
see
text
setting
characteristics and
56
EXAMPLE 5.3: 'Alla caccia', Kapsberger,
Libroprimo
di villanelle,
5, bb. 1-6.
C
05
tf
13L:
LI
ti
_jJ;;
J.
II
Ij
Chicuone
Treatment of the bassline

The prime concern in Kapsberger's accompaniments is the respect for the mensural
bass line, which is reproduced almost unaltered in the accompaniment. Because in a
fundamental
bass
line,
line
is
important
to
the
any
equally
melodic
continuo song the
Thus,
harmonic
the
the
any alterations
structure of
piece.
modifications would change
bass
line
done
in
Kapsberger's
in
are
order to emphasize an already existing
encountered
character.
"
Bass notes are transposed an octave downwards (or duplicated by a lower
instrument
in
the
the
take
and sometimes
to
advantage
of
resonance
of
order
octave)
bb.
distinguishable
(see
2,3
5).
and
section
more
such
a
the
cadence of
make
"
Octave leaps are added in order to provide harmonic and rhythmic
bb.
bb.
Focusing
in
18,19
27.
18-19,
and
on
we see that the
see
as
we
articulation
further
following
in
bars:
b.
bass
lead
in
20,
to
the
alterations
the
added octave-leaps
be
first
been
has
three
to
crotchets,
something
that
to
sight seems
altered
a
at
rhythm
been
bass
line
has
b.
21,
in
the
transposed an octave upwards and an
misprint; and,
beat
been
bar,
bass
line
leap
has
the
on
second
added
the
of
thus
the
octave
making
57
b.
been
This
isorhythmic
has
in
19.
retained throughout
way, an
similar to that
model
the triple section. This isorhythmic conversion of the bass line is quite common in
Kapsberger's triple sections. It is also evident in b. 4, where the bass line minim has
been divided into two crotchets. All three crotchets accommodate a chord but it is of
fuller
first
d,
it
thus
the
contains
a
that
making
note
only
and stronger, and allowing
downbeat
in
to
the
the possibility of strumming
order
make
more distinguishable.
"A
further rhythmic alteration occurs in places where the bass and the
following
have
the
anticipation of the
chord in the place of the
vocal parts rest and we
bb.
This
happens
in
13
26.
and
shift is used in order to give a lift to the mood
rest, as
b.
beginning
in
13
'non
dormir
to
the
the
of
a
new
strophe
reaction
text
and
a
reflecting
b.
in
26.
(do
sleep
anymore)
not
piu'
With the exception of obvious misprints or the inaccuracy described in example
5.1, there are few places where the accompaniment does not follow the continuo line. In
b. 7 of 'All'ombra',
one of the few villanelle where there is motivic imitation,
the
beginning
in
line
is
the
the
chitarrone
of a new
accompaniment
at
absent
continuo
harmonic
line,
lack
is
thus,
there
new
a
of
support.
that
a
and,
accommodates
phrase
Instead, the chitarrone doubles the motif of the vocal part. The doubling of this motif is
bars
but
following
in
harmonic
(example
in
the
conjunction
support
with
continued
5.4a). However, when the same motif
reappears later in the piece, again at the
beginning of a new section, it receives totally different treatment with just one full and
(example
Another
5.4b).
very scarce occasion where the
supportive chord underneath
from
bass
deviates
line
is
is
the
the
continuo
one
note
of
when
changed
accompaniment
in order to modify the first inversion of a chord to a root position (example 5.5). For this
fundamental,
is
there are two possible explanations: it is either
not
modification, which
decision
in
tuning
or
conscious
the
a
re-entrant
order to avoid the use of
an oversight of
higher positions of the instrument thus making the tablature easier to perform.
58
di villanelle, 8, (a) bb. 7-9, (b) bb. 19-20. Is
EXAMPLE5.4: 'A11'ombra', Kapsberger, Libroprimo
(b)
(a)
co
ri
do
ri
r_
Cor-rib bel - Is li
19
f di per lei w
Cor-rib bel -I&
li
co
ri, car-rib bel - la li
--
t)"-
ff,
JJJ. J
e--
Chinmne
J.J
3
8--r
J.J
3
9
I
II
4&A
ir
m
a-
[o]
s
34
01)-9
JJ
nd
a
P
X
EXAMPLE5.5: 'Oluci amate', Kapsberger, Libro terzo di villanelle, 23, bb. 1-2.
BD0B
Nature of the accompaniment

The accompaniments built upon the bass line vary in character. In 'S desta i fiori'
(appendix
I,
part
1.2) different
approaches on the accompaniment
are clearly
" Although it appears that there is a displacement of the slur in the soprano part in b. 20 since it would
be expected to involve the dissonant note and its resolution, this is actually a quite common feature in
Kapsberger's music. See,for instance, 'Ultimi miei sospiri', b. 1 and 'Interrotte speranze', b. 1 (appendix I,
1.4).
1.3
and
parts
59
demonstrated. For the opening of the piece (bb. 1-4), solid and sonorous chords are
full
harmonic support to the vocal part. From then on this
used, providing therefore a
from
6
b.
to the end of the piece a persistent two-part
thin
to
and
chordal texture starts
This
is
ceaseswith the use of chords with three or more voices at the
writing
used.
because
of their harmonic significance. The two-part
cadencesat the end of each section
for
is
exclusively
when accompanying a single voice, while,
employed almost
writing
becomes
richer as more parts are used. The two-parts,
the
accompaniment
more voices,
however, should not be regarded as lean because on plucked
instruments-and
can sound rich and give clarity to the bassline.
particularly on the chitarrone-it
The chordal writing in Kapsberger's accompaniments is simple, following the basic

bass
harmonisation.
The
note usually implies the root of the
rules of seventeenth-century
first
but
imply
inversion chord. In order to identify the chord, the
it
a
chord
may also
be
for
into
This
first
is
book,
taken
the
the
account.
not
part(s)
must
merely
case
singing
but
for
figure
bass
is
6,
the
third
also
the
one,
unfigured,
where
which indicates a
where
first inversion, is rarely used. The presence of 4 chords is very scarce, strictly limited to
long held notes, and always figured (example 5.6). As for dissonant chords, such as 7 or
6
figured.
in
infrequently
the
these
accompaniment,
never
appear
which
are
,
EXAMPLE5.6: 'Alma fugace',Kapsberger,Libro terzo di villanelle, 16, bb. 1-3.
CB
D
Al
ma
fit
Ca
3r
d-
ma c6'A
Ii
Chinrone
60
Further features presented by the accompaniment are the use of major or minor
43
Cadential
43
the
of
suspensions
at
cadences.
suspensions are
and
addition
chords
added to the dominant chord at almost every opportunity.
Even in the third book,
figured,
is
bass
is
the
of
suspensions
not limited to the places where they
use
where the
free
figured,
When
by
is
the
the
them.
of
suspension
use
revealing
sung
a vocal part,
are
both
dissonance
duplicates
the
and the resolution (examples 5.2 and
the accompaniment
5.3), in contrast with the modern practice where only the dissonance is played and the
"
The
in
Kapsberger's
left
is
the
exception
to
singer.
only
villanelle, where the
resolution
by
duplicated
dissonance
is
the accompaniment, is that of b. 5 in
the
not
resolution of
'Sri desta i fiori'. Although it seems very tempting to view this as a different treatment
in
the
a solo song, where the solo voice is presented with only the
suspension
of
does
be
in
three-voice
to
the
two
this
or
to
contrast
villanelle,
not
seem
accompaniment
firstly,
in
for
in
two
other
similar
occasions
other songs, the
two
the case
reasons:
by
duplicated
dissonance
is
the accompaniment; and secondly, the
the
resolution of
6,
first
beat
b.
is
originally placed upon the
of
which
minim tablature rhythmical sign
beat
last
but
in
displacement
indicate,
the
the
omission
of
ab
of
minim
an
not a
might
be
dissonance's
b.
Doubling
5.
to
resolution
a
seems
a vestige of sixteenth-century
of
during
in
In
43
the
that
use
chords
seventeenth
century.
with
well
practice
was
b.
is
Although
(see
3).
occasionally
seventh
added
suspensions a minor
it is often
feature,
dominant
later
in
the
the
addition
of
seventh
a
minor
chords at
a
considered as
been
have
a common practice in the early seventeenth-century as it is also
cadencesmust
implied by solo instrumental music (seeexample 5.7).
16As far as the writer is aware, none of the seventeenth-century accompaniment treatises refers to the
dissonance's
in
This
this
the
resolution
when
solo
appears
of
a
part.
unwritten
omission
rule lies on
in
Andreas
Werckmeister's
Die nothwendigsten and
which
are
presented
reasons
practical
and
aesthetical
Regeln wie der Bassus continuus (1698; 2nd edn., Aschersleben: G. E. Strunze, 1715), 42: '... when the
(einen
is
sentiment
anmuthigen
pleasing
expressing
singer
afTectum) by the dissonance written,
if
he
(Genera!
walk not warily, may spoil the whole pleasing effect
thoughtless accompanist
-Bassiste),
from
Art
Arnold,
dissonance';
ofAccompaniment, 39-40.
quoted
with the same
61
EXAMPLE5.7: Partite variate sopra quest'Aria francese detta l'Alemana, Piccinini, Incavolatura,
104, final bars.
Concerning the use of major and minor chords, the key and the vocal part(s) are
for
the accompaniment. Quite often in the third book the chords are
used as guides
defined by the use of sharps and flats. However, at cadences,either interior or final, the
final chord is always major, as is the preceding dominant chord (see bb. 3-4,11-12),
except when cross-relations with the voice line(s) would result. Even in the caseswhere
from
by
final
implied
is
is
the
the
the
chitarrone
the third
part,
absent
major
chord
also
b.
by
This
Agostino
(see
26).
practice
the
corresponds
guitar alfabeto
rule given
with
Agazzari that 'all cadences, whether middle or final desire the major third'. " An
b.
is
9. Although there is a diplomatic realization of the
that
of
exception to this rule
chitarrone part with no third present on the first beat of b. 9, the possibility of using a
by
is
the guitar G minor chord. The reason for that is quite
third
precluded
major
follows
is an embellished repetition of the previous one and the
that
the
evident:
phrase
use of a major chord would result in the ceasing of the musical flow and the weakening
b.
in
12. The overall approach in the use of the chords seems to be rather
the
of
cadence
more tonal than modal as shown in b. 2, where aD major chord is preferred to aD
fit
equally well.
minor chord that would
Returning to the two-part writing
of the accompaniment, two styles are evident.
The first one is that presented in bb. 6-12, where the added part moves mainly in
intervals of thirds but also sixths over the bass line, providing harmonic definition. The
17Agostino Agazzari, Del sonare, 6: 'Tutte 1'accadenze,6 mezzane, 6 finali,

voglion la terza maggiore'.
62
from
b.
is
13 onwards and it is similar to the previous
style
presented
apparent
second
one, as it consists of the parallel movement in thirds above the bass line, more or less
reproducing the vocal line. This is another occurrence, in addition to the 43 suspensions,
where the accompaniment doubles the vocal part. Although such a doubling makes
more sensein two- or three-voice songs, it should not be surprising as it was thus used
during the late Renaissancesolo songs.1eIt might look like an àmateurism' according to
the modern standards, but there is supporting evidence that it was still in use at the
beginning of the seventeenth century: Girolamo Giacobbi in his preface to his Prima
parse dei salmi concertati (1609) states that the soprano part does not need to be played
all the time, ìmplying that it was played at least intermittently
[and) suggesting)
...
"
doubling
is
the
the
of
soprano part needed to support the singer'.
that
occasional
A final feature of Kapsberger's intabulations
is an embellishing
motif
often
employed in triple time accompaniments (example 5.8).
EXAMPLE5.8: 'Fiorite valli', Kapsberger, Libro primo di villanelle, 4, b. 1.

H
G0
1eIn Galilei, Fronimo dialogo 1584,14-17 for example, the lute accompaniment 'Qual miracolo
of
Amore' reproducesfaithfully the singing part.
19Borgir, Performance, 129.
63
This, in addition to the flattened sevenths occasionally added to cadential dominant

chords, are the only crumbs of added melodic activity
in Kapberger's villanelle
accompaniments.
5.2.
Libro primo di arie passeggiate
The remaining book that contains intabulated accompaniments is a collection of solo

book
is
intabulations,
like
Just
this
the
collections
also engraved
with
villanelle
songs.
by one of the Bordones as mentioned above. The title page, which is particularly
beautiful, bears Kapsberger's coat of arms20(illustration 5.2) and reads:
LIBRO PRIMO / DI ARIE Passeggiatte I Una Voce / Con l'intavolatura del
Chitarone / Del Sig.' / GIO: GIROLAMO
KAPSPERGER / Nobile Alemano. /
RACCOLTO / Dal Sig': Cav. fra Jacomo / Christoforo Ab Andlaw del / Ordine
di S.' Gio: Battista / In Roma 1612 / Con Privilegio.
The book contains twenty-two
songs and, although described as a collection of
"
One
'Interrotte
it
is
in
the
solo
of
pieces,
madrigals.
collection
of
voice
a
essence
arias,
4),
instrumental
I.
I,
(appendix
contains
ritornelli;
part
speranze'
the use of an obligato
instrument is not strictly necessarybecausethe melody is also included in the chitarrone

but
('Dove
in
in
is
The
the
the
one
soprano
clef
all
of
songs
notated
part.
vocal part
bass
in
The
is
texts are poetic, though without any
the
clef.
notated
misero mai'), which
"
form,
('Mentre
Angioletta')
The
is
them
one
of
vaga
only
strophic.
and
standard poetic
love.
hopeless
is
the
songs
theme of all
20 The editor, Christoforo Andlaw,

Unfortunately
makes this clear in his introductory
address to Kapsberger.
does
the
of
collection
not contain any essential information about the
material
the prefatory
follows.
that
music
21Zygmunt
M. Szweykowski, 'Kapsberger-successor
to Monteverdi? ' in Silke Leopold and Joachim
Steinheuer (eds.) Claudio Monteverdi and die Folgen (Kassel: Brenreiter, 1998), 312.
22Forbes, Nonliturgical
Vocal Music, 82.
64
The layout of the pages is similar to that of the villanelle collections, with the solo
by
bass
However,
line
followed
guitar
the
tablature.
the
chitarrone
and
voice on the top
because
included,
is
the guitar was considered more of an
presumably
not
alfabeto
accompanying instrument
songs rather than
for light
strophic
through-composed
songs
infused with embellishments and in the style of

"
bass
line
is
The
unfigured with the
recitative.
bar
in
'Io
io
amo,
ardo',
only exception of one
where a6
chord and a43
suspension are
indicated. Once again, the vocal part and the

be
in
have
to
consulted
tablature
chitarrone
order to define the character of the chords.
The type of instrument
for
the
required
is
a nineteen-course chitarrone.
accompaniment
Such an instrument
covers all the chromatic
ILLUSTRATION5.2: Kapsberger'scoat
of arms. Detail from the title-page of
Libro
primo
di
ark
passeggiare
(Rome, 1612).
A'
(see
2.3),
between
A
thus allowing the precise
two,
chapter
example
and
notes
bass
line
the
and eliminating the need of transposing upwards an octave
reproduction of
bass notes that do not otherwise exist. However, seeing that such an instrument was in
it
by
in
1612,
Kapsberger
the
raises questions on
collection
was
printed,
arie
when
use
There,
in
1619
it
the
collection
of
villanelle.
with the use of course
was not used
why
19, octave leaps in melodies intended to be conjunct could have been avoided (example
24
5-9).
23 It should be pointed out however that Kapsberger's recitative in this collection is not a typical
first
fashion.
See
in
it
in
constitutes
a
composing
rather
attempt
this
new
melodic
and
the
style
example of
Szweykowski, 'Kapsberger', 312-13.
2' Although a revision of the number of chitarrone's courses in order to meet the demand of the market
looks plausible (nineteen-course instruments were not very common), this does not seem to be the case
65
EXAMPLE5.9: 'Disperato dolore', Kapsberger, Libro primo di villanelle, 11, b. 10-11.

A
10
ri-"
l'
6"'li7TT
[A
Chinrone
The style of accompaniment in Libro primo di arie follows the same principles
described in the villanelle books (see appendix I, parts I. 3 and I. 4). The bass line of the
bass
is
identical
the
to
part, suggesting the possibility
almost
written
accompaniment
'
from
bass
derived
the chitarrone tablature and not vice versa.
part
that the written
However, the downward octave transposition (or duplication)
of bass notes in the
intabulated accompaniment still occurs, as well as octave leaps, for the sake of harmonic
for
bb.
(see
I,
1.3,
3,6-7, and part 1.4,
example
part
appendix
and rhythmic articulation
bb. 6,9-10).
Furthermore, bass notes with long values are broken into shorter values in
figure,
to
a
chord
or
add
a
cadential
so that the chitarrone part to suits the
restrike
order
4,
keeps
b.
(appendix
instrument
I,
I.
21).
the
the
part
sound
of
alive
word stressesand
Due to the nature of music in the arie collection, we expect to find not only new
but
in
the
accompaniments,
also an expanded use of already presented features
elements
in the villanelle collections. Cadential patterns are not restricted to 43 or 437 but they
like
to
schemes
expanded
are
5.10) and
#7
4#44#
(appendix I, part 1.4, b. 33), or
7 s
# (example
(example 5.11) with the use of second inversion chords.
because Kapsberger's later editions 1626 and 1640 for solo chitarrone were intended for a nineteen-course
instrument.
Z' North, Continuo Playing, 212.
66
EXAMPLE5.10: 'Io amo, io ardo', Kapsberger, Libroprimo

-"
di arie, 27, b. 7.
r(
giot - ni piu lie -
s'il
tjIt
mio co - re
02
F;
]r-LT.
uM
'i
1ia1
C"Q
Chitarone
EXAMPLE5.11: 'Occhi soli d'Amore', Kapsberger, Libro primo di arie, 5, b. 29.

7
29
iKMV
4
LI
uar
II
nar
[U
Chiarone
0.
0
X
I
x
I
x
n
0
i-I
Nevertheless, the use of second inversion chords is strictly limited to cadencesand

long held notes as in the villanelle collection (see example 5.6). Although still not very
flattened
dominant
limited
in
in
to
sevenths
cadential
use, passing notes are not
much
by
interval
but
to
the
used
connect
chords
related
they
also
of the second
are
chords
(example 5.12) or third (appendix I, part 1.4, b. 5).
67
EXAMPLE5.12: 'Se la mia vita sete', Kapsberger, Libro primo di arie, 9, bb. 16-17.
w
(dar)
m
F2
mi pe
ne
10]
0
Chi[uone
In contrast with Rossi's approach, the addition of passing notes in Kapsberger's ar/e
bass
line
is
the
to
to
the
parts
upper
and
never
of the intabulated
restricted
collection
accompaniment, with the only exception that in example 5.12. The use of a passing
by
interval
is
in
the
of a second
also characteristic, thus
chords related
major sixth
function
dominant
(example
5.13).
the
a
chord
preceding
making
EXAMPLE5.13: 'Mentre vaga Angiolett Kapsberger, Libro primo di arie, 21, bb. 38-9.
,
38
va
gran
ti
F2
tF
J7;
d
Chinrone
Regarding first inversion chords, the sixth above the bass note is occasionally
delayed and it comes as the resolution of a suspended dissonant seventh (example 5.14).
This is a new feature in Kapsberger's accompaniments together with the use of
chords
function
before
the cadence (example 5.15).
with a subdominant
68
EXAMPLE5.14: 'Lasso ch'io ardo', Kapsberger, Libro primo di arie, 13, bb. 45-7.
4
r
EH
" BUS,
e duo bell' -chi
chin
Ri
si.
m02
F;
0
Chiamne
E
x
EXAMPLE 5.15: 'Occhi soli d'Amore', Kapsberger, Libro primo di arie, 4-5, bb. 16-17.
16
EH
non
wf-fit
co
..
P[L
F;
r
[J
Chicuone
-I
I- - L-1
m==m=9;w=
J. J
J]
s
However, the most significant use of dissonance in Kapsberger's accompaniments is

bb.
In
23-4
'Interrotte
(appendix
I,
it
to
the
text.
reaction
of
speranze'
comes
a
as
when
66 66
but
he
1.4)
introduces
only
a
chromatic
not
movement of the voice
part
also 54 chords
lustri
lagrimando
i
interi'
(spending
'spender
in
the
text
entire
quinquenniums
under
bars
Even
the
opening
of 'Ultimi
more striking are
weeping).
miei sospiri' (appendix I,
b.
Kapsberger
dissonances
In
1,
I.
3).
two
creates
successive
part
under the word 'sospiri'
(sighs), one with the placement of a4 chord, " and another with the clash between the f#
26For Kapsberger,the useof 2 seemsto be a preferredoption to the 2

usedwidely by his contemporaries
like Claudio Monteverdi; seealso the opening of 'Io patio achi dura voce' Kapsberger,Libroprimo di arie,
17.
69
delayed
dissonance)
(the
the
vocal
and
resolution of the previous
of the accompaniment
due
be
first
From
to the tasteless
to
the
seems
poor,
the
very
accompaniment
sight,
g:
doubling of the melody notes in its bass part. However, as the F# flat-fifth chord has to
be arpeggiated and the note a comes first, the resulting progression works extremely
be
deliberate
f#
bass
line
Here,
a
the alteration of the written
a to an
seems to
well.
decision, as the aural result with the arpeggiation is completely different from how it
looks when written. In b. 4, under the word 'martiri' (sufferings), two dissonances are
in
but
the same chord.
they
time
this
aligned
as
appear
vertically,
again apparent
Besides the clash between the vocal c" and the accompaniment B and d, Kapsberger
adds a suspended seventh, thus making the word painting even more perceptible.
Word painting however, is not apparent in interior cadential chords. Although it
be
final
if
be
the
of
a
cadence
major
even
shortly after
that
chord
would
expected
would
the voice introduces a new phrase with a minor third-a
modern performances-this
in
established
practice
widely
is not the case in Kapsberger's accompaniments. While
Kapsberger constantly uses major chords in interior cadenceswhere the minor third is
27
if
is
he
by
being
the
third
going
minor
major
chord
the
never
places
a
voice,
not
sung
for
This
is
before
follow
the
painting.
new
chord,
not
even
sake
of
the
of
a
word
strike
to
4),
A
b.
(appendix
I.
'Interrotte
I,
in
31
the
part
with
of
speranze'
the caseof the cadence
b.
in
'pene'
(anguishes),
it
is
19
of
and
even
more
obvious
the
word
minor chord under
'Augelin the la nove', with the C minor chord under the words 'tormenti'
(torments)
(example
5.16).
(suffer)
'soffrirete'
and
2' A very scarce exception to this rule can be viewed in example 5.14. Concerning final cadences,
final
the
the
chord is always major. The conclusion in Forbes, Nonlirurgical
collection,
throughout
Vocal
Music, 90-1, that the chitarrone part indicates sometimes the presence of a minor final chord, is not
his
In
to
the
used
support
example
argument, the tablature has been misinterpreted,
realistic.
thus
providing a wrong transcription.
70
EXAMPLE5.16: 'Augelin the la voce', Kapsberger, Libroprimo
di arie, 28, b. 19-20.
19
r-e
R"p
e
G=
to P-
t_Jp. r'
HP
(tot) - men
ti
iof-fri-re
p=9
- re voi
F2Z
[U]
Chicorone
Xi
A final feature is the use of different styles of accompaniments for repeated phrases.
`Lassoch'io ardo', the only piece that accommodates a strophic text, contains a passage
that appearsonce in each of the four strophes. Kapsberger treats the accompaniment in a
different way the first three times and, only the fourth time, he repeats what he has
first
The
time he uses a broken effect, following the
presented on the third occasion.
written
bass line and doubling the vocal part literally;
the second he restrikes the
dissonances created between the bass and the vocal line; while the third and the fourth
time he puts straightforward chords over the bass line despite the clashes caused with
the vocal part (example 5.17). The differentiated accompaniment for this recurring
motif suggests that the tablature is not necessarily prescriptive, thus offering more
options to the performer.
Kapsberger's intabulations could be characterized as fine accompaniments with
for
the accompanying style of the early seventeenth
guide
shapes,
a
very
useful
good
century. Occasional discrepancies, such as the parallel motion of chords, which create
fifths
different
timing of the resolution of a dissonance (example
octaves,
or
and
parallel
5.18) are more evident on paper than to the ear. Furthermore, as players and singers
were not, and are not, always expected to play and sing exactly what is written, such
71
discords can easily be resolved with, among other things, the tasteful employment of
different kinds of arpeggiation and an awarenessof the vocal line.
EXAMPLE 5.17: Different realizations of the same passage from 'Lasso ch'io ardo', Kapsberger,
Libro primo di arie, 11-13.
IR tim
In time
Ind time
In tim
10
-3
x
[/]
25
9
r
x
72
EXAMPLE5.18: 'Lasso ch'io ardo', Kapsberger, Libro primo di arie, 13, b. 42.
42
(in)
M.
tH
cor
mil
le
9
I
PCK.
f
C0]
x
Chincone
XX
Whether Kapsberger's intabulations, both in the villanelle and arie collections,

represent what a professional would do in an actual performance is difficult to say. They
by
an experienced player, almost certainly Kapsberger himself (see
were surely made
below, pp. 82-3), presumably with the intention to attract and educate a wider public
from
lutenists
bass
but
buyers,
line
the
to
who were not able
realize
of
namely amateur
could read tablature. One should not expect the player to play exactly what is written in
but
to adopt the main principles of the style and to perform according to
the tablatures,
his personal taste and imagination. Kapsberger himself shows that there is not one and
only way of playing (seeexample 5.17). Bassocontinuo by nature has an improvisational
line(s)
to
the
support
vocal
and the delivery of the text.
character with one purpose,
5.3.
Libro terzo d'intavolatura
Although
primarily
di chitarone
a collection
of music
for
solo chitarrone
with
continuo
book
is an extraordinary source of accompaniment style during the
this
accompaniment,
first half of the seventeenth century. In addition to the chitarrone music, it contains
tables of how to realize chords above bass notes and cadencesand also examples of how
to improvise and ornament above the bass. This ornamental function was, as discussed
by
described
Agazzari
but,
until the rediscovery of Kapsberger's Libro terzo
above, well
73
d'intavolatura di chitarone, no actual musical examples were available from the first half
of the seventeenth century.
Libro terzo has been a mystery for players and scholars because, although the
2S
known,
However,
impossible.
it
any accessto was
existence of a surviving copy of was
by
bought
Sotheby's
it
book
in
December
7
2001,
the
auction on
and
was
appeared a
Yale University and it is now housed in the University Music Library with call number
M142 C54 K17+bk. 3.29The book, like Kapsberger's other publications with tablature,
is engraved. The title page, which bears Kapsberger's coat of arms, reads:
LIBRO
TERZO
/ D'INTAVOLATURA
DI
CHITARONE
/ CON
SUE
TAVOLE PER SONAR SOPRA LA PARTE / DEL SIG: / GIO: GIROLAMO

KAPSPERGER / NOBILE ALEMANO
SIG: / MICHELE
PRIULI
NOBILE
/ IN ROMA 1626 / RACCOLTO DAL

VENETIANO
/ CON PRIVILEGI
ET
LICENZA DI SUPERIORI.
The prefatory material that follows consists of a dedicatory poem to Michele Priuli,
Kapsberger's
by
Bondimier,
Leonardo
and
of
avvertimentt-the
the editor,
instructions
for reading the tablature. He gives information on the instrument tuning and the signs
fingering,
hand
(slurs),
trilli,
right
strascini
and triplets.
arpeggiation,
of
and execution
Kapsberger makes it clear that the chitarrone and the theorbo are the same instruments
in that when he provides the instrument tuning, he designates it for 'Chitarone overo
Tiorba'. The pages that follow the avvertimenti are missing and, starting again at page
7, the book continues until to page 48. Until page 34 the book contains solo music with
from
deals
35
Kapsberger
page
onwards,
while,
with matters
accompaniment
continuo
38 RISM records its existance in Biblioteca
Raimondo Ambrosini
in Bologna [K 194]; Karlheinz
Schlager, Einzeldrucke vor 1800 of Repertoire International des SourcesMusicales (RISM), set. A, i, vol. 5
(Kassel: Brenreiter, 1975), 12.
29It is possible that the copy Yale purchased is the one cited in RISM. Although there was no indication
in Sotheby's sale catalogue that this was the unique Ambrosini copy and there are no ex libris plates or
Alfredo
Bonora's
the
copy,
catalogue of the Ambrosini Library states that the Ambrosini
markings on
is
due
Ken
Yale
lacks
1-6
Special
consistent
the
to
which
with
copy
pp.
purchased.
thanks
are
copy
Crilly,
for
Yale,
Librarian
Music
at
providing
the
this information.
Ken Crilly,
'Kapsberger question'
[email to Theodoros Kitsos], (4 May 2005) <Kendall. Crilly@yale. edu> accessed4 May 2005.
74
from
bass
be
line.
book
He
to
to
a
playing
obviously
this
the
of
related
regarded
part of
for
it is mentioned in the title page ('tavole per sonar sopra la parte').
great significance,
Pages 35 to the middle of 43 contain examples of possible passaggi that could be used
over a bass note, thus showing how the chitarrone could serve as an ornamenting
instrument. From the middle of page 43 until the end, aside from two pages that show
how to transcribe single notes in Italian and French tablature, Kapsberger deals with the
foundation role of the chitarrone, providing tables of how to realize chords on single bass
by
fifth,
fourth
intervals
cadences
with
chords
connected
the
and
notes, as well as
of
second.
Passaggi di versi st) le note per sonare sopra !a parse

The section from page 35 to the middle of 43 presents possible ways of making
bass
bass
(appendix
II,
11.2).
The
part
note
note is always the root or the
variations over a
defined
by
is
The
the use of figures, which are sharp
character of chords
third of a chord.
for major third, flat for minor third, and 6 for the first inversion. Chords in first
inversion are always major. When no figuring is used, the character of the third is
defined by the key signature. The use of key signature, however, is strictly limited from
being
flat,
consistent with the practice of the early seventeenth
to
one
no accidentals
divided
into
is
The
twenty-two sections, each one starting with the
part
century.
whole
bass note, followed by the realized chord and a number of variations. All sections, but
"'
four
tablature staves, presenting usually twelve or thirteen variations,
two, consist of
full
bars.
being
two
of one or
each one
Kapsberger's classification of the sections is based on the nominal sequence of
from
first
departing
F:
the
note
section contains variations over an F major chord;
notes,
basis,
the second section contains variations over an F minor
the
note
as
same
with
30Section 12 contains fifteen variations, sections 18 and 20
contain eleven, while sections 9 and 10,
which consist of two tablature staves each, contain six variations each.
75
first
inversion
has
F#,
chord; the
third
the
section
variations
over
aD
major
chord; on
fourth section on G, and so on. The variations over root chords are primarily conceived
if
function
but
has
if
the
even
many of the variations work well
a tonic
as the chord
first
function.
inversion
dominant
The
has
over
or
subdominant
variations
a
chord
function
leading
function
dominant
denote
to a
the
tonic
the
of
chord, or a
either
chords
due
loose,
between
functions
borders
However,
the
are quite
the
major or minor chord.
but
in
be
in
the
these
also
traced not only
passages
to the many modal elements that can
in
century
general.
seventeenth
music of
Kapsberger's variations do not have any specific form but they always depart from
belong
is
itself.
This
the
the
to
variation
complete
chord
way
and end with notes that
following
harmony
is.
Examples
be
it
the
matter
what
made with
no
used
and can easily
be
different
harmonies
how
intention
two
to
can
passages
used
connect
the
of showing
are not presented.
From a technical point of view, the variations show an excellent knowledge of the
instrument and its peculiarities, unsurprisingly
by
they
the most
since
were written
lines
Melodic
his
time.
pass skilfully
prominent player of
by
different
strings
along
excellent use of the re-entrant tuning and characteristic techniques related to the
demonstrated:
individual
the
campanelle,
notes of a scale
where
clearly
chitarrone are
because
different
harp-like
divided
the
courses, give a
effect
up amongst
passage are
for
6,
b.
(see,
instance,
II,
11.2,
7)
into
the
appendix
part
section
other
notes sound one
first
left
hand
in
the
the
the
plucks only
note
each course and
right
and strascini, where
hand slurs the remaining ones, add articulation (see for instance appendix II, part 11.2,
31Strascini, however, are not always a reliable guide for phrasing,
bb.
12-13).
1,
section
31Piccinini makes clear that the execution of strascini is suitable for the chitarrone but not for the lute;
Piccinini, Libro primo, 5. Kapsberger seems to be in agreement, as, although he makes an extensive use of
from
his
lute music. This seems to be an indication that
his
in
they
music,
are
absent
chitarrone
strascini
by
Kapsberger
instruments
and Piccinini were single-strung-slurs
used
the
are far more effective on a
76
fast
in
to
they
the
order
execution of a
as
are occasionally employed
make possible
passage.Disappointingly there is very limited use of contrabassi, a feature that is praised
by Agazzari:
The theorbo, then, with its full and sweet consonances, supports greatly the
melody [by] restriking and gracefully playing passageson the extended courses,
32
instrument
the particular excellence of this
...
Only one variation runs in the contrabassi courses (appendix II, part 11.2, section 7,
bb. 11-12), while elsewhere, their use is restricted to single, cadential notes of the
variation.
The variations were presumably written with the intention to serve as examples for
be
in
to
order
and
memorized and used in the appropriate time
students and amateurs,
from
Apart
their obvious use in places where the sound of the instrument has
and place.
to be kept alive, by examining descriptions of writers of the early seventeenth century,
for
idea
itself,
the
can
get
the
an
of what
we
appropriate time and place
music
as well as
be.
Agazzari
diminutions
makes clear that when accompanying one or
would
executing
be
the
aware not to obscure the vocal line(s), 'playing the
player should
more voices
"
lot
but
he
possible,
not
passing
precisely
as
and
using
a
of
notes',
purely
and
work as
he
also admits that one
also
must play chords sometimes with gentle repercussions; sometimes with slow
he
that
ones
so
to
the
gives
grace
ensemble and
passagesand sometimes rapid
...
"
delight
to the audience.
enjoyment and
Lodovico Viadana, although referring to organ players, makes a similar remark:
double-course
instrument
than
on
a
one-although
single-course
it might simply be a practice that stems
from the history, use and character of each instrument. Strascini are to be found in music of double-course
instruments such as the guitar, but this lies primarily
on the adoption and application of practices and
techniques of similar instruments.
'=Agazzari, Del sonare,9: 'La tiorba poi, con le suepiene, e dolci consonanze,accrescemolto la melodia,
leggiadramente
i suoi bordoni, particolar eccellenzadi quello stromento '.
e
passeggiando
ripercotendo,
...
Ibid. 6: 'suonandol'opera piu pura, e giusta, the sia possible,non passeggiando& grave'.
' Ibid. 8: 'devesi dunque, horra con botte, e ripercose dolci; hor
con passaggio largo, et horra stretto, e
dia
vaghezza al concerto, e gusto, e diletto all uditori'.
the
raddoppiate, ...
77
The organist is obliged to play simply the pattitura, and in particular with the
left hand; and if he wants to execute some movement with the right hand, as to
flourish the cadences, or on occasion some passages, he must play in such a
manner that the singer or singers are not covered or confused by too much
"
movement.
As we can see,becausethe prime concern of the accompaniment was the support of

for
the singer(s), the opportunity
ornamentation would be in few places where the vocal
line(s)
remain
pretty
static.
Indeed,
throughout
Kapsberger's
intabulated
accompaniments, no diminutions are added to the accompaniment with the exception of

before
final
just
bass
line
'Deh
In
the
posso',
come
one case.
cadence, an ornamented
d"(example
held
5.19).
vocal
appearsunder a
EXAMPLE5.19: 'Deh come posso', Kapsberger, Libro primo di arie, 22, bb. 16-17.
16
n
(w1)
tg-f mot .
te.
Chieeone
This bass passageappears in a place where the voice remains static and it is similar in
fact,
Kapsberger
In
if we accept North's
to
the
of
variations
some
provides.
character
bass
derives
from
the
that
the chitarrone accompaniment (seen.
written
part
assumption
25 of the present chapter), then this is a written-out diminution
over a long sustained G
bass note. Similar written bass passagesunder vocal holding notes can also be found in
" Lodovico Viadana, Cento concerti ecclesiastici (Venice: G. Vincenti, 1602),

preface: '1'Organista sia in
obligo di suonar semplicemente la Partitura, & in particolare con la man di sotto, & se pure vuol fare
di
dalla
fiorire
le Cadenze, b qualche Passaggio a proposito, ha da
sopra,
mano
come
movimento
qualche
il
6
in
tale,
che
cantore,
cantori non vengano coperti, b confusi dal troppo movimento'.
suonare maniera
78
36
bass
line.
Peri's
how
Jacopo Peri's music and they are also reminiscent of
to ornament a
bass lines may also derive from a chitarrone accompaniment in mind as he was a
chitarrone player himself"
The employment of diminutions,
however, does not seem to be restricted to the
held notes of the solo voice(s). In repetitions of strophic songs, for example, or in pieces
bass
harmonic
judicious
display
(or
the
use of
of)
recurring
or
patterns,
consist
which
diminutions
such
can elaborate the musical text. Coelho has shown that variation
fundamental
technique was not only a
strategy in theorbo composition, but also 'a
licence for autonomy and improvisation-or
improvised composition'. "' The practical
diminutions
appliance of that sort of use of
is well demonstrated in an anonymous
39
Conserto
for
The
1645,
vago.
entitled
collection contains ensemble music
collection of
lute, theorbo and four-course Neapolitan guitar, but, as the title page indicates, the
40However, the
be
alternative solo performance option
performed as solos.
pieces can also
buyers,
for
in
lute
to
the
order
attract
a
public
of
suggested
wider
only
was presumably
The
it
is
to
theorbo
stand
part,
as
a
solo.
although
could pass
self-sufficient
part
entirely
better
functions
as an accompaniment, while the elaborate guitar part makes
as a solo,
by
The
an
accompaniment.
opening piece of the collection, a
senseonly when supported
balletto based on the popular ground More Palatino, has an A A, BC form. In A, the
harmonic
the
outline of the ground. In Al, however,
theorbo part presents merely
diminutions similar in character to those described by Kapsberger appear in the theorbo
36Paula Chateauneuf, 'The Beginnings of Lute Continuo in 17`6Century Italy and the Accompaniments
Society
News,
The
Lure
Magazine,
52
(December
Lute
Peri',
1999), 8.
Jacopo
of
" For evidence concerning Peri s chitarrone playing seeMason, Chitarrone, 18-20.
seCoelho, 'Authority, Autonomy, and Interpretation', 130.
39 Conserto vago di balletti,
corrente, et gagliarde
con la Toro canzone alla franzese (Rome: P.
Thomassinus, 1645). The source, with emphasis on the guitar tablature, is discussed in Ivano Cavallini,
'L'intavolatura per chitarrino alla napolitana dal conserto vago-1645', Quadrivium, 19 (1978), 227-63.
`Conserto vago, title-page: 'per sonare con Liuto, Tiorba, et Chitarrino
Napolitana
alla
quatro corde
insieme, 6 soli ad arbitrio'.
79
(example
decorative
despite
the
parts
melodic activity of
other
the concurrent
part,
5.20).
Doni also refers to the employment of diminutions
in the accompaniment, while
discussing dramatic music:

{arch-}lute
the
those who play
or the theorbo together with
organs and
harpsichords always employ diminutions, because if they should use full chords,
fast
be
in
discord
tempo, dissonance gives no
recognized, whereas
the
would
"
discernible.
it
is
not
trouble as
He refers to the casewhere more than one instrument is involved for the accompaniment
keyboard
from
fixed
intonation
the
the
pitch of
problem that arises
and presents the
instruments in contrast to the variable pitch of fretted instruments. The practical
diminutions.
in
However,
is
the use
the
of
exaggeration
employment
solution presented
because
been
it
has
diminutions
the
produces and
criticized
confusion
of
repeatedly
of
Adriana
Baroni,
describing
himself,
Doni
performance
makes clear that
a
of
while
even
he prefers a simple accompaniment by observing that 'whoever says that such simplicity
42
for
he
has
I
is not suitable for the stage,
a corrupted taste'.
my part, think
The evidence concerning the use of diminutions in the accompaniment points to a
wide
from
range of styles
intabulations
accompaniment
simple
to
highly
lack ornamentation
ornamented.
but
Kapsberger's song
his third
book
chitarrone
demonstrates how a player can add diminutions over the bass, presumably intended for
from
differs
is
What
the
the
written on
page
considerably
the more advanced player.
result of an actual performance, especially concerning ornamentation, where the amount
inventiveness.
depends
taste
the
personal
and
on
performers'
exclusively
and style
" Giovanni Battista Doni, Trattato della musica scenica (c. 1635) in De' trattati di musica di Gio:
Bartista Done (Florence: Stampa Imperiale, 1763), 111: 'quelli the suonano it Liuto, o Tiorba con gli
Organi, o Gravicembali, sempre diminuiscono, perche se usassero botte piene, vi si conoscerebbe la
dissonanza, la quale in note veloci non da fastidio, perche non si discerne'; quoted from Borgir,
Performance, 102.
'= Op. cit.: 'chi giudichera the questa semplicita non convenga alla scena, quanto a me io credo, the
from
Borgir,
Performance,
38.
it
quoted
corrotto';
gusto
abbia
80
EXAMPLE 5.20: Opening bars of the Balletto from Conserto vago (liuto, p. 4; tiorba, p. 13;
chitarrino, p. 22)
1--TT.
F-"
1 .040
gR Al
1 Fp
T1
-
--
s- .
-.
M"
*.
=f
..
Chinttino
J)
Liuto
3--3
i
'-,
-.
2LJJ
%BZB..
-1-
IJJIJJ
J _ IJJJl.
Mio
m.
]11
_I
II
nII
19
Tiorba
ea2i#1
-5
-e-
-L
-5
A1
d
2
ei
2--a--r3
0-2
2 -8
(J)
(2)
(1) Original rbeorboparr readsG major chord

(2) Theorbo tablature reads4 (fe )
81
Cadenze
Having presented possible ways of improvisation over bass notes, the next issue
Kapsberger deals with is how to realize notes that are connected with the intervals of
fifth, fourth and descending second. These cadential sequences,which appear on page
43, are organized in three sections: the first section presents perfect cadenceswhere the
bassmoves either by a descending fifth or an ascending fourth; the second section shows
fourth;
by
bass
fifth
descending
while
the
moves
an ascending
or a
plagal cadenceswhere
(see
bass
by
descending
second
moves
a
the third section shows cadences where the
11.3).
II,
part
appendix
The perfect cadencesare presented nominally starting with the sequence G-C. The
CO
G#
D#
E6
A6
F#
B6
D6
and they always come after their
are
used
notes
chromatic
naturals. Enharmonic
sequences are presented in different
left-hand
positions.
"
Cadential chords always have a major third reflecting the early-seventeenth century
62).
described
by
Agazzari
(see
Dominant
for
p.
as
above,
major cadences
preference
The
and
an
added
minor
seventh.
voice-leading of
chords always present a43 suspension
leading
be
(B-E
B6-E6)
On
the
two
occasions
and
to
problematic.
the sequencesseems
fall
but,
Even
in
instead,
do
they
third.
a
major
not move a semitone upwards
notes
if
in
higher
is
harmony,
the
part.
this
acceptable
resolution
exists
a
terms of theoretical
Although
Kapsberger possessesleft-hand positions that would allow him to present
does
he
is
in
C#-F#
E6-A6,
better
as
evident
sequences
and
voice-leading,
sequenceswith
for
he
does
There
do
this:
either
two
not want to stretch the
reasons
possible
are
so.
not
" This differentiation
of enharmonic chords should not be seen as an indication
intabulations
Kapsberger's
temperament.
of a meantone
indicate the use of an equal temperament as both first and
fourth frets are used interchangeably for sharp and flat notes (compare for instance the use of first fret for
b'b on the first course and g# and d# on the fourth and fifth courses respectively or the use of fourth fret
for e'b on the third course and f# or C# on fourth and fifth courses respectively in 'Ultimi
miei sospiri',
Equal
1550,
in
I.
3).
I,
temperament,
considered
after
was
most theorists' opinion normal
part
appendix
for lutes; see Mark Lindley, Lutes, Viols and Temperaments (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1984), 19.
82
fingers of the right hand, becausethe first frets are larger, or he is not concerned by the
fall of the leading notes. The latter seems to be the case because on three similar
dissonant
(G#-C#,
F-B6,
F#-B)
the
occasions
seventh does not move down a second and
the resolution appears an octave higher than it should. It should be noted that these
three sequences share identical
left-hand
fingerboard of the instrument. Although
patterns of fingering
positions on the
the voice-leading could easily be corrected
dissonant
the
the
of
placement
seventh an octave higher, Kapsberger does not do
with
fingering
left-hand
The
so.
same
pattern is to be found also in his intabulated
accompaniments (see example 5.21). The steady employment of this specific `deficient'
pattern
in
both
the
accompaniment
instructions
and
the
intabulated
song
indicates
latter
that
the
strongly
accompaniments
were made by Kapsberger himself.
EXAMPLE5.21: 'Mentre vagaAngioletta', Kapsberger,Libro primo di arie, 19, bb. 4-5.
&I
let
F; I]L
0
Chinrone
Xx
Plagal cadences are organized in the same way as are perfect. The final chord is
is
features
the
preceding
major
one
while
either
or
minor
and
a passing
always major,
in
This
is
accordance with Francesco Bianciardi's rules that direct 'when it
major sixth.
[the bass) rises a fifth we will give it the natural third; but in many places one gives the
minor
third,
and particularly
when approaching the cadences'; additionally,
when
interval
he
fifth
indicates
'when
bass)
it
(the
the
of
sixth
that
about
we
writing
rises a
83
a
In
(A6-E6
C-G),
Kapsberger
it
two
exceedsthe
occasions
the
sixth'.
major
and
will give
he
by
Bianciardi
described
together
adds a
and
with the passing major sixth
model
in
fourth.
for
This
is
decision,
is
present
this pattern
also
a conscious
passing augmented
his intabulated song accompaniments (see example 5.22) and presumably serves as an
harmonic
language.
how
the
to
expand
example of
EXAMPLE5.22: 'O cor sempre dolente', Kapsberger, Zibro primo di arie, 30, bb. 10-11.
10
FP
&i de
si
re.
I -
ai-m`p
a,P!
F;
Chincone
The last section, which-deals with the realization of chords when the bass moves a
diatonically
downwards,
is
organized
second
starting
from note G and moving
downwards. The only chromatic notes used are the common flattened musica ficta notes
E6 and B6. The Bianciardi rules also apply to these sequences.With the exception of the
display
diatonic
both
first
their
thirds while the preceding chords
chords
chord,
very
bear
a passing major sixth.
always
" Francesco Bianciardi, Breve regola per impar'a sonaresopra i1 basso con ogni sorte d'instrumento (Siena,
D. Falcini, 1607): 'Quando sale per quinta, li daremo la terza naturale, ma in molti luoghi se li da la terza
Quando
li
daremo
la
cadenze
alle
nell'andare
sale
per
quinta,
sesta maggiore'.
e
particolarmente
minore
...
Bianciardi also provides the following examples in order to demonstrate his rules:
tern nag.
-22E9
(ale]
b. e
mm minoae
0
a
9:
Per Winn
84
Tavola per sonare it Chitarone sopra it Basso

The last three pages of the book contain charts that show how to realize chords over
bass notes (appendix II, part II. 4). The charts are divided into six sections, ordered
lower
to
their
the
starting
clefs,
with
one (F4) followed by the higher ones (F3,
according
C4, C3, C2, C). With the exception of section F4, each section is divided into two parts,
be
durum
for
features
described
it
B natural and sharpened notes and
that
as
could
one
be
features
because
described
flat
has
it
B
that
as molle
could
one
as the signature and
flatted notes.`' Each part starts with the note below the first staff-line and ends on the
first
ledger
line
the
above the staff. Natural notes in durum parts are realized
note on
in
root position and natural thirds, while chromatic notes, which are
chords
with
limited to F#, C#, G# and D# and always appear after their naturals, are realized with
first inversion major chords. In molle parts, both natural and chromatic notes are
in
root position and with natural thirds. Chromatic notes are
realized with chords
limited to B6, E6 and A6 and they also appear after their naturals. Additional charts are
for
After
durum
F4
the
the
section.
provided
part come charts that contain realizations
first
basses
for
inversion chords, while after the molle section come
figured
major and
on
figured
basses
for
that
show realizations on
minor and first inversion chords.
charts
Ordinarily,
the number of voices per chord varies from two to four with the
five-voice
As
lower
chord
and
seven
six-voice
the
chords.
of
one
a
general
rule,
exception
fuller
the chord reflecting the chitarrone's limited ability to play in high
the
the register
limitation
This
registers.
is obvious also in high-range clefs where downwards octave
transpositions occur. However, this transposition indicates a very important practice: the
depends
instrument's
the
on
sonority and not on where it is notated as
accompaniment
is the case for keyboard instruments. Most of the C3 section, for example, although it
" Terms durum (hard) and molle (soft) are borrowed from the
solmization system in order to describe
these tables because solmization remained a standard rudiment
for early seventeenth-century music
despite the various alterations proposed by authors in late-sixteenth and early-seventeenth centuries.
85
because
been
is
lower
is
have
this
the
original
pitch,
at
realized
realized
an octave
could
fuller
higher
has
Kapsberger
the
the
got
a
sound.
chitarrone
makes use of
where
fingerboard positions of the instrument going as high as the tenth fret of the third
for
instrument
his
Once
limit
time.
of
the
an
again, as in the passaggi, the use of
course,
because
limited,
is
they extend below the range of the mensural
presumably
contrabasses
for
by
but
The
in
F4
Kapsberger.
the
realizations
are
one:
all
accurate
notation provided
be
been
has
However,
three-voice
4
to
realized
this
with a
seems
chord.
section, note ab
following
because,
in
is
the
sections,
ab always realized with only the third
an oversight
inversion.
in
the
second
to
avoid
order
above
The form of chords presented was probably dictated by the wish to make them easy
for the reader. There is no variety in chord positions or fingerings, an aspect to be found
in the intabulated song accompaniments. The realizations serve as stock chords to be
fairly
a
similar approach to the alfabeto notation
applied to continuo accompaniment,
for the five-course guitar. 46Furthermore, in higher positions, a triadic sonority of the
chords would be possible with a more meticulous use of the re-entrant tuning.
What is probably the most interesting matter in these last three pages of the book
is the information deduced about transposition practices. At the end of every part, there
fourth
4:
basso'
by
(a
lower)
'una
the clef and the
piu
accompanied
are rubrics such as
instead
if
they
that,
used
of the given clef and signature, would make the
were
signature
fourth
lower
fifth
in
higher.
This
indicates
two
or,
that
cases,
a
a
part
sound
preceding
be
fourth
downwards
to
to
transpose
the
time
expected
able
piece
were
a
a
performers of
by the imaginable exchange of the clef and key signature. In the F4 section, however, the
different.
Each
different
part
two
contains
rubrics, 'un tono piu alto' (a
rubrics are
41On the guitar and the alfabetoin Italy seeinter alia JamesTyler and Paul Sparks, The Guitar and its
Music: from the Renaissance to the Classical Era (Oxford Early Music Series; Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 2002), 37-99 and Nina Treadwell, 'Guitar Alfabeto in Italian Monody', The Lute, 33 (1993), 1222.
86
basso'
by
higher)
'un
(a
lower),
tono
the relevant
piu
and
second
second
accompanied
but
clefs
with the signature remaining the given one. To assume that performers were
be
higher
lower
it
is
transpose
to
to
second
able
a
or
quite
seemsreasonableand
expected
feasible for some keys but is more difficult for others." The transposition a second lower
key
higher
thinking,
or
would entail
fingering
is
different
idea,
which
a modern
and
by
done
idea
that
to
the
comes
contrast
transposition
clef
with
patterns, something
of
substitution,
for
The
the
routine
early
seventeenth-century
musicians.
was
which
explanation of what Kapseberger wants to illustrate seems to lie more in practical

family
instruments
lute
the
the
of
rather than in transposition
reasons associated with
techniques, although they are, to some extent, inextricable. Since competent lutenists
be
to
able to read mensural notation and, given aG Renaissance
expected
were always
for
the instrument, when a player would see note A he would play on the second
tuning
fret of the sixth course. On the other hand, given an A tuning, a chitarrone player would
lutes
Furthermore,
sixth
tuned in A as well as
the
on
an
open
course.
note
as
same
play
G
Seventeenth-century
be
in
tuned
also
then
were
used.
performers
chitarroni
should
both
in
A
G
tuning as modern players are expected
to
notation
and
read mensural
able
illustrate
do.
is that when a player plays an
What
Kapsberger
to
presumably
wants
to
instrument in an A tuning but reads the music like playing on an instrument in G, then
lower.
Conversely,
he
but
be
in
tone
tuning
when
plays
the result will
aG
a
reading in
A, then the result will be a tone higher.
Libro terzo d intavolatura di chitarone is a very useful guide for continuo practices
in the early seventeenth-century. Not only does it provides reliable tables for chord
information
but
it is also the
transposition
about
useful
techniques,
and
realizations
features
the
and
only
source,
one
printed,
that
surviving
earliest
written-out examples of
for
function
the chitarrone. Putting aside the section that contains solo
the ornamental
"A transposition, for example,from G Dorian to A would be possiblebut transposition F
to would be
a
difficult
on the chitarrone.
extremely
87
book
for
the
was
the chitarrone with continuo accompaniment, the rest of
music
compiled with
an unquestionable educational intent
for students and amateurs,
demonstrating what a professional performer can do. It must have been, during its time,
for
This
fairly
highly
one.
players, as well as
expensive
appreciated and valuable guide
a
is deduced by a letter dated 14 January 1634 from Jaques Bouchard to Mersenne, where
Bouchard reports that, while looking for a method on making diminutions, Kapsberger
Libro
he
had
is:
2d'
booklet
'that
him
title
the
previously published, of which
a
showed
d'intavolatura di Lauto, Chitarrone etc., in which he shows how to make diminutions,
48
for
book'.
Bouchard's apparent disappointment for
but he wanted 12 gold crowns
this
the very dear price is understandable, especially if we take into
Kapsberger's monthly salary-excluding
gifts-during
account that
his Barberini employment was
3.60 scudi.49Bouchard describes the book as 'in-folio', consisting of 10-12 leaves and
di
however,
Lauto,
Chitarrone.
This
implies
d'intavolatura
Libro
2
title,
a
entitled
books
for
list
Leone
Allacci,
that,
to
the
two
according
of
were
compound volume
S Unfortunately
published separately.
books
these
survive. If we
no extant copies of
description
inaccurate
Bouchard's
is
list
is
Allacci's
then
and the
correct,
assume that
book Kapsberger showed him should have been either Libro secondo for lute or Libro
it
illogical
for
Furthermore,
seems
terzo
chitarrone.
that Kapsberger would twice
for
Another
the
chitarrone.
possibility
publish similar material
is that the book
Bouchard saw was a booklet where Kapsberger had joined passaggi examples that he had
included in Libro secondo for lute together with those in Libro terzo for chitarrone.
' Quotation and translation from Coelho, 'Kapsberger in Rome', 129: 'qu'it a fait autrefois imprimer
dont le tiltre est: 2' Libro d'intavolatura di Lauto, Chitarrone etc., di it enseigne la methode de faire les
d'or'.
11
fait
livre
12
it
escus
ce
passages,mais
" On Kapsberger'spaymentsseeibid. 121-5.

' LeoneAllacci, Apes Urbane (Rome: L. Grignanus, 1633), 159. According to Allacci, Libro secondo
d'intavolatura di chitarrone was published in 1616 and Libro secondod'intavolatura di !auto con le sue
both
in
Rome.
la
in
1623,
Unfortunately both are lost.
parre
tavoleper sonarsopra
88
An additional important piece of information is that Libro terzo d'intavolatura di

demonstrates,
as shown above, Kapsberger as the intabulator of his song
chitarone
fact
for
This
intabulated
they
to
the
gives
merit
accompaniments.
accompaniments,
intertwined
with the compositional procedure. However, although they are stylish
were
forget
that they were intended for players unfamiliar
accompaniments, one should not
with
Certainly
practice.
continuo
they go beyond a basic accompaniment but
further
to
undoubtedly
expected
go
and give a more
players
were
even
professional
Coelho,
examining primarily
sophisticated performance.
solo lute and theorbo music,
has shown that `the invention and autonomy takes precedence over the musical text:
inextricably
linked
by
is
interpretation
to
the
the
choices made
performance practice
and
performer'.
"
" Victor Anand Coelho, 'Authority,
Autonomy, and Interpretation
in Seventeenth-Century Italian Lute
Music' in Victor A. Coelho, (ed.) Performance on Lute, Guitar, and Vihuela: Historical
Practice and
Modern Interpretation (Cambridge Studies in Performance Practice, 6; Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press, 1997), 139.
89
. FLAMMINIO
CORRADI'S CHITARRONE
INTABULATIONS
Very little is known about the life and activities of the singer and composer Flamminio
Corradi. Born in the city of Fermo, Corradi was hired as tenor on 11 April 1615 by the
become
later
(and
Doge) Giovanni Cornaro; Corradi held this
San
Marco
to
procurator of
his
for
least
last
1620,
the
when
name
time in the records of
appears
position at
until
`
the procurators. His appointment in San Marco may have been a result of the delight
Cornaro enjoyed while hearing Corradi singing his own compositions. This is indicated
by Corradi's Le stravaganze d'amore dedication to Cornaro dated 11 March 1616, where
Corradi praises his patron for the predilection he has shown for hearing some of his
works which he presents in this collection!
As the interim
between the dates of
Corradi's employment and his publication is less than a year, it is most likely that a
his
between
Cornaro
the
musician
and
patron
pre-existed
and
was aware of
relationship
Corradi's skills prior to his appointment in San Marco.
While employed in San Marco, Corradi was granted a licence to sing anywhere he
long
his
duties
San
Marco
there were accomplished. His record of
as
as
pleased outside
hire was the only one between 1610 and 1630 that specifically allowed one of the
Such
San
licence.;
Marco
this
a
privilege
the
within
strict
conditions indicates
musicians
but
Corradi's
also possibly as a composer, were highly regarded.
that
skills as a singer,
' Roark Thurston Miller, The Composersof San Marco and Santo Stefano and the Development of
Venetian Monody', Ph.D. diss. (The University of Michigan, 1993), 12,58.
2Flamminio Corradi, Le stravaganze d'amore (Venice: G. Vincenti, 1616), 2.
Miller, 'Composers of San Marco', 31.
'
Le stravaganze d'amore of 1616 is Corradi's only surviving publication. Judging
from the reprint that followed in 1618, the collection must have enjoyed popularity
during
its time. It
for
one to three voices with
contains songs
instrumental
1616
The
the
title
of
print reads:
page
accompaniment.
LE STRAVAGANZE
/ D'AMORE
/ DI FLAMMINIO
CORRADI
/ DA
FERMO /A Una, Due & Tre Voci / Con la Intavolatura del Chitarrone, & delta
Chitarra al- / la Spagnola, & con it Basso continuo da sonare net / Clavicembalo,
& altri Istromenti simili. / Novamente composto & date in luce. / IN VENETIA
/ Appresso Giacomo Vincenti. MDCXVI.
The collection is named after the opening piece, which is a parody of Luca Marenzio's
'
d'amore.
Cristoforo
Castelletti's
Le
final
intermedio
play
stravaganze
of
the
setting of
The appellation of publications after the titles of well-known
dramas was not an
be
his
Corradi's
to
patron.
choice
seems
associated
with
uncommon phenomenon.
Giovanni Cornaro was familiar with Castelletti's Stravaganze as the 1605 edition was
dedicated to his son, Luigi.
Corradi's collection contains fifteen songs, all but three of them duets; of those
fifteen
for
All
is
three voices.
are strophic songs
three, two are solo songs, while one
from
derive
polyphonic genres such as the villanella, are arranged
which, although they
homophonically in a similar manner to that of Kapsberger's villanelle collections. In
Corradi's music, however, the use of counterpoint is more frequent in comparison to
Kapsberger. The presentation of the music is in score format with a layout identical to
followed
by
bass
line
is/are
Kapsberger:
the
top,
the
part(s)
placed
on
the vocal
that of
' Fetis mentions the publication of two madrigal collections for four and five voices respectively (1622
Francois Joseph Fetis, Biographie universelle des musiciens et
but
1627),
survive;
copies
no
and
bibliographiegEnerale de la musique, 8 vols. (2nd edn., Paris, Mesnil, 1860-80), i. 364.
' The play was first performed on 3 March 1585 in Rome and it was published two years later;
Christoforo Castelletti, Le stravaganze d'amore, comedia... (Venice: G. B. Sessa, 1587). For a discussion
influence
James
Chater,
d'amore*
'Castelletti's
its
Castelletti's
see
posthumous
Stravaganze
play and
on
(1585): A Comedy with Interludes', Scudi musicali, 8 (1979), 85-148.
'Ibid. 111-13.
91
'
highest
is
voice;
and the chitarrone tablature, while the guitar alfabeto placed above the
first
is
placed underneath the vocal part(s), while the text of the
the
stanza
the text of
between
bottom
difference
is
The
the
the
placed at
of
page.
remaining stanza(s)
Kapsberger's and Corradi's collections is that Kapsberger's books are engraved while
Corradi's one is set in typographical characters e Corradi's intabulations, in order to be
fretted
for
lines,
instrument
in
A
tuned
six
call
an
with
consistent with the mensural
(lowest
is
ij).
Moreover,
five
chord
course
contrabasses
used
unstopped
courses and
intabulated
indicate
the
the use of a
of
accompaniment
clearly
shapesand voice-leading
re-entrant tuning.
Nigel North,
in his very brief reference to Corradi's accompaniments, points
for
the
the
accompanying
style
the
and characterizes
writing
towards the simplicity of
Concerning
issue
'occasionally
the
of
simplicity
ambiguous'
chitarrone
.9
there is no
dispute. Regarding the ambiguity of the writing, however, this does not seem to be the
The
chitarrone writing
case.
is straightforward
and particularly
predictable for the
Corradi's
it
the
the
of
accompanying
accompanying
plainness
style.
mirrors
reason that
demonstrated
in
follows
the opening and eponymous
that
clearly
are
two methods
style
first
d'Amore'
(appendix
The
I,
I.
is
'Stravaganza
5).
his
the
part
one
collection
piece of
bass
line
lack
the
the
total
chords
over
notes
of
with
of
supportive
realization of simple,
' In Nigel Fortune and Roark Miller, 'Corradi, Flamminio',
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and
Musicians, eds. Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell (London: Macmillan, 2001), vi. 494, Corradi's collection is
described as 'notable for being the first Venetian songbook to be published with Spanish guitar tablature'.
As the collection does not contain any guitar tablature, Fortune and Miller almost certainly refer to the
Corradi's
for
in
However,
this
case,
take
the inclusion of
collection
precedence
cannot
guitar alfabeto.
James
Tyler
lists
Venetian
Venetian
in
publications.
three
publications with guitar
guitar alfabeto
Tyler and Sparks, Guitar, 96, table 6.5.
Corradi's
one;
to
that
preceding
alfabeto
Tablature typographical characters were available to Corradi's publisher Giacomo Vincenti as early as
1591 and continued to be used by his son Alessandro until 1620. For a list of Vincenti publications that
liuto
II
Venezia
da!
barocco
di
Rossi,
Franco
(Itinerari
a
rinascimento
scoria e arte,
al
see
tablature
contain
3; Venice: Arsenale Editrice, 1983), 92-103.
'North,
Continuo Playing, 210.
92
line(s)
figuration.
This
is
the
style
particularly
vocal
appropriate when
any motivic
bb.
(see
1-7,10-15).
character
reveal(s) a recitation
The second style is used in places
is/are
line(s)
more melodic, where the accompaniment, in addition to
the
vocal
where
by
doubling it/them (bb. 8-9,16-17).
the
vocal part(s)
the supportive chords, reinforces
These principles are followed thoroughly throughout the entire collection and they
for
the instrument.
shape the writing
This rigorous discipline that characterises Corradi's accompaniments exposes, on
many occasions,a very sophisticated use of the re-entrant tuning of the chitarrone. This
is evident in the treatment of vocal lines doubled by the accompaniment, as, for
bb.
in
16-17
example,
where the second voice melody
first
fourth,
(bb
first,
fourth,
courses
course,
changes
a
continuously
g second, a
g
g-f# g
6.1.
in
display
While
high
clearly
as
example
more
or
even
such
examples
second),
a
level of knowledge and instrumental
skill,
when the accompaniment is plainer,
intabulator
does
the
not take advantage of the possibilities
chords,
consisting of simple
the instrument offers. Chords like D major, D minor or F major, which can be
fingerings,
left-hand
forms
limited
to
that are
of
specific
are
performed with a variety
looks
like
It
they
the
are
not
necessarily
the
easiest
ones.
although
constantly used
intabulator was consulting a table of stock chords like the one in Kapsberger's Libro
terzo d'intavolatura di chitarone, or the one in Brussels 704.10 If this is the case, it
because
been
be
have
such
to
a
practice
seems
common, especially
not
surprising
should
during the first decades of the development of chordal accompaniment. On the other
hand, an accompaniment based on the literal intabulation of the vocal parts was a long-
10Brussels 704 was copied by various scribes. According to William
Porter's classification, the table
bottom
by
209
b
the
of
page
was
made
scribe
at
and the chords were applied to some pieces
which appears
See
William
the
collection.
of
Vernon Porter, 'The Origins of the Baroque Solo Song: A Study of Italian
Manuscripts and Prints from 1590-1610',
Ph. D. diss. (Yale University,
1962), 259-70
and ibid. 'A
Central Source of Early Monody: Brussels, Conservatory 704 (II)', Scudi musicali, 13 (1984), 158.
93
familiar
intabulator
the
tradition
of
sixteenth century and thus the
was more
existing
with it.
EXAMPLE6.1: 'Baci cari e graditi', Corradi, le stravagnze d'amore, 17, bb. 10-12.
10
(0-
EH
IN
PP
hot
10
H
mk
Fi
mi
M
j
aW
to - She - toor
co
:
Pl 1
.01 -.
mi tea
de - cvjl
P929
<U
0
Chinnone
e
(1) Rhythmic ti`n ariYtnJly pbiad in pttviar
he
Corradi's accompaniments are not characterized by inventiveness but from the

features
Thus,
implementation
of a specific procedure.
not many
attract attention.
strict
The mensural bass line, which is very simple, is reproduced almost unaltered in the
intabulation. Occasionally, bass notes are transposed (or duplicated) an octave lower in
order to increase the resonanceof the instrument, while the addition of octave leaps for
the sake of harmonic and rhythmic articulation is very limited. 'Stravaganza d'Amore'
(appendix I, part 1.5) clearly demonstrates this simplicity
bass
of style with only one
final
lower
in
dominant
duplicated
the
octave
cadential
an
chord (b. 17). One of the
note
few places where the addition of an octave leap occurs is shown in example 6.2. The
between
intervals
is non-existent.
notes
passing
addition of connecting
Dissonance is used cautiously throughout the accompaniments and it is limited to
in
dominant
43
the
suspensions
the addition of
chord of interior and final cadences.As
happens in both Rossi and Kapsberger, there is always a restriking of the dissonance
dissonance
by
is
by
if
doubled
it
is
the
of
the
resolution
sung
the
one
even
of
and,
voices,
(see
I,
b.
1.5,
16-17 and example 6.1). Any other
appendix
part
the accompaniment
94
in
dissonances
they
the vocal parts in which case they are
exist
unless
are absent
added
literally transferred to the accompaniment (examples 6.3 and 6.4).
EXAMPLE6.2: `0 the felice forte', Corradi, Le stravagnze d'amore, 28, bb. 37-8.
37
EH
0
[H]
de.
(vo-)8(ia - mo
fcu-ie
no
sm
bei
a-
(vo -)giia - mo
(tu-ir
no
um
bei
w
-
de.
E0
P9!L
f' b
II
Chinnone
EXAMPLE6.3: 'Non primaverafiori', Corradi, Le stravagnzed more, 31, bb. 3-4.

+Ag
net
bet
Sri
bel
Sri
bo
No
be
No
w
nel
ob
!!
Qtiarmne
95
6.4: '0 the felice forte', Corradi, Le stravagnzed'amore,25, b. 1.

EXAMPLE
0
(.L)
che Ce- li - ce
F; 02
x
Oiwmne
As limited as is the addition of dissonancesin the accompaniment, equally sparing

is the use of passing notes. The only occurrence is the addition of a passing flattened
6.2.
demonstrated
dominant
It
is
in
chords
as
notable that
to
example
cadential
seventh
fall
but
fourth
does
lower. The intabulator chooses
not
a second
a
the passing seventh
feature
in
in
the
third
the
cadential
chord,
common
already
presented
to
a
present
not
Kapsberger's intabulations (see chapter 5, p. 62). However, as the score includes guitar
in
guitar
a
addition to the chitarrone would amend the
with
alfabeto, a performance
because
final
is
included
fall
in
the
third
the
of
chord
the
the
seventh
passing
of
strange
final
for
(G
Corradi's
This
guitar
chord
major) shows
preference
guitar accompaniment.
in
in
thirds
cadential
chords
pieces of a minor mode (see also example
the use of major
6.1). This preference is also evident even in places where a vocal line shortly afterwards
In
is
the
this
case,
third.
major
chord
modified to minor, thus avoiding
presents a minor
6.5).
(example
dissimilar
thirds
the clash of
Example 6.5 also demonstrates the restriking
of a chord over tied notes. In
first
beat
bass
b.
is
7
the
c
the
on
tied to the preceding one,
of
notation
mensural
interfere
lines.
in
In the
the
to
with
not
up-beat
the
order
accent
of
vocal
obviously
is
ignored
however,
C
tie
the
and
the
major chord reappears in an
accompaniment,
96
instrument
keep
Although
the
the
sound
of
one would expect the
to
alive.
attempt
F
in
the
the
strong
syllable
the vocal parts with the aim of
chord
with
restriking of
beat
first
does
do
He
intabulator
it,
the
not
the
the
so.
rather
on
places
chord
reinforcing
be
in
b.
7,
there
only
would
sustained
order to
sound, presumably
where normally
of
give rhythmic
definition
keep
the music moving forward. This is the only
and
intervention from the intabulator's point of view to the musical texture.
EXAMPLE6.5: '0 mia leggiadra e vaga pastorella', Corradi, Le stravagnze d'amore, 38, bb. 6-8.
The accompaniments in Corradi's collection are more conservative in comparison to

for
lacks
As
intabulator
initiative.
Kapsberger
Rossi
the
this
as
expected
and
those of
between
in
waver
old
new
the
and
practices
a similar way to
accompaniments
early time,
Corradi's
However,
Rossi.
accompaniments are a step ahead because the
the ones of
differences between styles are distinctive, with sections where the accompaniment is
for
On
the
parts
where
vocal
are
reproduced
the
sections
note
and
note.
purely chordal
in
Corradi's
Kapsberger's.
hand,
are
conventional
accompaniments
to
comparison
other
While the former display formalism in their approach to accompaniment, the latter are
left-hand
inventive
techniques,
they
a
variety
of
exhibit
styles
and
positions.
and
more
97
7. BELLEROFONTE CASTALDI'S THEORBO
INTABULATIONS
By all accounts, the eccentric Modenese musician, poet, and adventurer

Bellerofonte Castaldi was one of the early-seventeenth Italy's most intriguing
his
figures.
His
talents,
musical
and
otherwise,
adventures
wide-ranging
public
led
Nigel
the
controversial
often
writings
eminent
scholar
and
and outspoken
Fortune to aptly describe him as "one of the most colourful musicians of his
day. "'
Bellerofonte Castaldi was born in the village of Collegara southeast of Modena probably
in 15802 and died in his native country in 1649. He was a well-educated offspring of a
benefited
from
by
family
Ainolfo
that
the
control
of
estate
owned
an
rather wealthy
Bardi, Knight of the Order of Malta. Relying on a comfortable income, Castaldi did not
have to live professionally from music and he presented himself as an amateur lover of
for
own pleasure:
music who played
Friend, my state of life is such that
I get by on my meager income
And all the time I take my pleasure in music
Playing the lute or chitarrone 3
Dolata, 'Sonatas and Dance Music', i. 1.

' Until
birth
be
by
date
1581
Castaldi's
Luigi Valdrighi,
to
of
was
considered
as
suggested
recently
'Annotazioni
biobibliografiche
dei secoli XVI e XVII'
intorno Bellerofonte Castaldi e per incidenza di altri musicisti modenesi
in Musurgiana, ser. 1, iii (Modena: G. T. Vincenzi, 1880), 26. However, modern
date
birth
Castaldi's
is
1580
July;
23
Dolata,
has
'Sonatas
of
that
to
probably
prior
shown
see
scholarship
i.
14-15.
Music',
Dance
and
' Modena, Biblioteca Estense,Ms. Deposito del Collegio San Carlo, cd. n. 6 (Bellerofonte Castaldi, Le
Rime BurlescheSecondaParte, 1637), 394:
Amici, io son di cetra condittione
Che su miei cinque soldi me la passo
E in smusicar ogn'hor mi piglio spasso
Tempestando liuto o chitarrone.
Translation and quotation from Dolata, 'Sonatas and Dance Music', i. 17.
Living an independent life, Castaldi travelled widely and became familiar with the
friend
became
He
Italy.
in
a
musical and cultural tendencies of the major artistic centres
Claudio
Monteverdi
highly
such
musicians
as
acclaimed
not only of
but also of
in
Rome,
Testi.
During
his
Fulvio
intellectuals
various residencies
such as
prominent
Castaldi must have been acquainted with Girolamo Frescobaldi and, at the very least,
had the opportunity to listen to Girolamo Kapsberger performing, whose playing ability
he praised4
Castaldi's surviving music exists in three musical sources: Capricci a due stromenti
for
instrumental
(1622),
theorbo'
primarily
of
music
a collection
cioe tiorba e tiorbino
for
instrumental
but
containing
six
songs
solo
voice
with
also
and tiorbino music
fiori
by
himself;
di
Castaldi
Primo
mazzetto
colti
engraved
accompaniment, which was
dal giardino Bellerofonteo (1623), a printed collection of songs for one to three voices on
by
bass,
Alessandro
Vincenti;
published
which
was
an
unfigured
the accompaniment of
Modena G239, a manuscript collection that contains, among other material, thirteen
for
by
Castaldi
solo voice with
songs
bass
accompaniment.
unfigured
Although
different in appearance (one engraved, one printed and one manuscript), the three
collections all present, either
exclusively
or partially,
songs with
instrumental
bass
Castaldi
had
line,
that
therefore
a
suggesting
accompaniment over an unfigured
bass
line,
due
Capricci
in
in
interest
to
the
a
stromenti,
addition
also
the genre.
special
for
intabulated
theorbo
accompaniment
each song, thus allowing
provides an
an
ideal
Castaldi's
accompaniment.
examination of
'See Dolata, 'Sonatas ad Dance Music', i. 22-3 and 27-8.
' Although Castaldi usesinterchangeablythe terms chitarroneand riorba, his preferencefor the later is
evident.
' Thesethirteen songsare not ascribeddirectly to Castaldi but they bear the initials 'b.c.'. However, six
in
fiori
Primo
di
have
indicating
mazzetto
concordances
colti
that the musician
songs
thirteen
of the
'b. c.' is none other than Bellerofonte Castaldi; Mirko Caffagni, The Modena
initials
behind
the
concealed
Lute
Society
Journal
Manuscript',
the
of
Continuo
ofAmerica, 12 (1979), 29-32.
Tiorba
99
beautiful piece of artwork. Castaldi's
Capricci a due stromenti is a particularly
direct
his
involvement
in the engraving process resulted in a
artistic prowess and
bears
his
that
personal taste without any compromises that would occur if a
publication
publisher was involved. The visual effect is stunning, especially for non-professional
standards, with
legible tablature and high-quality
a particularly
decoration (see
illustration 7.1).
-!
.I
Li
--
-o-5
-A6.
I-
"1.Pj
1%
I-
1e- E'111
!,
FI A-t
.1
^^
L c't-1O'---'
c-ft
f-"'V!
sh
Wl --
1-
flrp
JIJ1
.1
_
-z
"I--
-L
---,, , - -
.&unut'a&&+
"6
-___
WZ""'
c : -e
uL33g coZrente'.
,o
'
I.
W-
hi
LI
A.
1-I
-4 *-A'!
-)
:L.
Cl
-1-4
--,
'I -JI-II
c-,- 1%-'
--ra,
4v
--=;
VZY3
i
cl
i
a,
=-v
--;
-+
si- r,"L,-4
- -+ "
'S L-9
I--I,--..
I-_I
I---
J-l--,
r'+
-
i.
r11-1
'_
'
iI
-!
-..
ILLUSTRATION7.1: Detail from Bellerofonte Castaldi, Capricci a due stromenti (Modena,

1622), 47.
The title pageof the collection, which featuresangelsand other similar creaturesaswell
instruments,
reads:
musical
as various
CAPRICCI /A
DUE STROMENTI
PER SONAR
SOLO / VARIE
/ CIOE / TIORBA
/ SORTI
DI
E TIORBINO
BALLI
/E
/E/
fantasticarie /
SETNOFORELLEB TABEDUL!
It is followed by the prefatory material which is accompanied by two full-page

illustrations,
one self-portrait
by Castaldi (illustration
7.2) and one portrait
that
being
Castaldi.
them
theorbos,
two
playing
of
them
three
men,
one
of
represents
' As Dolata points out, 'the "SETNOFORELLEB
TABEDUL"
in the Capricci frontispiece is Latin for
"Bellerofonte played" or "was playing" in reverse'; Dolata, 'Sonatas and Dance Music', i. 73.
100
ILLUSTRATION 7.2: Castaldi's

self-portrait from Bellerofonte Castaldi, Capricci due
a
stromenti
(Modena, 1622).
101
The prefatory material consists of one page that includes a dedication 'to the noble,
brilliant and refined Genoeseyouth', where Castaldi talks about the royalty of the lute,
'
information,
the theorbo and the tiorbino and gives publishing
one page that contains a
feature
as, according to the common practice of the time,
table of contents, an unusual
followed
by
to
the
the
end
of
appears
collection,
gl'avvertimenti,
the table of contents
features
dedicatory
by
Testi,
that
together
one
page
to
the
and
reader,
a
poem
the advice
Castaldi's
response.
with
The avvertimenti, from the first lute publications by Petrucci, always contained
issues,
in
instructions
performance
obviously
order to attract the wider public
on
short
Castaldi's
All
contemporary colleagues who published solo theorbo
of
of amateurs.
faithful
including
instructions
that
to
norm
to their collections.
such
music remained
Alessandro Piccinini
devoted eight
pages that contain not only advice on the
his
but
invention
Castaldi,
the
the
version
on
also
of
chitarrone.
on the
performance,
from
line
declaring
deviates
information
'is
hand,
this
that
performing
not given,
other
becausehe who will have the certainty to play securely this tablature, will already know
'
for
he
his
is
intended
This
that
clear
makes
music
competent players
way
these things'.
he
has
his
by
inference,
no
the
that
concerns
success
about
commercial
of
collection.
and,
Given that, in combination with the fact that his solo and duet music 'exploit[s] the
instrument,
the
timbres
of
textures
and
various
and require(s) complete technical
' The dedication is missing from one of the three surviving copies, the one held in Paris, Bibliotheque
Nationale et du Conservatoire, Res 241 which was used for the facsimile reproduction by Minkoff.
However, the dedication is reproduced in Robert Spencer, review of Bellerofonte Castaldi, Capricci a
tiorba e tiorbino
(1622) (Geneva: Minkoff
Reprint,
1981), in Early Music,
10 (1982),
384. For
description and observations on the variants between the three copies see Dolata, 'Sonatas and Dance
Music', i. 56-87.
' Castaldi, Capricci, 3: 'non si danno, perche chi havr giuditio
per sonar sicuro questa intavolatura,
l'havr ancora per cosi fatti rimansugli'.
102
10
believe
is
Castaldi
its
that
there
to
would make any
no
reason
technique',
command of
intabulated
in
the
song accompaniments.
compromises
The six songs with intabulated accompaniments do not appear in a separate section
but they are scattered within the solo theorbo music (table 7.1). They all are strophic
dance songs about love. The layout is similar to that in Kapsberger's villanelle and
Corradi's collections with the solo voice placed on the top, followed by the unfigured
bass line and then the theorbo tablature. The text of the first stanza is aligned
underneath the vocal part, while the remaining stanzasare placed at the end of the piece.
In contrast to the Kapsberger and Corradi collections, Castaldi does not provide any
himself,
Castaldi
Although
rejected the alfabeto system
a
guitarist
alfabeto notation.
'pedantic
it
clutter',
to
as
referring
presumably motivated by his political
posture
"
Spanish
he
Spanish,
notational system.
as seemsto regard alfabeto as a
against the
TABLE 7.1: Songs with intabulated accompaniments in Castaldi's, Capricci a due stromenti.
Page
Title
Poet
40
'Quella crudel' (The cruel one)
Castaldi
42
'Chi vuol provare' (What are you trying to prove?)
Castaldi
45
'Hor the tutto gioioso' (Now that everything is joyful)
Castaldi
49
'Al mormorio D'un fresco rio' (To the murmur of a cool river)
Castaldi
52
'Ohime the non posso pi' (Alas, I can no longer)
Castaldi
57
'Aita aita ben mio' (Help me, help me my beloved)
Castaldi
Concerning the instrument intended for the song accompaniments, there is no doubt it
first
lowered
instrument
tuning
the
two
re-entrant
with
courses
with
an octave,
was an
like the one used by Kapsberger and Corradi. The tablature calls for a fourteen-course
fretted
diatonically
and
eight
tuned unstopped contrabasses,
courses
theorbo with six
10Mason, Chitarrone,86.
" Dolata, 'Sonatas and Dance Music', i. 48-9.
103
implies
in
A.
Castaldi's
Furthermore,
tuning
self-portrait
notation
a
the
mensural
while
provides indisputable evidence that the theorbo Castaldi used was single-strung.
Before proceeding to
the examination
of the
intabulated
the
nature of
be
in
Castaldi's
it
that,
noted
should
songs, the character of the actual
accompaniments
different
in
found
bass
line
is
in
Kapsberger's
to
comparison
the
quite
and
one
mensural
Corradi's collections. While, for the latter, the bass line moves primarily with leaps and
it has a strong functional orientation, for Castaldi, the bass line is much more melodious
based on step-wise movement and reflects a linear approach rather than a vertical one.
Not only the treatment of the bass line, but also the character of his surviving
compositions, suggest that
his compositional
style was strongly
derived from
Renaissancepractices. Although Castaldi was an admirer of the new musical trends of

his time, 'his music never completely relinquished its bonds with the past'. 12
Unlike Kapsberger and Corradi, Castaldi does not closely reproduce the mensural
bass lines in his theorbo accompaniments. The reason for that is quite evident: because
his mensural basslines are very melodious, Castaldi quite often reforms them in order to
for
functional,
therefore
providing
a more supportive accompaniment
make them more
for
be
his
The
the
them
achievement
to
means
of
goal vary, many of
the solo voice.
found in 'Al mormorio' (appendix I, part 1.6). In relation to Kapsberger and Corradi, a
found
Castaldi's
be
in
intabulations
feature
to
common
is the transposition (or
duplication with) one, or even two, octaves downwards of bass notes or phrases (see for
instance bb. 1,4,6,12-13).
harmonic and rhythmic
Downwards octave leaps are also added for the sake of

articulation
(bb. 5,10).
Castaldi, in comparison with
Kapsberger and Corradi, takes full advantage of the theorbo's contrabass courses, the use
13
by
his
Castaldi
highly
time.
writers
of
praised
uses them constantly thus
of which was
bringing out the low register of the instrument (see overall approach in appendix I, part
Ibid. i. 213.
13Seechapter 5, pp. 76-7.
104
I. 6). Furthermore, passing notes are added in the bass line so as to connect leaps of the
intervals of a third and a fourth in places where the solo voice has no comparative
(bb.
2-3,11),
activity
melodic or rhythmic
further highlighting
the linear nature of the
music.
However, he also simplified the bass line for the sake of clarity in the intabulations.
Repeated bass notes that do not affect the phrasing are substituted by longer notes (bb.
3,5,6
and 9) and passing notes that connect the root and the third within the same
harmony are omitted, particularly when these passing notes coincide with comparative
Occasionally,
11).
(bb.
2,9
this simplification
and
vocal movement
is a concomitant
bass
downward
transposition
the
of
octave
and the use of contrabass courses,
outcome of
resulting
in the modification
bass
filling
line
inner
the
to
of
mensural
in the
6).
demonstrated
bb.
This
is
in
'Ohime
1-2
(b.
clearly
more
of
the non
accompaniment
first
inversion
F
(example
7.1),
the
see
of
also
modification
a
major
where
we
posso pi'
For
in
the same reason the c' of the
to
parallel
avoid
octaves.
order
chord to root position
filling,
functions
been
inner
has
in
bass
line
line,
the
that
as
accompaniment
a
mensural
b.
Castaldi,
Kapsberger
first
beat
2
from
now
g.
unlike
and
of
where
stands a
the
moved
Corradi, is concerned about the rules of traditional counterpoint and he is aware of
his
intabulations.
in
avoiding parallel octaves
EXAMPLE7.1: 'Ohime the non posso piu , Castaldi, Capricci a due stromenti, 52, bb. 1-2.
11
ee
JJ
0JJJJ.
rwcba
105
Bb. 10-13 of 'Chi vuol provare' (example 7.2) show even more freedom in treating the
bass line. In the imitative melodic chain that appears, only the first half of the bass
been
has
half
been
in
has
theorbo
the
the
accompaniment while
retained
second
phrase
by
been
held
has
him
Its
taken
note
a
which
gives
room to add an
place
omitted.
imitative passageon the top.
EXAMPLE7.2: 'Chi vuol provare', Castaldi, Capricci a due stromenti, 42, bb. 10-13.
10
Imitation, as expected due to Castaldi's dependence on Renaissancepractices, plays

least
All
instance
his
in
six
one
songs
contain
at
where
accompaniments.
quite a role
imitation occurs, either between the solo voice and the bass line (example 7.2), or even
within
bb.
(appendix
itself
I,
1.6,
9-10 and example 7.2).
part
the accompaniment
Although in example 7.2 the imitation
between the solo voice and the mensural bass
line has not been carried literally in the theorbo intabulation, in other instances it has
been preserved uncut (example 7.3).
The texture in Castaldi's accompaniments is thin, with the number of voices
fluctuating
between two and four. There are several reasons for this. Firstly,
the
but
limits
provides
the
contrabasses
strong
support,
the capability
of
also
extensive use
has
from
because
fingers.
hand
thumb
the
to
move
the
away
rest of the
of the right
Secondly, the actual fast dance character of the songs and Castaldi's linear approach
flows
in
Thirdly,
to
the
order
ensure
music
textures
thinner
easily.
require
these are
106
in
Kapsberger's
for
Even
the
texture
collections,
a
solo
voice.
villanelle
accompaniments
is thinner in the accompaniments for a solo voice compared to those for two or three
but
later
Agazzari,
to
the
organ,
that the same comments
making
clear
referring
voices.
lute
the
to
and the theorbo, says that
apply
if there are many (voices),one must play full and double the stops, but if they
few
few,
playing the work as simply and
consonances,
reducethem and play
are
'
it
is
possible.
correctly as
However, it should be pointed out that this thin, clear texture is characteristic not only
in the intabulated song accompaniments but also throughout the entire collection of
Capricci a due stromenti. With only one exception, chords with more than four notes
are absent.
EXAMPLE7.3: 'Hor the tutto gioioso', Castaldi, Capriccia due stromenti, 45, bb. 4-6.
4
fw
Ad
Non
r-
I t
mi
ti - tm
-wS
Tiorba
Concerning the accompanying style in Castaldi's songs, this is a combination of

in
is
Sometimes
harmonies
the
only
case
simple
are used, as
chordal and part writing.
harmonies
(appendix
I,
1.6).
Every
'Al
these
part
so
often
are
mormorio'
the opening of
enriched with some melodic activity
which, quite often, is nothing more than a
duplication of the solo voice part as in bb. 2-3,5-6.
Now and then two-part writing
" Agazzari, Del sonare, 6: 'se sono molte, convien suonar pieno, e raddoppiar registri; ma se sono poche,
l'opera
i
A
suonando
pi
consonaze,
pura,
e
giusta,
similar
the
sia
possibile'.
poche
schemarli, e metter
Lorenzo
Bolognese
Penna
by
later; see Arnold, Art of
the
sixty-five
made
years
also
was
remark
Accompaniment,
369.
107
duplicating
part
the
added
either
appears, with
the solo voice part (bb. 8-9), or
imitating the solo voice part (bb. 9-10), or presenting a newly invented line (bb. 1213). Chordal writing and in general thicker textures tend to appear at the beginning of
phrases,on strong syllables and at cadences.
Vacillating
between chordal and part writing,
Castaldi's harmonic language is
harmonization
With
his
instance
straightforward.
the
only
one
exception,
of
simple and
be
found.
However, even in this case,
(example
7.4),
to
no
other
surprises
are
a4 chord
bass,
immediately
in
the
suggesting that this irregularity is
the root of the chord comes
broken
breaking
The
the
of
chords.
use
of chords is a quite common
rather a result of
feature in Castaldi's accompaniments for the sake of articulation and to keep alive the
(example
instrument
7.5).
the
sound of
EXAMPLE7.4: 'Aita aita ben mio', Castaldi, Capricci a due stromenti, 57, bb. 1-2.
HE
A"
i"
n a-
i-
ben
mi
"
F; P!
EXAMPLE7.5: 'Quela crudel', Castaldi, Capcicci a due stromenti, 40, bb. 1-2.
108
Dissonancedoes not play any important role and even the use of 43 cadential suspensions
is very limited, and only in two pieces (example 7.6). The only other use of dissonance is
66
the presence of 5 chords (appendix I, part 1.6, bb. 4 and 7) and, once again, these 5
chords appear in only two pieces. Regarding the use (or not) of major thirds in final
cadences,Castaldi's intabulations are not illuminating.
In the only piece that is in minor
diplomatic
by
featuring
intabulation
the
presents
a
solution
the third of the
mode,
not
chord (example 7.6). However, the preference of the natural third for interior cadential
b.
in
Àl
5
(appendix
is
I, part 1.6).
can
see
of
mormorio'
one
evident,
as
chords
EXAMPLE7.6: 'Aita aita ben mio', Castaldi, Capricci a due stromenti, 57, bb. 12-13.
An uncommon feature in Castaldi's accompaniments is the left-hand position of F

first
course open, the second and the third course stopped on the
major chord with the
first fret, and the fifth course stopped on the third fret (example 7.4, b. 2). This
lute,
is
the
used
on
widely
usually avoided on the theorbo for it
position, although
demands an extremely difficult left-hand stretching. The use of this F major position by
Castaldi, as well as the evidence in his self-portrait, indicate clearly that his theorbo was
by
"
dimensions,
Robert
Spencer
David
West
but
Dolata,
proposed
as
and
of rather small
lute's
Renaissance
traditions.
the
also points towards
" Spencer, 'Chitarrone, Theorbo and Archlute', 410 and Dolata, 'Sonatas and Dance Music', i. 91.
109
Castaldi had no concerns for pedagogy. He made that clear in his awertimenti.
Therefore, the inclusion of a mensural bass line together with
the intabulated
had
intention
his
how
in
to realize
no
songs
of
serving
as an example of
accompaniment
for
indisputable
high
bass
line.
In
to
the
performance
option
addition
of
solo
songs
a
bass
line
indicates
this
mensural
strongly
alternative
theorbo
accompaniment,
voice with
differentiations
discrepancies
the
that
even
present,
as,
with
are
no
performance options
It
is
instrument
intabulated
true
that
chordal
accompaniment.
a
alone
the
occur with
but
solo
a
voice
more elaborate continuo combinations were
would normally accompany
16
dance
into
Castaldi's
Taking
the
account
nature
of
songs and the
also possible.
bass
line
intabulated
differentiation
the
the
of
mensural
with
accompaniment,
occasional
is
implied
option
with the employment of more than one continuo
a second performance
instrument, which could possibly be a bowed instrument, an organ, or even another
l'
be
by
for
last
Castaldi
it
to provide a tablature.
the
would
expected
theorbo, although
A third performance option, which has been neglected by scholars, is implied by the fact
frequently
bass
The
bass
in
the
rhythms.
mensural
same
parts
move
part
that vocal and
for
been
Although
in
intended
have
singing.
such a caseone would expect a
might well
bass
for
for
below
line,
is
Castaldi
this
the
not
enough
evaluation,
was
text placement
his
long-standing
in
Under
instructions,
break
first
tradition
text
placement.
to
a
the
Primo mazzetto di Fori colti of 1623 was the first book to present between the staves all
"
favouring
for
feature
is
the
the
songs
convenience
singers,
that
strophic
of
a
the verses
innovation
but
in
day
bass
line
The
in
the
an
was
sixteenth
early
century.
our
standard
in Capricci a due stromenti can easily accommodate the text without any particular
16 See Nigel Fortune, 'Italian Secular Song', 195; Borgir, Performance, 64-6; Stephen Stubbs,
'L'armonia Sonora:Continuo Orchestration in Monteverdi's Orfed, Early Music, 22 (1994), 88.
" The theorbo was often considered as a melodic bass instrument playing primarily
the mensural bass
line and occasionally adding chordal realizations. For theorbo's melodic bass role see Mason, Chirarrone,
24-59,63-73,76-84
and Borgir, Performance, 101-7.
1 Dolata, 'Sonatas and Dance Music', i. 48; Dolata also provides a facsimile illustration
of Castaldi's
'Saeta pur saeta' in page 51.
110
imitation
between
In
the two parts
the
places
where
and
rhythmic
alteration
problems.
is
enough to resolve any problems (example 7.7).
shift
occurs, a simple
EXAMPLE7.7: 'Chi vuol provare', Castaldi, Capricci a due stroinenti, 42, bb. 10-14.
10
car
Per - the
[cot
Per - che gia - mai non
pa - mri non
fu
Di
fu
to - al
Di
co - al
we - Ti -
tu
ur - vi - tu
Chi bra " mar
Chi
ba - mac
Po. to
"
piu
pa - [cs
ae
piu3
In support of this view is Castaldi's handling of quaver stems. On the scarce occasions
different
to
consecutive
when
quavers
are
appear,
accommodate
syllables
quavers
where
the stems are separated as in example 7.3, while when they are a melisma of one syllable
they are joined together as in example 7.6. In the mensural bass line quavers appear in
imitative motifs and they always have separated stems (see example 7.6), although there
is no particular reason for that if the bassline is to be performed by an instrument.
Castaldi's songs in Capricci a due stromenti were possibly not intended solely as
duets
for
high
they
theorbo
equally
accompaniment
as
work
well
as
a
voice with
songs
bass
line
bass
The
is
songs.
very melodious and one should not overlook
solo
as
and even
19
late-Renaissance
bass
in
The
Italy.
tradition
song
accompaniments
the very strong solo
be
by
regarded as examples of continuo realizations
any means.
of these songs cannot
They are rather retrospective accompaniments that lean towards the Renaissance
features
Rossi's
intabulated
and
elements
trends.
of
contemporary
with
refined
aesthetic,
fall
but
in
different
in
the
same
category
they
are
character. The
accompaniments
dissimilar
for
is
Rossi's
the
the
nature
that
of
music:
songs are madrigals
reason
evident
dance
Castaldi
Castaldi's
strophic
genre.
of
are
was not a professional musician
while
but a devoted lover of music who had the time and the enthusiasm to prepare elegant
" For the solo bass singing in Italy at the turn of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries see Richard
Wirstreich, 'Giulio Cesare Brancaccio and Secular Solo Bass Singing in Sixteenth-Century Italy', Ph. D.
diss. (University of London, 2003), 197-271.
111
and conscientious accompaniments that are technically not easy to play. Not interested
in improvisation, the indispensable tool of a busy professional, his intabulations reflect a
personal taste rather than a professional approach that relies on the effective use of
simplicity.
112
8. MODENA
G239
Modena G239 is unquestionably the source that has received the most scholarly
brought
discussed
in
Its
to
the
thesis.
present
those
significance
was
amongst
attention
Caffagni, who described the manuscript in detail in two different
light by Mirko
` A modern edition of the section of the manuscript that contains the theorbo
articles.
intabulations appeared in modern notation in 1995, thus making the context of the
2
intabulations available to modern scholars.
The manuscript was copied between c.1632 and c.1670 (a discussion follows
below). It is an oblong fascicle of 15.5 x 21.2 cm, and contains 130 pages of music in a
first
folio
bore
binding
in
1988,
Before
the
the
restoration
verso of
a
parchment cover.
B.
C.
/
Cadenze
/
incerto
'Autore
heading
soprano
solo
con
per
cantate
e
canzonete,
a
the
Liuto / Autore incerto / Pezzi 28', added by a nineteen-century hand. The same hand is
beginning
for
index
the
of the manuscript.
the
of compositions placed at
also responsible
In the pages that follow, four different numeration appear: a progressive numeration of
by
hand
the
nineteen-century
as the title and the
same
the pieces, which was added
index; an unoriginal foliation, which appears on the bottom left angle of the recto folios;
from
f.
130,
1
2"
to
starts
which
on
and appears on the top
page-numbering
an original
is
this
numeration
the
pages;
placed alongside of an older-almost
of
external angle
illegible-one,
if.
in
1-7'.
appears
which
` Mirko Caffagni, 'Il chitarrone come strumento per it basso continuo ed essempi del ms. M127 (sic)
della Biblioteca Estense di Modena', Quadriviam, 11 (1970), 117-51 and ibid. 'Modena Tiorba Continuo
Manuscript', 25-42.
= Tiziano Bagniati (ed.), Cadeaze epassaggi diversi intavolati per tiorba dal manoscritto Estense G 239
(sec. XVll)(Societ
Italiana del Liuto, 1; Bologna: Ut Orpheus Edizioni, 1995).
The manuscript contains twenty-seven pieces for soprano and continuo, which,
del
Monteverde',
direct
first
1-9),
lack
from
('Arianna
pp.
ascription to a
all
the
apart
final
Between
the penultimate and the
piece, a section under the title
composer!
'Cadenze finali' has been inserted. This section (pp. 103-27) contains examples of
for
for
in
Italian
The
tablature
the
theorbo.
pieces
voice and
cadential embellishments
but
four
by
(nos.
23,24,25
one
scribe
and
all
copied
were
continuo
have
26)
the
and
initial letter of the poetic text highly ornamented (illustration 8.1).
.: --
i-
-----a.
i"
r-i--I-I
Ll _1
_z-
f7
milli
U1R1,..
-I
A4IIiI
yr"
AAAIAaAA
______
1-1111r
I- -111
tie
K.eL'
--
er
1ri''
Jt
tfl'
44tdr*.
T-I--1
1111r"iIi
T- v 17
Ll
17 11 UI.
L_
FiUA
A)
in I,
AIIA
t
0 Tr6it
Rr6PbLI'%
11
"
- !
TI
s-X
ELM
-1
1.
IJit 1"'f
IitAtlR rti
Zu
WILJ
teu' go
4c i0
.r
'T4Jj
_r'_':
owl
I--i.
; Z; 4z;+
i0..
111.
A-
ILLUSTRATION 8.1: Opening of Monteverdi's 'Lamento di Arianna', Modena G239,1.
However, the titles of two pieces (nos. 22 and 23) were written by a different hand. One
for
intabulated
but
it
is
is
the
section
responsible
whether
the same
entirely
scribe
Thirteen of the pieces bear the initials 'b. c.' and, as mentioned above (chapter 7, p. 99 n), it has been
by
Castaldi.
A
Bellerofonte
incipits
the
the
table
of
contents
of
with
compositions
they
are
that
shown
Continuo
both
Caffagni,
'Modena
Tiorba
Manuscript',
29-30
in
appears
poetic texts of the manuscript
iii-iv.
Cadenze
Bagnati,
a passagg4
and
114
few
The
to say.
elements that allow
is
difficult
the
pieces
vocal
person who copied
comparison between the two sections-page
'Cadenze finali'
inscription
with
and tablature numbers, bass clefs, and the
the song-titles-present
minor
differentiations
(compare, for example, the letter d of the words Monteverde and Cadenze,or the curve
bass
8.1
8.2).
However,
in
illustrations
and
the
as the intabulated section seems
clef
of
been
in
have
a rush and without
to
copied
the elegance of the vocal songs, such
differentiations might be a result of hurry, or simply because'Cdenze finali' were copied

at a later time.
finali
X9dtzt
7f
.,
MU
A-A
1 Ei. 41
4'
1_-
s1
C-
j
,ti.
fZ01
--f- Z,.ii
I1
rf \.
r-
-1 --a-I-I
--
.1---1
II
7 d7
_[_
1y;
dr
11-
T--
--_-1
r1f
-.
ij
II
bA?
i--M-
, 1m
=I
f-- ft:
ILLUSTRATION8.2: First page of 'Cadenze finali', Modena G239,103.
The task of identifying the place of provenance of the manuscript does not present
inclusion
Castaldi's
The
difficulties.
of
compositions and the reference to
any particular
him with only the initials of his name-a
familiarity-strongly
sign of
indicate a
Modenese origin of the manuscript. The watermark that appears only on the first and
It
folios
last
such
a
stance.
to
support
represents a crowned eagle within a
comes
the
115
found
it
is
in
lists,
it is similar to sixteen-century
per
se
not
any
circle and, although
`
Modena
Ferrara.
and
watermarks of the regions of
Dating the manuscript, however, reveals severalproblems. From the songs included
in the manuscript, the cantata on the death of King Gustavus Adolphus ('Cantata di
'
68-79),
Guerra',
fell
battlefield
di
in
Svezia
in
in
Gustavo Adoflo Re
pp.
morto
who
1632, set this year as a date before which the manuscript (or at least this specific piece)
been
This
Monteverdi's
'Arianna',
have
and
the only surviving piece of
copied.
not
could
in
Mantua
in
1608 and published as a solo song in
performed
the eponymous opera
1623, led Caffagni to the conclusion that at least the vocal works were copied around
by
is
The
Coelho
brief
in
his
description of the
1632.6
opinion
same
shared
the year
'
been
he
have
later.
remarks that they might
copied
manuscript although
Caffagni, trying to identify the compiler of the manuscript, after rejecting with a
forcible argument the possibility of this being Castaldi, proposes the likelihood of Pietro
Betracchini, a singer and theorbo player from Capri, a town just a few kilometres north
Betracchini
in
1641,
Modena
Born
Modena'
to
went
around 1656 in order to study
of
He
1659
there
stayed
until
theorbo.
and after some years of living in other
and
singing
Italian cities and performing primarily on the guitar, he returned to Capri towards the
himself
devoted
known
Betracchini
1669
is
to
the
theorbo.
to have held a
and
end of
'
beautiful
highly
letters.
Modena
musical manuscripts with
ornamented
collection of
G239 could easily be one of them as it is an attractive manuscript with the initial of the
beautifully
decorated.
Thus, Caffagni suggested that the
piece
text of almost every
Bagnati, Cadenze e passaggi, iii. The watermark was not visible before the restoration of the
becausethe first and the last folios were attached to the parchment cover.
binding
in
1988
manuscript's
The handwriting of the title of this and the following piece is different from that of the song-texts.
6 Caffagni, 'Modena Tiorba Continuo Manuscript', 30.
Coelho, Manuscript Sources, 101-2.
Caffagni, 'Modena Tiorba Continuo Manuscript', 33-6. On Betracchini see id. 'L'autografia di Pietro
Betracchini', Bolletino della Societi Italians del Liuto, 3 (1993), 9-16.
' Caffagni, 'Modena Tiorba Continuo Manuscript', 33-4.
116
between
1656
been
have
G239
Modena
and
compiled either
might
cadenze section of
'merely
1669,
that
the
though
a suggested
above represent
1659 or after
acknowledging
hypothesis that can only be confirmed or refuted if we could recover a manuscript that is
10
In a
Coelho
by
Betracchini'.
that
suggests
such
exists.
a
manuscript
certainly
"
bears
Girolamo
Viviani,
1691,
Modenese
the
name
of
which
of
origins
manuscript of
Coelho sees a stylistic connection as well as a similar handwriting
he
calls
which
"
'provisionally a scribal concordance'. In this way he dates Modena G239 'to the years
"
higher
degree
later
of probability'.
with a
around 1670 with some certainty, and even
Whichever is the case, both scholars agree that the cadenze section of Modena
G239 was compiled later than the vocal works. However, if we assume that one scribe is
both
is
for
the
that
section
this
pieces
cadenze
and
the
and
person
vocal
responsible
Betracchini, then the compilation of the vocal pieces cannot date from around 1632, as
both Caffagni and Coelho suggest, because Betracchini was born in 1641. During the
for
however,
it
Betracchini to
1659,
between
1656
the
seems
plausible
young
and
period
have copied Monteverdi's famous 'Arianna' and the music by Castaldi who died in 1649,
been
have
is
Modena.
If
in
him
the
this
the
still
region
of
alive
would
of
the
memory
yet
finali'
'cadenze
from
date
1670.
the
to
of
seems
around
the
compilation
case,then
Until the rediscovery of Kapsberger's Libro terzo d'intavolaum di chitarone and due
(for
York
93-2
New
reasons that will
to the neglect of
be discussed below), the
intabulated section of Modena G239 was considered as the only illustrative source of the
described
by
function14
Agazzari.
It
as
contains ninety-nine
theorbo's ornamental
10Id. 'ModenaTiorba Continuo Manuscript', 36.

" Modena, Archivio di Stato, Ms. Archivio Ducale Segreto per materie, musica e musicisti, busta IV,
di
G.
Viviani,
Intavolature
A.
Piccinini,
Florence:
G.
Kapsberger,
in
(facs.
chirarrone;
B
fascicolo
edn.
Studio Per Edizioni Scelte, 1999).
Coelho, manuscript Sources, 103.
" Loc. cit.
" See, for instance, Caffagni, 'Modena Tiorba Continuo Manuscript',
29 and Bagnati, Cadenze e
passaggi, vi.
117
" The layout is

bass
Kapsberger's
to
that
similar
of
sequences.
examples of realized
bass
line
placed on the top and the tablature underneath.
cadential examples, with the
In order for the tablature to correspond with the mensural bass line, the use of a theorbo
lowest
#
With
A
is
in
the
contrabass course used, the intabulations were
required.
tuned
intended for an eleven-course instrument. Moreover, they may have been intended for an
instrument of rather small dimensions, in that they feature the same F major position as
do Castaldi's intabulations
(see chapter 7, p. 109 and example 8.1), which is
inconvenient for a large-size instrument.

EXAMPLE 8.1: Modena G239,110, bb. 19-20 [Bagnati no. 56).
Comparing Kapsberger's passaggi realizations with these presented in Modena

G239, a striking
difference becomes immediately
intended to be complete within

following
harmony is-the
evident: while the former were
the harmony of one bass note-no
matter what the
latter were made with the apparent consideration of a
harmonic perspective. In Modena G239 one finds diminutions
applied primarily
to
keys
(see
but
in
8.2),
the
common
most
example
cadences
also movements of the
perfect
bass by step (example 8.3) or by leap, both ascending and descending. The examples are
bass.
Numbers
deal
1-57
the
the
to
movement
of
with perfect
organized according
" As a modern edition of the 'Cadenze finali' is available, their reproduction here is unnecessary. Since
bear
do
G239
Modena
not
any original progressive numbering, the numeration of
the realized examples of
However,
illustrative
be
in
point.
this
Bagnati
as
a
reference
examples
presented
used
will
edition
the
indicate
Bagnati's
the original seventeenth-century page
in
will
numeration,
to
addition
chapter,
Bagnati's
that
edition.
not
of
and
numbering of the manuscript
118
dominant
or
a
parenthetical
subdominant
a
cadences, with
harmony quite often
C,
In
in
deal
dominant
1-17
particular,
numbers
chord.
with cadences
preceding the
18-30 with cadencesin G, 31-42 in A, 43-7 in B6,48-53
in D, and 54-7 in F. The
bass
focused
feature
58-70
movements
primarily on
other
with
remaining examples
focused
descending),
71-5
76-9
(ascending
thirds,
on
and
on
ascending
step-movement
descending thirds, 80-4 on ascending and descending fourths, 88-97 showing cadences
descending
feature
bass
the
through
a
second;
remaining
examples
moves
where the
bass
movement.
mixed
EXAMPLE8.2: Modena G239,109, bb. 20-3 (Bagnati no. 41).
(1) Fouttb line O(g
EXAMPLE8.3: ModenaG239,125, bb. 3-4 [Bagnati no. 971.
C0]
81881
The number of bars for each example varies. Two bars is the minimum, while the
forty-one
bars.
This particular example looks as if it
(no.
85)
longest example
consists of
features
for
bass
it
'revision'
types
various
of
movement and alters
is a sort of
example
binary
is
The
the
that
time
always
signature
with
only
exception
centres.
tonic
various
119
bass
in
86
The
line
a
section
triple
which
contains
time.
mensural
of example no.
consists predominantly of semibreves with minims also employed.
The realizations over the bass notes are conceived with a linear approach, rather
than chordal progressions. They are embellishments that consist of timte and passaggi
To
trilli
totally
absent.
some extent they are similar to the
such
as
are
and ornaments
"
Girolamo
found
Dalla
in
Casa's
Francesco
Rognoni's,
earlier collections such as
or
ones
but they are written so as to meet the character and the peculiarities of the theorbo.
Imitation
(as
in
a
role
example 8.2) and melodic chains appear frequently
plays quite
(example 8.4).
i_I
4'"I
lrr-n
p---
01
Harmonic
hi
II
iv 11
X987
r1fal
FA
C-7
ornamentation, such as second-inversion chords and 43 suspensions in
dominant cadential chords is also evident though in many casesit is more a result of
melodic activity rather than of vertical realization. This melodic activity is not restricted
bass
but
line
is
bass
line
in
itself (see,for
the
equally
to
above
apparent
the
material
only
instance, examples 8.3 and 8.5). The bass line, in addition to its functional harmonic
frequently
downwards
is
emphasized
with
octave transposition and leaps,
support which
plays an additional melodic role equal to that of the upper voice(s). As Nigel North
comments,
16Girolamo Dalla Casa, II vero modo di diminuire (Venice: A. Gardano, 1584; modern edn. G. Vecchi
(ed. ), Bologna: Arnaldo Forni Editore, 1989); Taeggio Francesco Rognoni, Selva de varii passeggi (Milan:
F. Lomazzo, 1620; facs. edn., Bologna: Arnaldo Forni Editore, 1983).
120
it
is
easy to understand why the theorbo was used so
type
of writing
with this
often as a melodic bass (instrument) in trio sonatas and other chamber music in
"
Italy'.
seventeenth-century
The embellishments of `cadenzefinali' reveal a high degree of musicality and they

for
the theorbo with the constant employment of strascini
are written extremely well
feature
in
Kapsberger's
courses-a
absent
the
contrabass
examples. On the
and use of
is
Although
hand,
campanelle
surprising.
the
of
scarce
use
they are very efficiently
other
few
(example
in
8.6),
they
the
places
appear
one would expect a more
presented
features
in such a fine vade mecum.
theorbo's
the
of
most
effective
one
extended use of
EXAMPLE 8.5: Modena G239,103, bb. 11-14 [Bagnati no. 41.
-Lj:::
II
4p-4"-
'"'r rr
789%
3-p-e
A
O
i,
Zb): l
fm
r=
L. r-r
0
7
The very limited
use of campanelle, however, and the musical quality of the
lead
the
theorbo,
of
the
to the presumption
understanding
might
as
examples as well
by
finali'
instruments
'cadenze
a
mature
player
of
plucked
written
not yet
were
that
" North, Continuo Playing, 194.
121
familiar
with the advanced technique of campanella execution, a technique
entirely
inextricably
intertwined
with
the theorbo's re-entrant
tuning.
Thus, Caffagni's
becomes
G239
Modena
for
know
Betracchini
that
compiled
stronger,
we
assumption
himself
dedicating
his
Betracchini,
to
the
principally
guitar,
after
with
return to his
that
begun
he
land
1669,
'since
the
to
practice
the
the
theorbo
again
towards
end
of
native
"
flourishes
lacking
(the
for
execution of)
on ...
necessary accompanying'.
was) somewhat
Such an account makes clear that, even as late as the second half of the seventeenthin
still
practices
were
well
use. Despite the fact that the
century, older performance
interest of the composers was moving more and more towards a vertical approach,
lines
in
horizontal
the accompaniment, and 'cadenze finali'
applied
were
elaborate
doubt
is
There
in
that,
this
no
view.
an actual performance, such
clearly reflect
improvisational
however,
in
this case a player
character;
of
even
embellishments are
familiar
Therefore,
'cadenze
to
already
models
patterns.
reference
and
makes
always
finali'
is a collection of loci communis, suitable for every need." In that sense they
linear
idea
ornamentation, and they were compiled with an
of
represent a personal
indisputable
didactic intention-or
autodidactic
if we accept Betracchini
as the
Thus,
finali'
'cadenze
is an extremely
the
collection
the
of
manuscript.
compiler of
for
document
anyone who aims to understand and revive seventeenthvaluable reference
century accompaniment practice.
" Luigi-Francesco Valdrighi,
'Pietro Betracchini e altri musicisti del Sec. XVII'
(1881; repr. in
Musurgiana (modena, 1879-86), Bologna: Arnaldo Forni Editore, 1970), 203-4; quoted from Caffagni,
'Modena Tiorba Continuo Manuscript', 36.
" Caffagni, 'Modena Tiorba Continuo Manuscript', 36.
122
9. NEW YORK 93-2
Despite the fact that New York 93-2 is the most comprehensive seventeenth-century
for
has
it
the
theorbo,
never attracted any scholar attention. It is absent
tutor
continuo
from the lists of historical manuscript tablatures of Ernst Pohlmann, ' and the reference
2 provides an erroneous description indicating
in
RISM,
it
that appears
to
that it is
in
French
is
in
Italian. The same incorrect
the
tablature
while
manuscript
notated
description also used to appear, until quite recently, in the records of the New York
Public Library.; Due to this lack of appropriate regard a full transcription that retains
features
layout
of the manuscript appears in a separate volume of the
and
the original
III).
(volume
thesis
present
New York 93-2 is an oblong fascicle of 15 x 30 cm, written in black ink. It
folios
49
five-line
(each
two
with
systems
numbered
consisting of a
contains
and a
followed
by
four
folios
page,
unnumbered
tablature staff) per
without any staves where a
There
is
for
no
cover
the manuscript or a title. The heading on
appears.
contents
table of
f. 1 '. Introdutioni.
/a Note / con Terza Maggiore, e con Terza Minore e Terza Natturale'
is the title of the first section. Apart from the fact that the manuscript comes from Italy,
for the obvious reason that it is written in Italian language and tablature, any other
define
its
in
remains
the sphere of speculation. It was surely
provenance
to
attempt
Ernst Pohlmann, Laute, Theorboe, Chitarrone. " die Lauten-Instrumente:
ihre Musik und Literatur von
I500 bis zur Gegenwart(5th rev. and enlarged edn., Lilienthal: Eres Edition, 1982).
2 Wolfgang
Jahrhunderts
Boetticher, Handschrihlich
berlieferte Lauten- und Gicarrentabulaturen des IS. bis 18.
des
Sources Musicales (RISM), set. B, vii (Munich: G. Henle
International
Repertoire
of
Verlag, 1978), 334.

' CATNYP:
The Online Catalog of The New York Public Library <http: //catnyp. nypl. org/search/
d+theorbo/1,8,17, B/frameset&dTheorbo+Methods&2
the manuscript
corrected.
as written
3>, accessed 15 March 1999 was still describing
in French tablature. Since then, the description has at some point been
because
half
during
in
century
and
the
almost
certainly
the
second
seventeenth
compiled
knowledge
impressive
is
shows
and
an
of the instrument.
the writing
very sophisticated
Two facts bear out such an assertion: the sophisticated use of the high register of the
instrument and the appearanceof complex chords, both extremely rare in the first half of
the century.
Concerning the issue of the manuscript's provenance, although there is no direct
link
facts
towards
possible
point
a
with the region of Bologna. Firstly,
evidence, various
despite
hexachord
lateness
the
the
nomenclature,
of the manuscript's
the writer employs
declining
hexachord
during
The
the
system
of
was
the second half of
use
compilation.
it
as
was not able to meet the requirements of contemporary
century
the seventeenth
However,
traditions such as those at Naples and
composition.
theory
and
practice of
Bologna retained the hexachord system until
later.
The influential
much
continuo
Lorenzo
Penna,
in
Bologna
in 1672, also
Li
of
musicali
published
albori
priori
treatise
4 Furthermore, it is
hexachord
the strong Bolognese tradition of
nomenclature.
used the
lasted
least
continuo
playing,
of
which
especially
at
as late as 1747,
theorbo playing,
basis
for
on
a
permanent
the regular musical activities
employed
theorbo
player
with a
in San Petronio. ' Not only the last-ever printed Italian collections for theorbo by
6
but also almost every Italian print after
in
Bologna,
Giovanni Pittoni were published
1650 requiring theorbo for accompaniment comes from Bologna!
Lorenzo Penna, Li prim! albori musical! (Bologna: G. Monti,
1672). This basso continuo treatise of
famous
during
for
its
in
interest
1674,1679,1684
time
several
reprints
very
was
appeared
extraordinary
and 1696.
' Anne Schnoebelen,'PerformancePracticesat San Petronio in the Baroque', Acta Musicologica, 41
(1969), 46.
6 Giovanni Pittoni, Intavolatura di tiorba
(Bologna: G. Monti, 1669;
opera
prima
and
opera
seconds
...
facs. edn., Florence: Studio Per Edizioni Scelte, 1980). The collections were published twenty-nine years
by
in
1640.
Kapsberger
publication
after the previous theorbo
'See Sayce, 'Development', ii. 323-9.
124
The property stamp that appears on folio 1 indicates that the manuscript was
beginning of the nineteenth century.
de
Toulmon
Bottee
by
Auguste
the
at
owned
Although nothing is known about the history of the manuscript during the eighteenth
how
have
look
into
de
Bottee
Toulmon
interesting
is
it
possibility
to
a
of
might
century
de Toulmon, a publisher in Paris, was linked with
Bottee
York
93-2.
New
acquired
Italian music through his association with Luigi Cherubini, and he acquired various
being
Cherubini,
in
Cherubini's
1778,
collection.
after
awarded
a
grant
of
manuscripts
figure
leading
late
in
Sarti,
a
eighteenth-century
spent three years with
opera, in
'
dramatic
Milan
Bologna and
music. Giusepe
studying counterpoint and the style of
Sarti was at his best in accompanied recitatives and some of these are 'highly developed
dramatic
in
involve
several characters
and
instruments
comment with
action: the harmonies are rich, the
expressive solo passages ...
'. ' Having
in mind both
10
in
interest
Cherubini's and Sarti's
the accompanied style, as well as the description of
Sarti's accompanied recitatives, which is to some extend applicable to the character of
is
York
93-2,
New
there
a possibility that the manuscript was acquired
the contents of
by Cherubini while he was in Bologna, brought by him to Paris and thereafter passed
into the possessionof Bottee de Toulmon. Such a claim is possible but, as mentioned
hypothesis.
an
above, remains merely
New York 93-2 is a complete and extraordinary continuo tutor intended for a
fourteen-course theorbo in A, with a re-entrant tuning for the first two courses. It
illustrates both the theorbo's chordal and embellishing functions, something that it is
headings
into
by
looking
the
to
the
over
assigned
parts
which the
evident simply
' Michael Fend, 'Cherubini Luigi (Carlo Zanobi Salvadore Maria)', The New Grove Dictionary of Music
Macmillan,
2001),
Tyrrell
(London:
572.
John
Sadie
Stanley
v.
Musicians,
and
eds.
and
' David DiChiera, 'Sarti [Sandi), Giuseppe'. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed.
Stanley Sadie (Londodn: Macmillan, 1980), xvi. 504.
10Both composers wrote pedagogical works on basso continuo. These are Cherubini's 39 figured basses,
both surviving in manuscript form.
bassogenerale,
del
Trattato
Sarti's
1798 and
125
deal
Parts
(table
divided
9.1).
is
two
three
with various types of
and
manuscript
first
features
four
the
part combines
solely chordal realizations;
embellishments; part
both qualities.
TALE 9.1: Structure of New York 93-2.
Folio
Part
Translation
Content
a Note
Introdutioni
11
2.2
12
to notes with
the
major third, and with the minor
Terza Natturale
and natural third

sopra
Cadenze risolute
2.1
Introduction
Maggiore, e con Terza Minore e
Abellimenti
8'
con Terza
di
Note
Embellishments
the
over
resolutions of cadential notes ...
...
Risolutione di Quarta e Terza, e
Resolution of the fourth and third,
con Settima
and with seventh
Risolutione di Sestae Quinta falsa
Resolution of
the
sixth
and
diminished fifth
2.3
15
Risolutione di Settima e Sesta
Resolution of the seventh and

sixth
Note
con
sopra
di
Note
et
a
accompagniam.
Passages
Cadenze
notes
28
Accompag.
{Chordal} accompaniments
...
28'
Sopra qualsi voglia Note con ogni
20
4
4.1
Passeggi
...
with
accompaniments and on cadential
Over
any
notes
their
with
accidentals, and in as many forms,
modi e maniere possimo tromarsi e
modes and styles as can be found
formarsi
et in
sopra la Tastattura
di
Tiorba.
47'
notes
quante forme,
accidenti,
4.2
over
Con Risolutione
based
and
upon the fingerboard of
the theorbo
di
Settime,
Sestelegate, et unite
With
the
resolution
of
the
sevenths and sixths tied together
Part one: Introdutioni

According
manuscript
first
heading,
the
part contains what the compiler of the
to the
introductory
the
regards as
material,
the
basics for
the theorbo
126
in
is
The
tonic centres according to the nominal
part
organized
accompaniment.
"
from
departing
diatonic
the
the
character
third
them,
notes and
of
above
sequence of
One
devoted
is
its
G
page
to
tonic
each
centre,
with
upwards.
moving
and
note
denomination placed vertically at the left edge of each page. The fundamental bassnotes
both
line,
different
F4
C'
in
staff
the
mensural
and
clefs and
with
are presented on
octaves.
In the tablature staff various types of realizations above the fundamental bass note
is
first
imperative
in
The
the
to
present
the
of
compiler
chordal
realization
root
appear.
functions
The
in
the
tonic
centre.
as
chord
appears
various positions,
which
position
though not in all the possible ones and, sometimes, some of the main ones are neglected.
The writer obviously seeksmore to define the character of the chord rather than to show
instrument.
As
Kapsberger's
is
the
the
tables of
on
case
with
position
every possible
(see
5.3,
85-6),
is
the
pp.
the
chapter
realization
of
chords
not
chordal realizations
dependent on the pitch of the mensural notation (and vice versa), but there is a liberal
for
III,
Once
instance,
2).
is
(see,
the
p.
tonic
appendix
centre
established,
use of octaves
durezze
(durezza
'harshness'),
designated
as
atpeggi and ribattute
=
phenomena
(ribattuta
followed
by
'restrike')
along,
come
embellishments such as campanelle,
=
is
It
remarkable that the compiler of the manuscript considers
passaggi and groppi.
embellishing
fundamental
principle
as a
for the accompaniment, introducing
it
knowledge
Essentially,
basic
is
of
chordal
realization.
this
the
a testimony to
alongside
during
for
improvised
execution
of
embellishments
the seventeenth
the prevalent taste
" As the manuscript follows the theory of hexachords, B6 is not considered as a chromatic note but as an
integral element of the system. The character of the thirds above the functional notes is not defined
The
diatonic
thirds
and
minor
approach.
major
constituted
with
the
to
the
modern
precisely according
be
(e.
C-E
'natural
D-F
defined
thirds'
they
major
or
minor
and
can
either
g.
and
as
notes of the mode are
'major'
Designations
'minor'
in
'natural
described
both
the caseswhen
thirds').
and
are
employed
as
are
The only exception is the treatment of the third above note G
bears
bass
accidental.
an
the
the third above
G-B
described
In
is
B/Bb.
the
third
that
case
as 'major', while G-Bb as
because of the mutable step
'minor'.
127
importance
it
is
Furthermore,
the
of
attached to this type of execution
evidence
century.
from the very beginning of the educational procedure in the seventeenth century.
Revealing the character of the designations durezze, arpeggio and ribattute is not
necessarily a straightforward
from
because,
the actual pitch of the stock
task
apart
Nonetheless,
it
is
is
or
manner
of
to
values
execution.
rhythmic
chords, there no allusion
dissonances
they
characteristic:
all
common
are
multiple
evident that they all share one
To
durezze,
dominant
from
it
start
tonic
chords.
with
or
as arises
associated with either
7+
5
In one case it is
4
the
tonic.
resolve
onto
chords
which
L
table 9.2, these are principally

7+
does
difference;
in
(9.2a),
not
two other
make
any
essentially
while
which
a4 chord
7+
is
it
9.21)
(9.2e
a4 chord.
and
occasions
TABLE 9.2: Comparative table of dissonancesdesignated as durezze in New York 93-2.
a)
h)
b)
i)
d)
c)
i)
e) 1
k)
A
IM
1)
f)
-
m)
a)
a
v
g)
6
D
be
because
in
9.2e
9.21
to
the
seems
out of question
and
The possibility of a scribal error
for
both
the
the
the
scribe's
reveals
sixth
above
wish
occasions,
on
two
g,
of
presence
128
bass. Anyway, these shapes,which are quite similar in character, were used on occasions
in late-seventeenth century accompanied recitative.
Unfortunately,
there is no indication
in the manuscript
as to whether the
designation durezze was related to any particular manner of execution. The Bolognese
Alessandro Piccinini, using the same term a few decades earlier, made the following
description:
full
dissonances
(durezze)
it
for
is
of
comes
out
the
very
music
well
a
when
do
Naples,
in
(ribarrono)
they
restriking
as
to
sometimes
play
many
change
loud,
dissonance
(dissonante),
soft,
now
now
and the harsher it is
times the same
better
it;
in practice than
such
a
playing
comes
out
really,
the more they repeat
"
likes
in words, particularly when one
expressive playing.
Whether Piccinini and the compiler of New York 93-2 had the same perception of
durezze is not ascertainable. What is certain is that, for both, the use of the term durezze
is related to expressiveness, with Piccinini
stating so and the manuscript's scribe
describe
it
tense chords.
to
applying
The principal
be dominant
idea of chords that bear the designation

leading
a seventh
chords with
arpeggio is that they have to
to the tonic (volume
dominant
7),
5
III,
(volume
the
the
root
of
and
pp.
occasions
frequently
more
(volume III, pp. 2,3,4,10
III,
p. 12). On two
chord is omitted;
and 11) the dominant
while
is realized over the
7+
tonic, thus providing a
chord. On one occasion (volume III, p. 9) only the tonic

2
be
dominant
In
lack
to
the
seems
a
scribal
omission.
the
of
essencechords
appears and
with
in
(if
designation
character
are
similar
not identical)
arpeggio
the
to those
designated as durezze. As is evident from the term arpeggio, its use is certainly linked
is
than
the successivesounding
nothing
which
more
execution
of
way
particular
a
with
" Piccinini, Intavolatuca, 1: 'dove la musica e piena di durezze, per variate riesce molto buono suonare
durezze ribattono pi Lvolte quell'istessa dissonanza hor piano, &
Napoli,
the
alle
alle volte, come s'usa
la
in
dissonante,
e
tanto
pii1
ribattono,
ma
veramente
suonare
nesce
meglio
forte,
questo
hor
e quando pia
il
gusta
suonare affetuoso'.
in
chi
fatti, the
parole, e particolarmente a
129
of a chordally-conceived group of notes. When talking
about arpeggiation on the
first
thing that comes to mind is Kapsberger's right-hand fingering pattern
the
theorbo,
That
pattern was a result of the physical development of the theorbo
of arpeggiation.
for
it
the theorbo, it was also applied to other plucked
standardized
was
and, after
instruments. " Hence, applying this fingering pattern to some indicative arpeggio
be
in
the
as
example 9.1.
result
would
examples,
EXAMPLE9.1: Kapsberger'sfingering pattern applied in arpeggioexamplesfrom New York 932; (a) f. 1', (b) f. 3, (c) f. .
(b)
(4)
(c)
tP.
#L4
-W
7
II
II
Kapsberger's pattern, however, should not be considered as the only option for
is
Arpeggiation
it
is
technical
not
merely
a
phenomenon;
an embellishment
arpeggiation.
that gains meaning only within
a musical context and depends on the performer's
personal taste.
Concerning the designation ribattute, this must also indicate a distinct manner of
indicates.
in
Any
restriking
the
term
of
chords,
as
particular
and
attempt,
execution
13For the formation and evolution of Kapsberger'sfingering pattern seeKitsos, 'Arpeggiated Chords',
58-61.
130
however, to provide a definite description of such an execution is futile. The way of

dissonant
has
is
that
ones,
puzzled many
a
matter
restriking chords, and especially
" Concerning the nature
is
insufficient.
because
the surviving evidence
modern scholars
in
display
designation
bear
these
ribattute,
the
variety
the
widest
of the chords that
III,
durezze
(volume
In
designated
pp.
three
cases
and
arpeggio.
those
with
comparison
leading
dominants
7)
the
suspension
on
note; on two
2,4 and
chords with a
they are
dominantdiminished
have
(which
5)
3
(pp.
seventh
chords
they
are
a
and
occasions
in
function)
another one-which,
while
chord
be
lacks
it
designation,
although
could
diminished chord is resolved onto the tonic

7+
s
chords resolved onto the tonic, while in
(p. 6); in two instances (pp. 8,15) they are
2
into
the class of ribattute-the
subsumed
finally,
(p.
9),
it
is
(p.
14)
to
the
tonic;
resolving
on
also
one
occasion
chord
a4
another
"
leading
note.
it seemsbe a flat-fifth chord with a suspension on the
As loose is the use of terms such as durezza, dissonanza, arpeggio or (ri)battuta
loose
in
New
York
is
their
equally
use
seventeenth-century writers,
93-2.
by
The
designation durezze, however, seems to focus the attention rather on the harmonic
texture of a chord-and
in particular the dominant over the tonic-while
arpeggio and
for
dissonant
techniques
chords, almost
ribattute, almost certainly, spotlight performing
dominant
always of
instructions
Although
character.
on such performing
the manuscript
does not offer specific
techniques, it presents evidence that dissonant
harmonies received special treatment in order to stress their intensity.

The chordal realizations of each tonic centre are followed by various linear
bear
designations
These
the
passaggio,
groppo
embellishments
and
embellishments.
indications
have
tempo
they
or
expression
such
as presto,
occasionally
and
campanelle
" See prob. Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini, 'The Art of "not Leaving the Instrument Empty"', Early
Music, 11 (1983), 300.
" The original realization does not seem to make any musical sensetherefore suggesting a copying error,
iv.
III,
in
p.
volume
see commentary
131
for
forte
(see,
instance,
III,
pp. 12 and 15). The embellishments do not
volume
piano or
display any rhythmic indication and, therefore, we can presume that the rhythmic
interpretation was left to the performer and in relation to the musical texture to which
they should be applied. Furthermore, they are segmented with small vertical lines, one
indicates
length
length
that
presumably
phrases,
two-space
and
another
of
one-space
of
that seems to suggest segments within
'6
fragments
These
phrases.
are usually self-
be
in
they
a musical context either on their own or together with
can
used
and
contained
other.
The passaggi in New York 93-2 are of an improvisatory character, quite similar to
G239.
They
found
in
Modena
often pass over the contrabass courses (see, for
the ones
instance, volume III, p. 5, second system, bb. 2-3) and they broadly feature strascini and
for
(see,
instance,
III,
2,
bb.
1-2). In
p.
second
system,
technique
volume
the campanella
"
left-hand
include
ornaments such as vibrato and trillo, elements
signs of
addition they
designation
G239.
The
from
is
Modena
the
use
of
campanelle
evidence that it is
absent
describing the harp-like effect which results from the dividing
of step-related notes
because
blend
into
different
However,
they
the
one
courses
other.
the
amongst
designation
is never used when the campanella technique is applied. The term
is
used exclusively to signify the single alternation of one note with an
campanella
different
below
the
notes
placed
with
on
and
courses, thus narrowing its
auxiliary a step
III,
for
instance,
(see,
volume
meaning
first
2,
p.
system, bb. 5-7). Finally,
the
designation groppo is used to describe melodic shapesthat are based on the alternation
lower
by
and
notes, once again
using the Campanella
of one note with the pair of upper
from
in
The
the upper auxiliary note and the number,
turn,
most cases,starts
technique.
(see
9.2).
varies
the
example
alternations
as well as the order, of
16Theselines will hereafterbe treated as barlines.

For a definition of left-hand ornament signs, seevolume III, pp. iii-iv
of the present thesis.
132
EXAMPLE9.2: Groppo examples from New York 93-2; (a) f. 3', (b) f. 6', (c) f. 7'.
(b)
(a)
(c)
"-"-""
Part two: Risolutione

The second part of the manuscript deals with the melodic embellishment of
divided
It
is
into
(see
lead
three
to
cadence.
sections
a
also table 9.1):
that
chords
fourth
bass
interval
descending
the
moves
with
of
an
ascending
or
cadences where the
fifth, with an added 43 suspension, with or without a seventh; cadences with the bass
figuration;
by
6f
an
added
semitone
with
and cadences where the
a
moving upwards
bass moves a step downwards with an added 76 suspension. The three sections, in terms
do
not receive the same treatment.
of presentation and embellishment,
The first section is organized by the ascending order of diatonic notes, starting with
The
figured
bass
G,
towards
the
notes
placed
end.
mensural
and with chromatic
the note
is given in an F` clef, with the embellished tablature realization placed below it.
Throughout this part the only embellishment used is that of campanella, in the narrow
its
below.
described
the
the
alternation
of
single
one
note
with
of
auxiliary
above,
sense
fact
follow
for
is
that
the
two specific recurrent
all
the
cadences
The reason
this
in
cadences
all
with
a43
the
realization:
procedures
straight
suspension are realized with a
dominant chord and its fifth embellished with a campanella, followed by
7,
in
the
tonic
the
tonic;
third
and
of
all
cadences
with
a
the
on
another campanella
addition
to a43
but
in
the
are
realized
same
way
with the campanelle
suspension,
dominant
(see
III,
17-22).
the
tonic
the
and
of
volume
pp.
notes
applied on the root
133
Concerning the cadenceswith a solely 43 figuring, the fact that the suspension does not
figuring
does
indicate
leads
in
the
that
the
to
conclusion
not
to
the
realization
appear
but
it
is
that
to
a sign of what a singer or another
play
the accompanist what
instrumentalist
performs. In that case the accompaniment does not interfere with the
s
dominant
dissonance
but,
line
the
4
the
reinforces
contrary,
and embellishes
on
upper
because
it
the
that
not
perform
upper
voice
would
would
the third of the tonic, a note
have to resolve the leading note to the tonic. The case is similar for cadenceswith a 7.
8
out
dissonance,
leaves
7
The accompaniment reinforces the
the third of the tonic that
dissonant
in
the
seventh, and embellishes
the upper part as a resolution of
would exist
for
Hence,
the omission of the resolution of
those examples reveal a taste
the tonic.
dissonances,1ein particular when the resolution is the third of the chord. As for the fact
beginning
dominant
43
despite
the
chord
appears
at
of
the
suspension, a straight
that,
justifications:
every example, there are various
firstly, the chord might
have been
be
harmony,
detail
indicative
to
the
not expected
used in an actual
intended as an
of
fourth
fit
dissonant
if
it
the
the
of
upper part would
well
would
secondly,
performance;
feature
in
beto
is
furthermore,
this
guitar alf
be ornamented;
a very common
as
bearable
be
discrepancy
to
was
either
or
was
expected
performed
accompaniment, such a
in a different way than written.
The second section deals with the realization of flat-fifth chords that are resolved
fifth
diminished
in
A
it
is
the
precedes
and,
always
essence,
sixth
a
chord.
onto a major
first inversion dominant with a passing diminished fifth leading to a cadence. In any
because
he
this
considers
effect
as
a
suspension
the
manuscript
of
the
compiler
case,
di
falsa'
Sesta
Quinta
(resolution
'Risolutione
description
e
the
of
sixth and
the
assigns
in
fifth).
The
the previous section, are ordered according to
diminished
examples, unlike
chromatic
from
G.
One
the
or more chordal
note
ascending movement, starting
1This consistent with Werckmeister's account quoted in chapter 5, p. 61 n.
134
for
followed
by embellishments which are not
each example,
realizations are presented
limited to campanelle but they also feature groppi and passaggi. The choice of the type
of embellishment used is random; there is no intentional avoidance of any particular
improvisatory
the
therefore
character of the embellishments is apparent. It is
notes, and
obvious that this section receives a liberal treatment becausethe harmonic phenomenon
it deals with is not very tense, as was the casein the previous section.
Equally liberal is also the approach in the chordal realizations. The chord voicing is
of secondary consideration as, in some cases,6 chords are realized in root position, and
the voice-leading is awkward (see, for instance, volume III, p. 24, second system, bb. 23). The possibility of a scribal mistake is non-existent. The compiler of the manuscript
masters the theorbo's re-entrant tuning to overlook such infelicities and, besides, if he
by
the chord voicing, all he had to do was to supply solely the 'correct'
was offended
realization that he anyway provides in the previous bar. Consequently, his prime concern
focused
was
on the harmonic character of the chord and not on the literal realization of
the figuring.
The third and last section of part one is devoted to the realization of cadenceswith
76 suspensions. This section is the lengthiest of the three because it presents a range of
variant types of 76 suspensions (major seventh/major sixth, minor seventh/major sixth,
major seventh/augmented sixth). Like the previous section, the examples start with the
note G and they are ordered according to chromatic ascending movement. Similarly, one
or more chordal realizations are presented for each example, followed by various types of
embellishments. The overall approach in the realizations is similar to the one of the
previous section, with
occasionally loose consideration of the chord voicing,
and
embellishments of an improvisatory character.
135
Part three: Passeegit9

The third part of the manuscript is ordered according to the diatonic ascending
is
from
G.
The
notes
note
use of chromatic
sequence of notes starting, once again,
limited to B1 and E6, which are presented straight after their naturals. The part is not
from
but
deals
devoted
the
title,
also with
to
passages,as one might expect
entirely
figuring
first
inversion
patterns that are
chords
chordal realization of, almost exclusively,
feature
interesting
dominant-seventh
However,
the
of the partchords.
most
related to
for
the emphasis given in the title-is
the
reason
and obviously
the relation between
figuring and the passagesprovided. Unlike the embellishments presented so far, the
for
43
figuring.
The
in
here
the
suspension,
ones
are entirely applied to the notes given
example, which was in part two avoided in the accompaniment, here appears not only in
45,
heavily
but
for
is
(see,
instance,
III,
also
ornamented
the accompaniment
p.
volume
Examples
of ornamental passages are applied primarily
second system).
to (3) 43
figuring, but they are also to be found on other figures too (see, for instance, p. 40).
A matter of peculiar interest in part three is the existenceof an example-the only

one in the entire manuscript-that
displays rhythmic signs in the tablature (volume III,

6557
for
figuring,
it
is
individual
This
is
52-3).
3
4
403
the
example
not
applied on
an
pp.
been
has
realized chordally,
which
already
Instrumental
but it functions as a cadential cue.
feature
in seventeenth-century Italian
cadential cues were a common
been
have
in
Their
not
to
applied
merely
places
they
must
noted
cantata.
where
use
are
the accompaniment but they were also, quite often, to be improvised; the example in
pp. 52-3 was obviously intended to demonstrate such a practice. This example was
because
features
it
careful
presumably composed after
consideration
most of the effective
in
the manuscript: passages employing
presented
already
qualities
the campanella
first
(p.
52,
technique
system, b. 2) and strascini (p. 53, b. 3), groppo (p. 52, second
19Passeggi is a different spelling for passaggi.
136
b.
first
3
(p.
b.
b.
left-hand
52,
2),
53,
2),
and
system,
ornaments
campanelle(p.
system,
fifth/diminished
for
b.
diminished
designation
1),
ribattuta
and the
a
second system,
first
b.
This
has
(p.
3).
52,
the value of a minim, thus
system,
chord
seventh chord
for
Furthermore,
the rhythmic variety of
restriking.
space
an
effective
allowing enough
the example should be noted, as well as the reappearance and establishment of the
6557
fingering
bb.
different
left-hand
(p.
in
1-2).
53,
#3
3
44
position
a
pattern
cadential
Part four: Accompagnamend

The last part of the manuscript is entirely devoted to chordal realization. It
figures
(volume III, pp.
the
realization
of
selection
a
of chord
contains tables that show
56-93) and also displays descending scalesharmonized with 76 suspensions (pp. 94-8).
Without
it
is
doubt,
the most comprehensive surviving chord reference manual not
a
Europe.
but
from
Italy
the
of
rest
also
only
The arrangement of the tables is simple and practical. Each table provides almost
every necessary chord shape on a particular
seventeenth-century
Italian
music.
From
bass note for the accompaniment of
simple
root position
chords to more
7+
complicated
figures such as , one or more possible realizations are provided,

2
in various
fingerings.
The
tables, each occupying two pages, are ordered according to
positions and
from
far
G
note
and going as
as e: A table
the ascending chromatic sequence, starting
for note G# is, however, omitted for the obvious reason it is not available on the
instrument the manuscript was intended for. Occasionally the mensural bass notes are
doubled by their octaves (ascending or descending), attesting the tolerant treatment of
for
bass
(see,
instance, p. 56, bb. 1-2 and p. 85, bb. 1-9). The full
the actual
pitch
register of the instrument is used and chord shapes extend up to the eleventh fret (see,
for instance, p. 56, b. 1). The number of voices per chord varies from three to six
according to the character and the position of the chord. However, with the exception of
chords in root position, there is a tendency to use only the necessarynumber of voices
137
because,
is
harmonization
harmony.
disclose
Four-part
on
the
object
not
the
needed to
full
sonority.
the theorbo, three-voice chords are very effective and offer a
Up to and including the table of note e, the realizations are excellent in terms of
(p.
75,
however,
incorrect
inversions
From
second
table,
the
appear
next
chord voicing.
bass
higher
b.
7),
the
goes, the more such chord voicing
mensural
and the
system,
infelicities are present (see, for instance, p. 89). The same disregard for the correct chord
inversion is apparent in the contemporary continuo tutors published in France by
20
Grenerin.
The explanation given
Henry
Michele
Bartolomi
Angelo
Fleury,
Nicolas
and
by modern scholarship to the inversion problems in these tutors is the fact that they 'all
demand
hurry,
in
it
been
have
to
the
the
theorbo
meet
of
sprang
a
as
to
compiled
appear
21Even if this is a plausible explanation22for the
in
1660'.
in
Paris
around
to popularity
French tutors, how can one justify the chord voicing infelicities in New York 93-2? The
indicates
in
for
that the compiler mastered
the
manuscript
theorbo
the
overall writing
he
it
is
that
theorbo
tuning
therefore,
and,
unlikely
the peculiarities of the re-entrant
he
Equally
improbable
is
inversions.
incorrect
the
that
possibility
overlooked so many
intentionally
ignored such discrepancies in order to make his tutor easy and accessible
for a student; elsewhere he constantly usesdifficult (for a beginner) positions in the high
he
lower,
Furthermore,
instrument.
transposes
as
often
chords
an
octave
register of the
he could easily do the same here to avoid faulty inversions.
20Nicolas Fleury, Methode pour apprende facilement toucher le theorbe sur la hasse-continue (Paris:
R. Ballard, 1660; facs. edn., Geneva: Minkoff
Reprint, 1972); Angelo Michele Bartolomi,
Table pour
hasse
le
(Paris:
facilement
la
thCorbe
toucher
continue
n. pub., 1669); Henry Grenerin,
sur
apprendre
(Paris, by the author, [c. 1680); facs. edn., Geneva: Minkoff Reprint, 1984).
Livre de thCorbe
...
2' North, Continuo Playing, 161.
22It is generally assumed that the continuo principle was disseminated in France in the 1640s and
1650s and the theorbo after the middle of the century. However, modern scholarship shows that they were
both in use well before that time, from the first decades of the century. See,Jonathan Le Cocq, 'The Early
Air de Cour, the Theorbo, and the Continuo Principle in France' in Jonathan Wainwright
Holman (eds.), From Renaissance to Baroque: Change in Instruments and Instrumental
and Peter
Music in the
Seventeenth Century (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing Ltd, forthcoming 2005), 191-207.
138
Aiming
for the best style in the performance it is unthinkable for a modern
in
fact
'wrong'
inversions
the seventeenththe
that
tolerable
to
were
accept
musician
less
fact
Nevertheless,
or
the
that they are more
century theorbo accompaniment.
it
93-2
from
New
York
Kapsberger's
in
to
accompaniments
present
almost every source
is quite possible that at least they could be inoffensive, especially if the performer had
In
beguile
listener's
his
technique
style.
and
the
control of
attention with
the prowess to
'wrong'
it
is
inversions
in
New
York
93-2,
the
characteristic that
particular, concerning
be
bass
lowest
to
note on the
course, which was expected
all of them present the actual
bass
finger
This
hand,
by
the
the
thumb.
the
actual
way
the strongest
of
right
performed
be
further
it
is
the
and
can
emphasized
with the appliance of
that
others
stronger
note
bass
first
beat,
With
the chord voicing
the
the
note
coming
proper
and on
arpeggiation.
issue can be partially overcome.
As far it is possible to tell, New York 93-2 is the most complete surviving Italian
for
theorbo continuo playing and, most probably, the
seventeenth-century source
latest. 23It must have been compiled during the last three decadesof the century because
its maturity and the sophisticated theorbo writing indicates that it has been compiled
it
it
Although
G2392'
Modena
purpose,
educational
compiled
with
an
evident
was
after
does not display the usual compromises expected to be found in tutors intended for
is
high
level
From
in
that point of view,
skill
required.
a
of
occasions,
students as, many
it might have been intended for a player who was already familiar with lute-family
instruments or for a trainee who was expected to follow professional career. Both the
demonstrated
the
theorbo
of
qualities
are
chordal and ornamental
with an expertise that
23Sources that deal with theorbo's continuo playing do exist from the
eighteen century with the latest
that of Filippo Dalla Casa's Regole dimusica (c. 1759); Bologna, Civico Museo Bibl. Mus. Ms EE 155 (facs.
Scelte,
Studio
Per
Edizioni
1984).
Florence:
edn.,
Z'Unfortunately, the examination of the original manuscript, which might reveala more precisedating,
has not beenpossible.The present study has been basedon a microfilm copy provided by the New York
Public Liblary.
139
is usually found only in sources that contain solo music. The chordal examples contain
harmonies
complex
not present anywhere else, and the ornamental
of
realizations
features
infused
with
are
a
variety
of
effective
examples
such as groppi, campanelle,
by
left-hand
Additional
importance
is
ornaments.
strascini, or
added to the manuscript
fact
that it was compiled in period that the theorbo playing in Italy had reached
the
maturity
for
development.
Although
there
was not much room
and
the theorbo
be
late
to
as the 1750s, its importance was declining as it was not able
used as
continued
to meet the demands of contemporary textures.
140
10.
CONCLUSIONS
The last few decades have witnessed a growing interest in the use of the lute-family
instruments-and
particularly the theorbo-for
the performance of basso continuo. A
close study of seventeenth-century Italian sources that contain intabulated continuo

far
for
the theorbo reveals a
more complicated and colourful style than
accompaniments
keyboard-centred
four-part
realizations that are presented in the majority of
that of the
fact,
for
keyboard
In
the
such realizations were not
standard even
modern editions.
but
from
it
is
rather
the exceptional
a
modern
concept
resulting
accompaniments'
late-eighteenth-century
and
attention which midfrom
twentieth-century
received
keyboard continuo treatises have
performers and scholars. Even if, for the seventeenth
harmony
was the most effective medium through which the passions were
century,
in
in
the
the accompaniment, various other
therefore
prime
concern
expressed music and
aspects such as diminutions
or embellishments were also playing quite an important
believe
is
Although
that, all of a sudden, around 1600, music
to
tendency
there a
role.
homophony,
from
this transition started much earlier and lasted
to
polyphony
passed
well
into
the seventeenth century. The coexistence of those two styles is well
demonstrated in the surviving theorbo continuo accompaniments and tutors; and in

combination
with
features
associated with
various other
instrument, an idiomatic and multifarious
the peculiarities
of the
accompanying style emerged. Despite the
fact that the surviving seventeenth-century Italian sources display a variety of styles,
forms, dating and provenances, it is possible to draw several conclusions that reensemble the theorbo's accompanying style.
` See,for instance, Lars Ulrik Mortensen, '"Unerringly Tasteful"?: Harpsichord Continuo in Corelli's
Op. 5 Sonatas',Early Music, 24 (1996), 665-79.
The bass line was an essential component of seventeenth-century composition

because along with the solo part(s) they constituted the framework of the work. The
bass
line
is
in
intabulated
the
the
evident
all
song accompaniments that
of
significance
bass
line.
Without
mensural
contain a
exception, all the intabulations exhibit the
imperative necessity for the conservation of the mensural bass line's integrity
reproducing
it
less
or
unaltered
more
in the accompaniment. Any
by
occasional
bass
line:
modifications serve the purpose of emphasizing the actual character of the
breaking
leaps
long
the
of
octave
and
of
values to smaller ones
the
these are
addition
downwards
harmonic
the
rhythmic
octave transposition
and
articulation,
that provide
(or duplication) of single notes or passages,and the addition of passing notes between
leaps. Although additional passing notes are not very common in these intabulations,
from
far
judging
been
have
the theorbo's employment as a
more
extended
their use must
from
instrument,
'ornamental'
bass
the ornamental examples
as well as
or an
melodic
found in Kapsberger's Libro terzo d'intavolatura di chitarone, Modena G239 and New
York 93-2. Their use must have depended on factors such as the player's ability and
inventiveness, the genre of the music, or the number and the combination
of
instruments involved in the accompaniment.

Unlike the modern idea that music has to be performed at the notated pitch, the
downward octave transposition of the bass line must have been common in the
for
On
the
theorbo
the
accompaniment.
particularly
essential
seventeenth century, and
by
limited
high
On
in
hand,
it
is
theorbo's
the
to
the
play
ability
required
registers.
one
below
hand,
indicates
script
printing,
rarely
seventeenth-century
and
which
other
notes
the first ledger line, is deficient in notating the theorbo's low register-so
greatly
praised by the writers of the time. The restraint that the notation creates is evident in
be
bass
lines
leaps
intended
in
to
occur
melodies
where octave
many seventeenth-century
instrument
long
the
transposition
as
as
conjunct and where one would expect the use of
offers this possibility.
142
The transposition of the bass is inextricably intertwined with the resonance of the
instrument. Lower bassesoffer full support because they increase the volume and the
furthermore,
sonority of the theorbo;
they allow the use of low positions on the
fingerboard for the upper parts of the accompaniment which are the positions where the
instrument sounds more effective. Vice versa, a full sound in the accompaniment is
basses.
As
fingerboard
lower
low
by
therefore
positions
the use of
and
normally achieved
is evident in all the sources, chord voicing and spacing depends on what sounds better
full
For
instrument
the
the
on
notated
pitch.
sake
of
achieving
and not strictly
on the
been
have
inversions
'wrong'
must
accepted to a certain
chord
resonance, occasional
for
difficult
is
it
Although
a modern player or scholar to accept such a view,
very
extent.
from
later
inversions,
'wrong'
the
to
the
early
continuo
very
sources
ones,
the recurrent
by
hardly
in
the oversight of the
collections,
are
explained
as well as solo theorbo music
re-entrant tuning
for
documents
intended
by
these
that
all
were
the account
or
be
for
inversions
hand,
On
the
may
as awkward as erroneous chord
the other
amateurs.
in
the seventeenth century and
similarly
uncomfortable
sound
modern ears, they would
beguile
find
been
have
it
to
the attention of
to
to
ways
the performer
up
therefore must
dynamics
different
listeners
within the notes of the
the
with ploys such as arpeggiation,
broken
style.
chord, strumming, or
Concerning the chordal accompaniment, comparing Kapsberger's realizations in his
depends
it
is
that
the
evident
accompanying
style
strongly
villanelle and arie collections,
light
Whereas
is
the
simplicity
of
style
of
the
strophic
the
music.
of
nature
genres
on
mirrored
in the accompaniment, in through-composed
songs the accompaniment
harmonic
language
is
the
sophisticated
approach:
richer with more
more
exhibits a
dissonant chords and more elaborate cadential sequences, and there is some melodic
however,
interferes
never
with the solo vocal part. The number of voices
activity, which,
from
two to six. Thinner textures are usually applied when there is
per chord varies
fast
line
bass
bass
in
fuller
tempi,
the
or
activity on
while
chords are used on sustained
143
full
In
to
addition
chords, the restriking of chords when
notes and cadential sequences.
by
feature
imperative
in
dies
is
used
order to support the soloist(s), a
the sound
Kapsberger as is evident in example 10.1. Normally the restriking is done in relation to
in
is
order
the
the
expected
spreading of chords
words and
the phrasing or the stress of
to keep the sound of the instrument alive.
EXAMPLE10.1: 'Tu the pallid Kapsberger, Libro primo di arie, 26, b. 28-31.
28
H
V.
WE
-a
C0
0
iR
He*
aoa
e
o]
0
Chicuane
xx
7X
The restriking of chords is also evident on the dissonances of cadential (3) 43

dissonance.
done
Cadential
in
it
is
to
the
emphasize
order
there
though
suspensions
if
dissonant
in
the
even
the accompaniment, and,
note and
suspensionsare added at will
its resolution appear in the solo part, they are doubled by the accompaniment. The
doubling of the upper part(s) must have been a controversial issue because,as much as it
is apparent that some musicians did not favour it, it was used systematically by others.
The occasional doubling of the uppers part(s) is ubiquitous
in all the intabulated
be
it
the
considered as a remnant of
seventeenth
century
and
must
accompaniments of
the sixteenth-century lute song intabulation practice.
Regarding the type of chords used in the accompaniment, when this is not implied
by the upper voice(s), there is a tendency for the use of the root position rather than the
first inversion, and an obvious preference for the major third
in interior or final
fifths
Chordal
feature
successions
and octaves
every
now
and then
cadences.
parallel
144
fact
definitely
be
Despite
in
that such a
the
avoided.
a modern realization, would
which,
it
deprecated
in
was
the early seventeenth-century,
parallel motion was generally
'the
As
in
Viadana,
the accompaniment.
among others, states,
theoretically acceptable
[parallel)
is
(La
Partitura)
two
to
never under any obligation
avoid
accompaniment
fifths, or two octaves, but the parts sung by the voices are'.2 In any case, the poor aural
be
by
the employment of arpeggiation.
can
easily
overcome
result of parallel motion
The toleration of parallel motion in theorbo accompaniments is also part of a
broader loose notion concerning voice-leading. From time to time, dissonant sevenths
be
lower,
but
higher.
is
This
not
as
would
expected,
second
a
seventh
are not resolved a
but
in
the
seventeenth-century
song
tutors
early
accompaniments and
also
only evident
happens in New York 92-3 which dates from the last decadesof the century. Therefore,
for the theorbo, proper voice-leading is not an end in itself, as it normally is for the
harpsichord, presumably because it is more important to form the chords where they
has
harpsichord
lacks,
Moreover,
the
theorbo
the
qualities
such as
sound more sonorous.
different
beguile
if
in
dynamics
tone
that,
the
colours,
used
style,
and
can
greater
from
improper voice-leading.
attention
One feature that is not directly evident in the theorbo intabulated accompaniments
is tasto solo. On occasion, playing simply the bass line on the theorbo can be very
full,
for
it
the
resonant sound and
required support
the solo
effective as can provide a
part(s). Indirect evidence that tasto solo was an option used in the accompaniment are
bb. 13-17 of Kapsberger's 'Su' desta i fiori' (appendix I, part 1.2): the accompaniment
essentially consists of two parts with the upper part simply doubling the solo voice and,
therefore, the only effective contribution by the theorbo part is the execution of the bass
line. Furthermore, one would expect the theorbo usage as a bass line instrument to have
some impact on the style of solo-theorbo accompaniment.
' Viadana, Cenco concerti, preface: 'che non
due
da
La
Partitura
in
quinte, nZ
sar mai
guardasi
obligo
da due ottuave, mai si bene le parti, che si cantano con le voci'.
145
Although not evident in the intabulated song accompaniments, the execution of

flourishing passagesand ornaments must have been an essential, constitutive element of
theorbo accompaniment throughout the seventeenth century. The chordal support was
indeed the priority of basso continuo accompaniment, though there was always enough
discontent
for
linear
the
ornamentation, the excessuse of which, quite often, raised
space
The
the
time.
art of counterpoint-and
of many writers of
linear ornamentation-was
therefore the tradition of
not forgotten throughout the seventeenth century, and a
familiarity
have
to
thorough
continuo player was expected
with
counterpoint,
as
indicated, among others, by Lorenzo Penna:

know
Counterpoint is the Theory of Music, and
does
that
not
everybody
and
...
from
bass
before
is
Practice
Organ
it;
the
part
therefore
the
the
a
of
playing
latter is done, it is necessary,although not sufficient, to learn the former. '
The three surviving
theorbo sources (Kapsberger's Libro
di
New
York
G239,
93-2)
Modena
that contain collections of ornamental
and
chitarone,
for,
Mirko
demonstrate
taste
the
widespread
as
passages
diminuito'
Caffagni calls it, a 'basso
4 As the
interfere
accompaniment
must
never
with the solo
accompaniment.
be
in
diminutions
accordancewith the music or text setting,
applied
should
part(s), such
been
have
on rests or sustained notes of the solo, and cadential cues, which must
improvised lavishly.
The examples found in these three collections display various effective features of
for
differ
in
they
the obvious
the theorbo such as campanelle and strascini, and
style
reason that they reflect each writer's personal taste of ornamentation. Their pedagogical
intention is apparent and they reflect the educational procedure of improvisation which
' Penna, Li primi albori, preface to the third book: '...

e chi non s, the it Contarapunto i' la Teorica
della Musica, & it suonare l'Organo s la Parte, P la Prattica di essa;dunque prima di questa 2 necesario, se
bene non simpicirer, non di meno sequndum quid I'apprender quella'. Quotation and translation from
Threse de Goede-Klinkhamer,
'Del
Early
Realization
basso,
Concerning
ii
of
the
suonare sopra
Seventeenth-Century Italian Unfigured Basses', Performance Practice Review, 10 (1997), 82.

' Caffagni, 'Modena Tiorba Continuo Manuscript', 37.
146
is based on learning figures by memory. Under this perspective, however, they should
They
for
by
imitation
be
must
amateurs or students.
not
considered merely as examples
have served additionally
in
be
by
an
to
players
models
as mnemonic
used
advanced
fact
The
that the examples are not applied into musical context, and
actual performance.
in the case of New York 93-2 do not display any rhythmic indication, supports that
but
it
is
Improvisation
phenomenon
necessarily
a
spontaneous
usually makes
not
view.
known
is
It
patterns
practised.
already
and
easy to picture
to
and
models
reference
Philippe Venneulen, a young lutenist from the Low Countries sent to Rome in 1612 to
learn the art of playing the theorbo, `from the morning to the evening locked in his
room practising" and memorizing such ornamental models.
Whether intended for an actual performance or written
with an educational
purpose, either aimed at the amateur or at the professional, the sources that contain
intabulated examples of continuo realizations constitute a valuable guide that can help
the modern performer and scholar to identify
the traditions
and conventions of
Their
practice.
examination shows that the accompanying
continuo
seventeenth-century
idiomatic,
inextricably
intertwined
developed
theorbo
and
the
was
multifarious
on
style
historical
instrument.
It
is
the
the
true that many
evolution
of
the
and
peculiarities
with
in
'wrong'
features
inversions, parallel octaves and
these
sources,
such
as
present
of the
fifths, or voice-leading, are diametrically opposed to our modern aesthetics, and whether
discussion.
be
is
into
Seen in a
modern
performances
still under
they should
applied
features
faithfulness,
be
indeed
historical
such
should
accepted. However, the
context of
be
the injudicious
aim of a modern performer should not
information
exertion of historical
but
in
inferior
the directed use of
an
performance
which might result
knowledge towards an effective and pleasing performance. If by indulging
'wrong'
inversions, parallel motion or incorrect voice-leading other considerable qualities are
'Coelho, 'Authority,
Autonomy, and Interpretation',
124.
147
gained, then there is no reason to avoid them; by no means, however, should they be
used as 'historically informed excuses' for poor performances. Historically
informed
performance, as Mary Cyr states, should not limit 'the boundaries within which good
fall
[but it] may even expand interpretive boundaries for modern
performances may
...
performers by leading them to explore techniques no longer in use today'!
In the seventeenth century, the balance between written score and interpretation
from
different
was
what it is today. Seventeenth-century performers were expected not
but,
in some cases, were required to invent new parts. This
to
only
vary the score
principle is obvious in the basso continuo, the notation of which provides only the
absolutely essential information to the accompanist who is obliged to produce the
accompaniment based on a number of specific stylistic conventions. By definition, basso
continuo is an improvisational and interactive modus operandi which depends on
various flexible factors such as the place of performance, the number and quality of the
performing force, or personal taste, and which must anticipate the different conditions
that may arise in performance. Given that, any expectations for a definite accompanying
style emanating from the intabulated theorbo continuo sources would be unrealistic.
Nonetheless, all these sourcesare particularly valuable guides for modern performers and
scholars who want to comprehend continuo practice of the seventeenth century. They
provide information about the aesthetic context of the time by demonstrating a person's
response to continuo under specific circumstances, and ideas that can be applied into
modern performances. Most importantly, it becomesevident that accompaniment on the
theorbo was strongly dependent on the instrument's peculiarities, emphasising that
continuo playing was more complicated, diverse and colourfiil than we tend to think.
Mary Cyr, Performing Baroque Music (Aldershot: Scolar Press, 1992), 23.
148
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.
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155
600',
Early
from
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Accompaniments
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'Realized
WALTER,
cl
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Peter
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159
CONTINUO
PRACTICE FOR THE THEORBO

AS INDICATED
ITALIAN PRINTED
.
AND MANUSCRIPT SOURCES
3 VOLUMES
II: Appendices
THEODOROS
KITSOS

of the requirements for the degree of
THE UNIVERSITY OF YORK

DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC
May 2005
CONTENTS
Editorial Policy
I: Songs with Intabulated Accompaniments
APPENDIX
I. 1.
111
'Cor mio, deh non languire' from Salamone Rossi, II primo libro de
(Venice,
1600), 15.2
cinque
voci
madrigali a
1.2.
'S desta i fiori'
from Girolamo
G. Kapsberger, Libro
terzo di
villanelle (Rome, 1619), 7.8

I. 3.
'Ultimi
di
from
Girolamo
Libro
G.
Kapsberger,
primo
miei sospiri'
arie passeggiate (Rome, 1612), 8.12

1.4.
'Interrotte speranze' from Girolamo G. Kapsberger, Libro primo di

6.15
(Rome,
1612),
arie passeggiate
1.5.
'Stravaganza d'Amore'
from
Flamminio
Corradi, Le stravaganze
d'amore (Venice, 1616), 4-5.21

1.6.
Corrente : 'Il mormorio D'un fresco rio' from Bellerofonte Castaldi,

Capricci a due stromenti cioe tiorba e tiorbino (Modena, 1622), 49.26
APPENDIX
11.1.
30
II: Realizations
Alfabeto chart with transcription in modern notation from Girolamo

G. Kapsberger, Libro terzo di villanelle (Rome, 1619), {24).
11.2.
31
'Passaggi diversi s le note per sonare sopra la parte' from Girolamo
G. Kapsberger,Libro terzo d'intavolatura di chitarone (Rome, 1626),

35-43.32
II. 3.
{Cadences}from Girolamo G. Kapsberger,Libro terzo d'intavolatura

di chitarone (Rome, 1626), 43.52
II. 4.
Tavola per sonare it Chitarone per sonare sopra it Basso' from

Girolamo G. Kapsberger, Libro
di chitarone
(Rome, 1626), 46-8.55
11
EDITORIAL POLICY
Voice or instrument designations are presented only when these are given in the primary
source and they retain the original spelling. Parts are ordered according to the usual
hierarchy (C, A, T, B), with the insertion of additional ones in their respective registers.
All parts are rewritten in the treble or bass clefs. Prefatory staves indicate the original
key
clefs and
signature. Original
time signatures are retained and the notes are
When
been
full
has
in
Barring
(integer
the
transcribed
modernized.
not
valor).
value
primary
barring,
lacks
source
barlines
between
been
have
employed
staves
(mensurstriche). The beaming of notes in the transcription follows the original.

Editorial additions appear within brackets and any other editorial intervention is
it
functions
flat
Accidentals
natural
a
as
recorded.
are modernized and when a sharp or a
has been changed to a natural. Implied
ficta
be
are
accidentals to
added as musica
indicated above the note. Redundant accidentals have been retained in round brackets.
Tablature has been reproduced below its transcription (square brackets are used for
brackets
for
superfluous rhythmic signs). The transcription
editorial additions and round
free
Notes
interpretation
the
of the same
of
original
as
polyphonic
embodies an
material.
pitch that appear consecutively in different courses are indicated.
The original
spelling and punctuation
of the text has been retained unless
been
have
indicated
by
Repeats
Repeats
of
phrases
otherwise stated.
separated
commas.
by an idem sign in the source are italicized in the transcription. Extension lines indicate
the prolongation of a word until its final note.
111
APPENDIX I
Songswith Intabulated Accompaniments
I. 1 'Cor mio, deh non languire' from Salamone Rossi, 11primo libro de madrigali a
cinque voci (Venice, 1600), 15.
Poet:
Battista Guarini
Textil
Cor mio, deh non languire,

Chc' fai teco languir l'anima mia.
Odi i caldi sospiri: a to gl'invia
La pietate e'1 desire.
S'i' ti potessi dar morend'aita,
Morrei per darti vita.
Ma vivi, ohime, ch'ingiustamente more
Chi vivo tien nell'altrui petto il core.
My heart, oh don't languish,

For you make my soul languish with you.
Hear my hot sighs: they are sent to you
By pity and desire.
If I could give you help by dying,

I'd die to give you life.
But do live, alas, for he unjustly dies
Who keeps his heart alive in another's breast.
Commentary:
b. 1, canto, tie only in 1600 edition.

b. 7, altus, second note, c'in 1600 edition; corrected to d'in later reprints.
b. 34, tablature, third line, first character, 2(c').
` Text and translation

adopted from Don Harrn (ed.), Salamone Rossi: Complete Works, 13 vols.
(Corpus Mensurabilis Musicae, 100; American Institute
of Musicology;
Neuhausen: Hnssler-Verlag,
1995), i. P. lxxviii.
I. 1 'Cor mio, deh non languire'

rttT
1.
Canto
(1
f!
prv
Alto
9,
11M=
KI
Cot
mi
o,
deh
Cot
mi
o,
deh
Cot
mi
o,
Cot
mi
-1
0.
Cot
mi
o,
non Ian
re,
sui
Tenore
IliJl
EliliE=
fl
non Ian-gui
--
Cl
[In-u
QU1RC0
EKU
Basso a.'.
t, C
a hI-,
-..
A
a
non Ian-gui
deh
01
C6iccacrone
7
Ch2
fai te - co [an
1'a
guir
-i-ma
a
re,
Ch2
fai
te - co Ian
guir
l'a"
Ch2
fai te - co Ian
guir
1'a
Ch2
fai te - co Ian - guir
l'a
11
1"1.
"
a.
#i
ni
1'a
re,
mi
mi
nj
ni
ma
ni
ma
mi
ma
mi
mi
>
a.
a.
o-
A.
"
. 1
3
13
ICF
di
dpi cal
so - spi
cal
O-
dii
V
cal
di
spi
spi
so
di
ri:
-I
spi
so
di i
0
L
te gPin vi
ri:
13
43,
-a
dVii
d`. i
cat
di
so - spi
1-
Fir
te
gl'in
g1'in
re
gl'in -
-ru
r=4
g1'in
gl'in
te
ri:
re
to
II
19
ri:
Xi
rrE
0 90
JUL
43,
19
5
fkc"1
cI
II
vi
-a
f-
a'
La
pie
La
pie
ta
La
pie
ca
tu'l
La
pie
to
tEf'l
ta
de
tEp'1
ce,
la pie - ta
1 ' F'
si
i 1-
--
iad
ei ll
--
--
de
teVe'1
de
si
--
de
si
----
si
49
ALM
--
vi
vi
"a
-a
-H
V
26
_n
121
ii
l1-i
I7"I
-T'T-
re.
S'i'
ti
po
tes - si dar
mo-ren - d'a
i-
ta,
S'i'
ti
po
tes - si dar
re.
S'i'
ti
po
res - si dar
mo-ren - d'a
ca,
S'i'
ti
po
tea - si dar mo-
7
S'i'
re.
S'i'
re.
ei
ti
po - tes - si dar
mo- ren - d'a -i-
-:g
ta,
p0-tea - si
dar
S'i'
ti
po
tes - si dar
S'i'
ti
po - ces- si dar mo -
:9
0
1
(1)
111
ti
11
69
33
F9
i
too - ten - d'a
i-
ta, Mor
tei
per
dar - ti
vi
Ma
ta.
ginAb
1
i-
ta, Mot
rei
mo - ten - d'a
i-
ta, Mor
rei
"
ten - d'a -i-
Mot - rei
ta,
Lgn
ej
Ril
-0
11
dar
per
ti
per
dar - ti
vi
per
dar
"
ti
vi
vi, ohi
v
Id
Ma
vi
vi, ohi
v
ta.
Ma
vi
viv,ohi -
ta.
Ma
vi
vi, ohi
v
"
ca.
Ma
vi
vi, ohi
v
ta,
d'a
too - ren
1A I
11
ren - d'a -i-
vi
vi
its
19
R2
.:
2
11
..:9
r 19
5
39
ch'in
m2,
giu - sta - men - te
mo
re Chi
Lin 141
tien
nel
, ch'in - giu
l'al - trui pet
c4z;
ll co
T
ch'in - giu - eta - men - te
mt,
ch'in
m2,
giu - sta - men - re
mo
m2,
lop
2y-
mo
re,
ma
vi
vi, ohi
v
mi!,
eta
ch'in
P,
ch'in - giu - sta - men - te
ma,
vi - vo
mo
re, ch'in - giu
eta
11
L9
giu-sta-men
men
men - te
te
te
mo
=::
mo
10
19
19
mo
L9
45
Len
41
re,
chin
giu - sta - men " to
mo
Chi
re
tien, chi
vi - ro
cien
re, Chi
vi - vo
tien net - Val - trui
net
'01 -
-OL
re Chi
vi - vo
tien
Chi
vi - vo
tien net - l'al
net-Val - trui
pet - tail
co
tail
pet
re,
toil
Chi
re
re Chi
vi - vo
vi - vo
tien
nel-I'll
- trui
pet - toll
co
re,
co
vi - vo
net
tien,
Val
chi
trui
pet
tail
9)
1w
W1919
v
31
r1
m
Val - trui
pet
ne!
2: 2
Val
rl
co
--
-.
trui
per
--
re.
--
co il
co
re"
co
re.
co
re.
3v
90
pet - to il co
vi
vo
re,
ael - Pal - crui
pet
--
rien
ael
l'al
co
CA
1f
re
co
il
crui
pet
co
----
ccLil
do
Lin
nel -
Val
trui
pet
co il
re.
=1
()
02
-x
1.2 'Su' desta i fiori' from Girolamo G. Kapsberger, Libro terzo di villanelle (Rome,
1619), 7.
Poet:
Unknown
Text:
Sit desta i fiori

Sonnachiosa flora
Che gia l'aurora tra nov'albori
I colli imperla e le campagn'indora.
Garulletti
L'augettetti
Con dolce canto al novo Sol s'inchinano;
Si flora sti
Odi la squilla
Del di nascente
Come ridente
L'alba sfavilla
Fra lombre the nel sen del mar declinano
Non dormir pi
Che n'escan fuori
Ninfe e Patori
Come, awake the flowers

Sleepy Flora
Yet the dawn baths with the new light
The hills and fields, the countryside
The chirping
Little birds
With their sweet song bend in front of the risen Sun
Come Flora come
Listen to the trumpet
Of the new born day
How happily
The dawn shines

On the shadows, dying into the sea
Do not sleep anymore
So will come out
Nymphs and Shepherds
Commentary:
bb. 5-6, tablature: the minim rhythmic sign is originally placed on the first
beat of b. 6.
b. 25, voice: fourth note crotchet.
b. 27, voice: sixth note a
1.2 'SU'destai fiori'

HB
fin - ri
de - sc4j
son - na
LA
chio - sa_ flo
Che gia Pau-
A0
Cs
GM
HB
HBC
GM
OR
do
bo - ri
Val
ro - ra tra no
col - li im per"lae le cam-pa
gn'in-do
i col-lLlm
ra
ii
10
X
0
HBC
0HB
0G
Ch
per-lae le
cam-pa
gn'in-do
ra.
n
Ga - rul - let - ti 1'au-get
tet - ti
con dol-ce can - toa
C-]
.6
8
z'`-9
F-t-9
I3I
Y.
9---j--
i0
10
15
no - vo Sol
s'in-chi
na - no
H0
Si
BC
no
GB
0-
sd
di
Is
squil - Is
del
i
20
i.
d
J
01
t -I-9
0G
na -
scen
to
Co-me
DM
ri-den
sen del mar
de-cli
na
no
-3
9-:
9
9
j;
ij
Pal - ba sh-vil
to
H
25
11
di
[J]
8-i3
Non dor-mir
la
fra lom-bre the nel
F
E
U. J]
pi the ne-scan fuo-ri
HB
Nin
ev
do
fee_ Pa
- to
ri
c.
I--T_r
=II--I
=ISa
--
D/
-.
hq .
F)
J')
6
[J]
11
I. 3 'Ultimi
from
Girolamo G. Kapsberger, Libro primo di arie passeggiate
miei sospiri'
(Rome, 1612), 8.
Poet:
Lodovico Martelli
Text:
Ultimi
miei sospiri
Che mi lasciate freddo e senza vita

Contate i miei martiri
A chi morir mi vede e non m'aita
Dite o belta infinita
Dal tuo fedel ne caccia empio martire
E se questo 1'egrato
Gitene ratto in ciel a miglior stato
Ma se pieta le porge il vostro dire
Tornate in me ch'io non vorro morire
My last sighs
That leave me cold and lifeless
Recount my sufferings to someone
Who watches me and does nothing to help me
Tell me, o infinite beauty
If all your faithfulness catches is martyrdom
And if this pleasesyou
Fly quickly to a better place in heaven
But if mercy is what you will offer
Then come back to me becauseI do not want to die
12
I. 3 'Ultimi miei sospiri'
the mi la-scia-re Fred-do_
Ui - ti - mi miei so - spi -
vi
e sen-za
I-T7L C
x
a
I
L
Chicarone
Y.
con- to -r ei mie -i
mar
:
A chi mo-fir mi ve
ti - ri
de non m'a
Di
to
o bel -
te,
EEAE
E
I-M! p f. r, 1,1 "i
fr
1"
iVi
0iFi
se
i f9
iii,
____
_____
m' F!
'
1ij.
gw
tit'
que - sto 1'e
6- PF
iii
-,
I-
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14
1.4 'Interrotte speranze' from Girolamo G. Kapsberger, Libro primo di arie passeggiate
(Rome, 1612), 6.
Poet:
Giovanni Battista Guarini
Text:
Interrotte speranze eterna fede

Fiamm'e strali possenti in debil core
Mutrir sol de sospir un fero ardore
E celar il suo mal quand'altri'il
vede
Seguir di vago e fuggitivo piede

L'orme rivolte a voluntario errore
Perder del seme sparso el frutto e'1 fiore
E la sperata a gran languir mercede
Far d'uno sguardo sol legge ai pensieri
E d'un casto voler freno al desio
E spender lagrimando i lustri interi:
Questi ch'a voi quasi gran fasci invio
Donna crudel, d'aspri tormenti e pene
Saranno i trofei vostri e'1 rogo mio
Hopes cut short, faith everlasting

Strong fires and arrows in a weak heart
Feeding a wild passion on sighs alone
And concealing one's grief when others may see
Following on wandering fleeing foot
Tracks leading to willful error
Losing both fruit and flower of the planted seed

And the hoped-for reward of one'slong languishing
Making a single glance a law to one'sthoughts
A chaste will a rein on one's desire
And spending entire quinquenniums in weeping
These which I send you in great heaps
O cruel lady of arrogant torments and sorrow
These will be your trophies and my funeral pyre
Commentary:
b. 2, tablature, contrabass courses, first character i6(d)

b. 21, voice, twelfth note dotted minim.
15
1.4 'Interrotte speranze'

r
r-
LM
r9 '1r
lb
'd.
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mal quand' al
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14
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gran
17
RITORNELLO
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20
I. 5 'Stravaganza d'Amore' from Flamminio Corradi, Le stravaganze d'amore (Venice,
1616), 4-5.
Poet:
Unknown
Text:
Stravaganzad'Amore
Che la mia Filli habbia trovat'un core
Per mio maggior martire
E farm'ogn'hor morire
Stravaganzad'Amore
Che la mia Filli habbia trovat'un core
Stravaganzad'Amore
Stravaganzad'Amore
Che it Mar the non ha cor gli dona it core
Stravaganzad'Amore
Che it Mar the non ha cor gli dona it core
Stravaganzad'Amore
Stravaganzad'Amore
Che la mia Fi11i habbia di sassoil core
Stravaganzad'Amore
Che la mia Filli habbia di sassoil core
Stravaganza d'Amore
Folly of Love
That my Phyllis has found a heart
So that I suffer greatly
And die continually
Folly of Love
That my Phyllis has found a heart
Folly of Love
21
Folly of Love
That the seawhich has no heart gives it a heart
And die continually
Folly of Love
That the seawhich has no heart gives it a heart
Folly of Love
Folly of Love
That my Phyllis is made of stone
And die continually
Foly of Love
That my Phyllis is made of stone
Folly of Love
22
1.5 'Stravaganza d'Amore'

G
Stra - va - gan - za
d'A-mo'
Sta-va-gan
re,
19
0
Stra - va - gan - za
d'A
mo - re,
Stn - va-gen -
7LC
#e
1
Chitarrone
II
II
e
3
L.
.
za
dA-mo - re
Che la
mia
Fil- 1'i`hab-bia tro - va-t'un co - re
Per mio mag - gior
mar-
za
dA-mo - re
Che la mia
Fil - lhab - bia tro - va- t'un co

- re
Per mio mag. gior
mar -
23
GH
ti
re
0MICA
E farm' ogn'
hor
mo - ri
0
1
E farm' ogn'
hot
F
ib
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d'A- mo - re,
Nq
90
ti - re
64.!.
re
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mo - ri - re
6-
do
do
1-0 0
1 I. 1
4
12
mo - re,
d'A
Srra-va-gan
- u
dA-mo
- re
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la
mia Fil - lhab-bia
Srra-va-gan
- u
d'A-mo
- re
Che
la
mia
Fil
- lihab-bia
v
cro - va-t'un co - re
tro
- va-t'un
co - re
24
16
HMB
Stn - va - San
za
d'A
Stra - va - San
za
d'A
mo
mo
UM
ei
le
-d
IK
-d
nar
lC---7
Ul1IVFRSITY
OFXORK
25
1.6 Corrente: 'Al mormorio D'un fresco rio' from Bellerofonte Castaldi, Capricci a due
49.
(Modena,
1622),
tiorbino
tiorba
e
stromenti cioe
Poet:
Bellerofonte Castaldi
Text:
Al mormorio D'un fresco rio

Tirsi con la sua Ninfa un giorno
Abbracciato seco
Faceadolce soggiorno
E qui gli occhi amorosi baciando
E sospirando
Gioiva contento
Del sofferto suo dolce tormento
Egli dicea Regina e Dea

Tu Sarai sempre del moi core
Purche meco
Lieta ne venghi a tute l'hore
Gli rispose la Ninfa gentile
Ogn'altro h a vile
Ma to moi diletto
Porto sempre scolpito nel petto
Cosi al Pastore mostrava il core

La bella Ninfa ragionando
Et al petto
Se lo stringeva sospirando
Quando Amore the stava a vedere
Con gran piacere
Di morte gradita
Tolse ad ambri in un tempo la vita
To the murmur of a cool brook

Tirsi with his Nymph one day
His arms around her
Was making a sweet abode
And here the loving eyes kissing
And sighing
26
He enjoyedcontented
The suffering of his sweet torment
He said: 'Queen and Goddess

You will always be in my heart
Provided that you always
Come with me happily'
The gentle Nymph responded to him:
'Every other I despise
But you my delight

I always carry carved in my breast'
Thus the beautiful Nymph showed her heart

To the Shepherd conversing
And to her breast

She drew him close to herself sighing
When Love who was there looking
Snatched life
From both of them
In a blissful death
27
1.6 Corrente: 'Al mormorio D'un fresco rio'

Ed ii
I
I
..,
Al
mor
mo
ri
D'un
-o
fre
sco
92
I
e3
a'
d
-6
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Jo
o
-1
I
i3
3-
-3
II
Z2
lu
1II
. JJ.
-0
J9
3A
ri
Tu
-o
la
si con
sua
faun
Nin
gior
Ab - brat -
no
a"
ij
i2
i3
JJ
Ij
JJ
0
X
cia
co
se - co
Fa
cea
dot - ce
sog - gior
.Ii
qui
II
ep;
14
no
qf
0
-0
11.
.
-C
28
gl'ioc - chi&-mo - ro
si ba - cian - do
so
spi - ran - do
Gio
i-
va
con - ten
to
i.
Ji
8. -
JJJ. ji
J. JJJ.
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10
12
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Del
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fer
co
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ce
cor
men
co
x10
29
APPENDIX II
Realizations
II. 1 Alfabeto
in modern notation` from Girolamo
transcription
chart with
G.
Kapsberger, Libro terzo di villanelle (Rome, 1619), {24).
ALFABETO DELLA CHITARRA SPAGNOLLA
IV
Otis
01Hi
iRiNI
'I
81
9+
o[
-.
::
Ig
iNi
ho
(7
__I-1
Log
qti-i
li;;
I:;
1'kl
ABCDEFGHIKLM
l
ppp3
F3
-.
-
1x1
1x1V.
u_
.-
III'!
-4
14
14141
IIIII4
oe
--I
--
i%
u_
IIDQ
--
all
,,,
la-
174:v
!f
uuA
---
M-
zi
I-
vx-
4H
cy
If-
N0PQRSTVXYZ
II&II
I --lT
Iz
-14
1111.
1
-C
-1II
71
12
1211
11 131i211
' The transcription has been made without
-3
-A
ik
IIIIxI
14
11
Ix
12
12
-j
considering the use of bourdons or re-entrant tuning. For
descriptions of possible guitar tunings in Italy see inter alia James Tyler and Paul Sparks, The Guitar and
its Music from the Renaissance to the Classical Era (Oxford Early Music Series; Oxford: Oxford University
Press 2002), 51-84 and Monica Hall, Baroque Guitar Stringing:
A Survey of the Evidence (The Lute
Society Booklets, 9; Guildford: The Lute Society, 2003), 11-18.
31
11.2 'Passaggi diversi s le note per sonare sopra la parte' from Girolamo G. Kapsberger,
Libro terzo d'intavolatura di chitarone (Rome, 1626), 35-43.
Commentary:
barline.
4,
b.
double
13,
section
despite
b.
bar,
barline
dashed
in
12,
5,
placed
editorial;
all
notes
one
section
full
bars
fact
infrequently
two,
the
that all of
the
passagesare of one, or
length, this one works better with an off-beat.
fourth
b.
9,
8,
tie starts one tablature character later.
section
barline.
b.
double
7,
9,
section
b.
12, third tablature rhythmic sign quaver.
12,
section
4,
b.
in
line,
2(f#
13,
transcription).
tablature,
third
second
character
section
6,
first
b.
15,
section
tablature
rhythmic
followed
by
the
sign quaver
first
fifth
line.
the
the
over
character
of
semiquaver
b.
15, second tablature rhythmic sign over the second character of
17,
section
the third line.
barline.
b.
double
14,
18,
section
first
b.
10,
19,
tablature rhythmic sign crotchet.
section
first
b.
14,
19,
tablature
the
second
rhythmic
sign over
characterof the
section
first line.
deficient
b.
9,
20,
to
rendition
tablature
rhythmic
editorial;
notation
section
render this rhythm.
b.
deficient
10,
22,
to
rhythmic
rendition
tablature
editorial;
notation
section
render this rhythm.
32
11.2 Passaggidiversi s le note per sonare sopra la parte

6
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12
51
11.3 {Cadences} from Girolamo G. Kapsberger, Libro terzo d'intavolatura di chitarone

(Rome, 1626), 43.
Commentary:
section 2, second system, b. 1, tablature, first character of third line 3(e).

section 2, second system, b. 5, figuring, sharp originally placed in tablature.
section 3, second system, b. 1, tablature, second line, second character 3 (fn).
52
II. 3 [Cadences)
Cadenze di 5: ta in Sid et 4: t' in s
43
1.
6-#
e--I
-I
I
H
ii
i9
ii
[d
19
J]
Cadenzedi 5:ta in sd et 4: cain gid
2.
53
9--3--e
Cadenzedi grado in Sid
3.
i
6----}-9
6
II
II
11
[U]
54
II. 4 Tavola per sonare il Chitarone per sonare sopra il Basso' from Girolamo G.
Kapsberger, Libro terzo d'intavolanua di chitarone (Rome, 1626), 46-8.
Commentary:
double barlines editorial.

section 7, first system, b. 3, tablature, contrabass course 80).
b.
1, tablature, second line 1(f).
10,
second system,
section
55
II. 4 Tavola per sonare il Chitarone per sonare copra il Basso
1.
Ll
13
th
p
(A
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181
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62
CONTINUO PRACTICE FOR THE THEORBO

AS INDICATED
ITALIAN
PRINTED AND MANUSCRIPT
3 VOLUMES
III: The New York Public Library Theorbo Manuscript (JOC 93-2)
THEODOROS
KITSOS

degree
for
the
of
the
requirements
of
THE UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT
OF YORK
OF MUSIC
May 2005..
-: -
SOURCES
The New York Public Library Theorbo Manuscript
de Toulmon
Auguste
Botte
and
Chrysander (1826-1901),
(1797-
1850), whose property stamp appears on f. 1. Nothing is known about

but
is
it
history
this
almost certain
to
point
prior
the
of the manuscript
from
late
dates
Italian
it
is
the
seventeenth
provenance and
that
of
century.
The manuscript is written in Italian tablature and it was intended for
fingerboard
fourteen-course
courses and eight
theorbo,
six
with
a
diatonically tuned contrabass], tuned in the following way:
Source
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Astor, Tilden
and Lenox Foundations: call no. JOC 93-2 [Introdutioni
a note con terza
maggiore e con terza minore e terza natturale].
t4
(1
CF-A
IT
II
Introduction
The tuning of the bass courses is occasionally altered in order to fit the
key in use and, in most of the cases, the alteration is indicated at the
In seventeenth-century Italy, one of the most preferred instruments for

continuo accompaniment was the theorbo. Its role was not restricted
by
The
someone
manuscript was compiled
of the section.
simply to a chordal accompaniment but, as Agostino Agazzari informs
beginning
us, the theorbo had a second role, an ornamental one, namely the
improvisation of diminutions above the bass.` Due to the improvisatory
its
instrument
knowledge
in-depth
peculiarities, and
and
of the
with an
it
is
However,
indisputable
that
remarkable
purpose.
an
educatinal
with
it does not display the typical compromises usually found in tutors
nature of continuo, not many sources that illustrate the accompanying
intended for students or amateurs as, on several occasions, a high level of

functions
is
Both
of the
the chordal and ornamental
required.
skill
found
in
is
demonstrated
only
that
usually
theorbo are
with an expertise
style exist; and if the sources that display chordal realizations are rare,
the ones that demonstrate ornamented realizations are much rarer still.
However, both of these qualities are well presented in the New York
Public
Library
theorbo manuscript,
a lavish continuo
tutor.
sources that
The
contain
solo music.
The
harmonies
chordal
bear
manuscript, before coming into the possession of New York Public
realizations
Library, was owned by the music antiquarian Hans Schneider, Friedrich
designations such as durezze, arpeggio and ribattute; the ornamental

features
infused
such as groppi,
effective
examples are
with a variety of
'Agostino Agazzari, Del

sonate sopra 1 basso con tutu li strornenti (Siena: D.
Flacini, 1607; facs. edn., Bologna: Arnaldo Forni Editore, 1969).
of
complex
and
campanelle, strascini, or left-hand ornaments.
ii
they
examples contain
occasionally
The New York Public Library theorbo manuscript is

a valuable
document for modern players and scholars who
want to comprehend the
fashion (with triple barlines equivalent to final ones); and two types of
accompaniment style of seventeenth-century Italy. It not only provides
length,
practical tables with shapes of chordal realizations to be used by the

theorbo player but, more importantly, it gives a consummate image of
how the accompaniment can be enriched, which
can be a guide for any
instrumentalist.
presumably segment phrases and motifs
small vertical lines, one of two-space length and another of one-space

which are used exclusively in ornamental realizations and
respectively. The original
barring has been retained in both the tablature and the transcription,
with
the exception of ornamented barlines that show the end of a
thematic section, and which have been replaced by final barlines.

Sections segmented by small vertical lines have been treated as full bars
Notes on notation and transcription
and where an accidental appears once, it applies also to the subsequent
Although a transcription into modern notation does

not completely reensemble the information provided by the tablature, it is essential for
'bars',
due
length
however,
to
the
such
extended
of
some
of
notes;
brackets
in
round
precautionary accidentals
are occasionally used.
The tablature contains various signs associated with performance
musicians who are unfamiliar with the tablature notation in order to

access the musical context. For that reason both original notation and
line
(-)
horizontal
displayed
The
in
transcription.
the
which are not
transcription are juxtaposed in a way that the
original features and
indicates that the theorbo player should hold the fingers of the left hand
layout of the manuscript are preserved. The manuscript is in landscape

format with two systems per page, with
a five-line staff for mensural
fingerboard
line
lasts
in order to achieve the effect
long
the
the
on
as
as
notation and a six-line tablature staff. Between them the transcription of

the tablature has been inserted in modern notation.
pluck with the index finger of the right hand. Yet the use of multiple
With the exception of ff. 26'-27 (pp. 52-3

of the present volume),
the tablature lacks any rhythmic signs. This is presumably because the
rhythmic interpretation was left to the decision of the performer in
fourfingers,
it
index,
to
comes
when
plucking with
middle and ring
relation to the musical texture the examples were to be applied to. For
that reason, black stemless notation is employed for the transcription.
The manuscript displays five different
ways of barring: there are
single, double and triple barlines that are used in a way similar to today's
he
fashion.
described
Melii
Paolo
Pietro
practice
and
such
a
a strumming
indicates
The
dot
("),
the
to
note,
a single
of campanella.
when applied
dots in a chord is ambiguous: while at first sight it points towards the
it
is
also seems
note chords, although such an execution
accomplishable,
index,
in
finger,
indicate
the
possibly
to
rational
the execution with one
left-hand
(0)
is
for
The
dots
its
a
sharp-like
symbol
also used
notation=
2 See, Pietro Paolo Melii, Intavolatura di Auto
libro
terzo (Venice:
attiorbato,
G. Vincenti, 1616; facs. edn., Florence: Studio Per Edizioni Scelte, 1979), f. 2'.
ill
ornament, and as is evident from its use for all the three notes of a chord
in f. 26 (p. 51), it can only denote the use of vibrato. The x-like symbol
3
figuring,
b.
19,
1,
appears
over
a symbol
p.
second system, continuo
(x)is also a left-hand ornament and indicates the single or multiple
line
lower.
last
b.
first
22,
2,
chord one
system, tablature, characters of
p.
alteration with the upper auxiliary note. This is evident in f. 21 where it

is used on an open course accompanied by the number 2 which means
line
lower.
last
4,
b.
first
22,
chord one
system, tablature, characters of
p.
(possibly a sharp).
line
b.
1,
23,
third
of
second character
p.
second system, tablature,
that the auxiliary note is that of the second fret. The only sign carried
into the transcription is that for the strascino (slur), which indicates that
placed on second line (f).

F#.
b.
first
1,
29,
to
tuned
tablature,
eighth
course
system,
p.
the right hand plucks only the first note in each course and the left hand
slurs the remaining ones, because it usually-though
C#.
ij
43,
F#,
8
to
tuned
to
tuned
course
p.
course
(g).
b.
line
3
48,
first
2,
second
system, tablature,
p.
not necessarily-
indicates the musical phrasing.

As a final
point,
basso continuo
first
line
(B).
2
b.
49,
1,
sixth
of
character
second system, tablature,
p.
figuring,
p. 54, course i2 tuned to B'6.
abbreviated words,
6
figuring,
first
b.
7,
83,
with sharp.
system,
continuo
p.
punctuation and spelling of the original have been retained and any
editorial additions appear in square brackets.
frets
first
b.
87,
8,
two
chord
tablature, characters of second
system,
p.
lower.
Commentary
flat.
figuring,
6
96,
with
secondsystem,continuo
p.
p. 4, first system,b. 5, tablature, secondcharacterof fourth line 7(d).

p. 9, first system, b. 4, tablature, both charactersof third line
line
(ab).
5
first
6,
b.
98,
of
second
tablature, secondcharacter
system,
p.
line
(gb).
3
first
first
b.
8,
98,
tablature,
characterof second
system,
p.
p. 9, first system, b. 7, tablature, third and fourth characters placed on

fifth line providing f #-g.
first
10,
p.
system, tablature, b. 7, Oplaced on sixth line providing A.
p. 11, second system, tablature, b. 2, second line 2(f#).
p. 14, second system, tablature, b. 2, first line 6(d'#).
p. 18, first system, tablature, b. 1, both 7of third line placed on first and
7of first line placed on first.
iv
Introdutron. r
Note
a
Con TerzaMaggiore, e Con TerzaMin ore e TerzaNatturale
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Tavola
Introdutioni
G. so] re ut Con Terza Maggiore
C. 2.
C. sol fa ut Con Terza Min ore
C. 5.
G. so] re ut Con Terza Min ore
C. 2.
D. la sol re Con TerzaMaggiore
C6
A. la ml re Con Terza Maggiore
C. 3.
D. la so] re Con TerzaNatturale
C. 6.
A. la ml re Con Terza Natturale
C. 3.
E. la ml Con TerzaMaggiore
C7.
B. fa b. m! Con Terza Natturale
C. 4.
E. la ml Con TerzaNatturale
C. 7.
B. fa Con Terza Natturale
C. 4.
F. fa ut Con TerzaNatturale
C. 8.
C. so] fa ut Con Terza Natturale
C. S.
F. fa ut Con TerzaMin ore
C. 8.
[99]
Abbelimenti
Sopra Note di Cadenze risolute
Con Quarta e Terza, E con Quarta Terza e Settima.
G. sol re ut.
C. P.
F. f ut.
C. 11.
A. lamlre.
C. P.
B. fa.
C. 11.
B. fa b. mi.
C. 10.
E. la fa.
C. 11.
C. Sol fa ut.
C. 10.
G. sol re ut. Maggiore
C. 11.
D. la so] re.
C. 10.
C. sol fa ut. Maggiore
C. 12.
E. laml.
C. 10.
F. fa ut. Maggiore
C. 12.
[100)
Sopra Note resolute

Con Sesta, e Quinta falsa
G. sol re ut.
C. 12.
D. la so] re.
G. so] re ut. Maggiore.
C. 12.
D. la so] re Maggiore.
A. Ja mire.
C. 12.
E. la fa.
B. fa.
C. 13.
E. la mi.
B. fa b. mi.
C. 13.
F. faut.
C. Sol faut.
C. 13.
F. fa ut. Mggiore.
C. sol fa ut. Magglore.
C. 13.
[101]
SopraNote resolute Con Settlma, e Sesta

G. so] re ut.
C. 15.
C. sol fa ut Maggiore
G. sol re ut. Maggiore.
C. 15.
D. la so] re.
A. la mi re Min ore.
C. 16.
E. la fa
A. la mire. Natturale
C. 16.
E. lam!
B. fa.
C. 1G
F. faut.
B. fa b. mi.
C. 16.
F. fa ut Maggiore.
C. sol fa ut.
C. 17.
D. la so] re Min ore.
[1021
Passeggi
"
Accompagnam.
Con
Sopra Note
Et a Note di Cadenze.
G. so] re ut.
C. 21.
D. la so] re.
C. 2S.
A. Ja mire.
C. 22.
E. la mi.
C. 26.
C. 23.
E. la fa.
C. 28.
F. faut.
C. 28.
B. fa b. mi.
B. fa.
C. 23.
C. Sol faut.
C. 24.
(103)
Accompagnamenti.
Sopra qua] si voglia Note con ogni Accidenti, Et in quante forme, e
Modi, e Manierepossino trovarsi, e formarsi sopra la Tastattura di Tiorba
Con risolutione di Settima, e Sestelegate, et unite.
G. so] re ut.
C. 29.
B. fa b. ml.
C. 32.
A. Jamire.
C. 30.
C. sol fa ut.
C. 33.
B. A
C. 31.
C. sol fa ut. Maggiore.
C. 34.
(104)
D. la sol re.
B. fa.
C. 43.
C. 36.
B. fab. ml.
C. 44.
C. 37.
C. sol fa ut.
C 45.
D. la sol re.
C. 46.
B. la mi.
C. 47.
C. 35.
B. lafa.
B. la mi.
F. fa ut.
C. 38.
F. fa ut. Maggiore.
C. 39.
li seguenti sono a1'Ottavltra.
G. sol re ut.
C. 40.
Rlsolutlone di Settime, e Seste
G. so] re ut. Maggiore.
C. 41.
legate, et unite.
C. 42.
Fine.
A, la mi re.
[105)
C. 48.

Continuo Practice For The Theorbo PDF

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Continuo Practice For The Theorbo PDF

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CONTINUO

PRACTICE FOR THE THEORBO

Submitted in partial fulfillment

THE UNIVERSITY OF YORK

role in the continuo

two classes according to their

'foundation', which provide chordal support; and instruments of 'ornamentation', which

than that of our modern

conception, which is evident in seventeenth-century Italian

sources. Salamone Rossi's 11primo Libro de madrigali (1600), Girolamo Kapsberger's

progressions with parallel motion and faulty inversions or problematical voice-leadings

di chitarone (1626) and New York, Public

List ofMusical Examples

List ofAccompanying Material

2. Notation and Instruments

3. The Sixteenth-Century Lute Song

5. Girolamo Kapsberger's Chitarrone Intabulations

5.1. Libro primo and libro terzo di villanelle

5.2. Libro primo di arie passeggiate

5.3. Libro terzo d'intavolatura di chitarone

6. Flamminio Corradi's Chitarrone Intabulations

Bellerofonte Castaldi's Theorbo Intabulations

9. New York 93-2

I: Songs with Intabulated Accompaniments

Salamone Rossi, 'Cor mio, deh non languire'

Girolamo G. Kapsberger, 'SU'desta i fiori'

Girolamo G. Kapsberger, 'Ultimi

Girolamo G. Kapsberger, 'Interrotte speranze'

Flamminio Corradi, 'Stravaganza d'Amore'

Bellerofonte Castaldi, Corrente : 'Il mormorio D'un fresco rio'

APPENDIX II: Realizations

Alfabeto chart with transcription in modern notation from Girolamo

G. Kapsberger, Libro terzo di villanelle (Rome, 1619)

'Passaggi diversi s le note per sonare sopra la parte' from Girolamo

[Cadences) from Girolamo G. Kapsberger, Libro terzo d'intavolatura

di chitarone (Rome, 1626)

Tavola per sonare it Chitarone per sonare sopra it Basso' from

The New York Public Library Theorbo Manuscript (JOC 93-2)

Notes on notation and transcription

Transcription of the manuscript

Detail from Franciscus Bossinensis, Tenori e contrabassi intabulati

Theorbo tuning as illustrated in Michael Praetorius, Syntagma

Salamone Rossi, II primo libro de madrigals a cinque voci (Venice, 1600),

'Fulminate' from Girolamo G. Kapsberger, Libro terzo di villanelle

Kapsberger's coat of arms. Detail from the title-page of Libro primo di

Detail from Bellerofonte Castaldi, Capricci a due stromenti (Modena,

Castaldi's self-portrait from Bellerofonte Castaldi, Capricci a due

Opening of Monteverdi's 'Lamento di Arianna', Modena G239,1.114

First page of 'Cadenze finali', Modena G239,103.115

Tablature rhythmic signs.

Correspondence between Italian tablature and modern notation (first nine

Madrigals with tablature accompaniment in Rossi's, 111ibro primo de

Songs with intabulated accompaniments in Castaldi's, Capricci a due

Structure of New York 93-2.126

Comparative table of dissonancesdesignated as durezze in New York 93-2.128

LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES

Nineteen-course chitarrone tuning.

Chittarrone tuning according to Banchieri.

Indicative melodic divisions and cadential ornaments used in Bossinensis,

Four-note arpeggiated chord according to Kapsberger, Libro primo

'Udite, lacrimosi spiriti d'Averno', Rossi, Il Iibro primo de madrigals, 17,

'Udite, lacrimosi spiriti d'Averno', Rossi, II Iibro primo de madrigals, 17,

'Hor ch'amorosiaccenti', Kapsberger,Libro primo di villanelle, 19, bb.