Stella Gaetano Partimento in Age of Romanticism

Yale University Department of Music
Partimenti in the Age of Romanticism: Raimondi, Platania, and Boucheron

Author(s): Gaetano Stella
Source: Journal of Music Theory, Vol. 51, No. 1, Partimenti (Spring, 2007), pp. 161-186
Published by: Duke University Press on behalf of the Yale University Department of Music
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Partimentiin the Age of Romanticism

Raimondi, Platania, and Boucheron
Gaetano Stella
The teaching of music composition in Italy duringthe nineteenth century continued to make great
use of partimenti.But duringthe course of the century, partimentigradually lost their importanceas guides to
improvisation,transforminginstead into blueprints for a written-out practice. Prominentmusicians and teach-
Abstract
ers like Pietro Raimondi,Pietro Platania, and RaimondoBoucherontried to merge the partimentotraditionwith
the harmonicand formal innovations of their own era. Raimondiand Platania, significant exponents of the late
Neapolitan school of composition, searched for innovationfrom within their own tradition. Boucheron,in Milan,
deeply influencedby Frenchand Germantheorists, used partimentias a mediumthroughwhich he could introduce
elements of Romanticharmony.The partimentolessons of all three display not only a musical sophistication that
merits our attention today, but also an insider'sperspective on issues in nineteenth-centuryItaliancomposition.
during the nineteenth century, Italiancompositionaltheory began to

be deeply influenced by transalpinetheories, perceived as more "modern"and more in accordwith the ideals of the age of Romanticism.In fact,
- and particularlythose who were exposed to French and
many musicians
influences- sharedthe idea that Italiantraditionalteaching
German
(later)
methodshad become obsolete (Sanguinetti2005, 456). Nevertheless,partimenti continuedto occupya centralpositionin the professionaltrainingof
manyItaliancomposers.Importantmusiciansand theoristspublishednew
worksthat triedto cope withthe problemsraisedin teachpartimento-based
ing compositionunder thisnewaestheticregime.
Thisalteredsituationwasalso reflectedin the waythatpartimentiwere
used. In the eighteenthcentury,the realizationof a partimentowasgenerally
improvisedat the keyboard.The writtenpart of compositionaltrainingwas
cultivatedunderotherforms:strictandfugalcounterpoint,andfree composiand solfeggi}Fuguehad a significantrole as
tionexpressedthroughdisposizioni
1 Disposizioni were exercises set in open score for two or

more voices, and involved imitation and other contrapuntal procedures. Often they were based on a partimento.
Solfeggi was a short composition, usually for voice and
unfigured bass, and was generally used in teaching as a first

attempt at free composition. Disposizioni and solfeggi are
discussed in Gjerdingen 2007 and Sanguinetti 2005.
Journal of Music Theory 51:1, Spring 2007
DOI 10.1215/00222909-2008-026 2009 byYale University
161
162
JOURNAL of MUSIC THEORY
and the writtenpaths

the capstoneof both the unwritten(asfuga-partimento)
of advancedtraining.
During the nineteenth century,partimentoteaching became more
and morea written-outpractice.At the sametime,counterpointlost its status
in music pedagogyin favorof harmony,which took on the auraof a quasiscientificdiscipline.Partimentineverthelessremaineda centraltool in Italian
musicalpedagogyfor most of the century,and for decadesFedeleFenaroli's
Partimenti
(1814) remainedthe preeminenttextbookin the conservatories.
New editionswith added commentarywere publishedin Italyuntil the first
decades of the twentiethcentury,even though Fenaroli'spartimentiwere
conceptof tonality(Rosenberg1995,198groundedin an eighteenth-century
209;Sanguinetti,in press).
The immensefameof Fenaroliduringthe nineteenthcenturyeventually
eclipsedthatof all other authors,includingthe greatFrancescoDuranteand
LeonardoLeo, whosepartimentihad neverbeen published.Evenso, the old
customof eighteenth-century
Neapolitanmastersto composenewpartimenti
for theirstudentsdid not entirelydisappear.In the earlynineteenthcentury,
for example,NiccolZingarelli,teacherof SaverioMercadanteandVincenzo
Bellini, and a well-knownopera composerin his own right, publishedtwo
books of partimenti(Zingarelli1830). His partimenti,writtenin a conservativestyle, show hardlyany tracesof the harmonicnoveltiesbeing introduced by the risinggenerationof Italiancomposerslike GioachinoRossini,
GaetanoDonizetti,GaspareSpontini,and of coursehis own studentBellini.
Zingarelli'sconservativeapproachto partimentiwassharedby manymasters
fromhis era.The resultwasa growingdistancebetweenmusicpedagogyand
- fromboth inside
musicpractice.To remedythissituation,severalmusicians
and outside the Neapolitantradition- searchedfor new waysof using partimenti.Amongthe firstof these, PietroRaimondiand PietroPlataniatriedto
adaptthe old traditionto the new situation.Othermusicians,like Raimondo
Boucheron- who neverstudiedin Naples- used the partimentoas a tool for
introducingto Italythe new methodsof the ParisConservatory.
Two Late Neapolitan Masters: Pietro Raimondi and Pietro Platania
Pietro Raimondi
PietroRaimondi(1786-1853) wasone of the most significantfiguresin the

nineteenth-centuryNeapolitan school of composition. He published two
importantcollectionsof partimenti:the Bassiimitatiefugati divisiin trelibri
(Imitative and Fugal Basses Divided into Three Books, ca. 1830s) and his Nuovo
genere di scientifica composizione:Andamenti di Basso numerato con una due o tre
armonie (A New Kind of Scientific Composition:Figured Basses with One, Two, or
Three
Harmonizations,
1852).His best pupil,PietroPlatania(1828-1907),published his own collection of partimentias the practicalpart of his Trattato
d'armonia, seguito da un corso di contrappunto (A Treatiseon Harmony Followed by
GaetanoStella ~ Partimenti in the Age of Romanticism
withPartimenti,1883). Both men worked to preserve

a Coursein Counterpoint
both wrote partimenti. But they wrote them in a
and
Neapolitan traditions,
in
some
new way, differing
respects from past tradition. Raimondi and Platania adopted an ambiguous position. On the one hand, they believed in "scientific" harmony. But on the other hand, they strove to preserve the leading
role of counterpoint.
The most unusual aspect of Raimondi's Nuovogeneredi scientificacomposizioneis that all the partimenti have multiple systems of figures. In fact, every
bass line is provided with two, or sometimes three, harmonizations of increasing difficulty (Example 1). Other maestros like Gaetano Greco and Saverio
Mattei had used multiple figures in the eighteenth century, but Raimondi's
Nuovogenereis, to my knowledge, the only collection of partimenti that uses
this procedure consistently.
Raimondi's multiple figures, however, are but a written-out manifestation of a much older pedagogic principle that lies at the very heart of all
Neapolitan teaching practice: the search for multiple solutions to the same
compositional problem. An excellent example of this practice can be found
in the counterpoint exercises completed by Vincenzo Lavigna (the teacher of
Giuseppe Verdi) under the direction of Fenaroli. In these exercises we find an
almost obsessive search for the largest possible number of alternative settings
for the same pattern, whether a cadence, a scale, or a disposizione(Sanguinetti in press). Interestingly,Raimondi- unlike most of his contemporariesincluded a significant number of partimento fugues in his collection, following a formal scheme that stretches back to Nicola Sala and Giacomo Tritto
(Stella 2006) .2
This fugue tradition would be further developed by Platania in his Corso
completedifughe e canoni di ogni genere ( CompleteCourseof Fugue and Canons of All
Types,1871). Platania, however, completely omits the partimento fugue and

replaces it with a new format developed by his master Raimondi: bassoimitatoefugato (imitative and fugal bass). The formal scheme used by Raimondi
and Platania is outlined in Table 1. The main feature of this kind of fugue is
that, following the exposition, one avoids the key of the dominant. From a
formal point of view, the most significant harmonic degree becomes the subdominant. The formal scheme of this fugue includes two sections that do not
appear in other traditions. They were called imitazioneand modulazione.Both
are sections that connect thematic statements (see Example 2). The imitazione
consists of a nonmodulating sequence that makes use of imitative entries. The
modulazione,on the contrary, is a connecting section that modulates without
2 This formal scheme, however, was not the only one
used in the Naples conservatories. In fact, Sala and Tritto
followed the school of Leonardo Leo (they were called
"Leisti"), while another school followed Francesco Durante
(the "Durantisti"). On the controversy between "Leisti" and
"Durantisti,"see Rosenberg 1999.
163
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of lessons 1, 2, and 3; set in score format by this author
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165
Table 1. The formal scheme of a typical fugue by Sala

Free sections
Subject sections
Exposition
- >
Modulation and/or imitation

or modulated imitation if the
counterexposition begins from
the answer or any way from
the dominant
Counterexposition (not mandatory)

Middle entry at the IV del Tono
- >
- >
Imitation or modulation
- >
- >
Imitation or modulation
Augmented subject with the

inversion at the distance of a
12th or, in a few cases, a 10th
(again in the main key)
Stretti (always in the main key)
Imitation (and/or modulation)
Each stretto is followed by an

imitation or modulation
I
Canon, pedal point (not mandatory), final cadence
I
Coda (few bars; normally is not an independent section)
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166
making use of imitations. Very rarely are imitation and modulation joined
together. If they were, the passage would be called "modulating imitation"
(imitazionemodulata,Sala 1794).
Example 3 shows the application of this formal scheme to a partimento
fugue by Raimondi. He follows its outline quite closely, except for the position
of the canon that precedes, rather than follows, the stretto.
The second partimento treatisewritten by Raimondi wasentirely devoted
to the already mentioned bassoimitatoefugato,which gradually took the place
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(1852), book 2, lesson 30
GaetanoStella ~ Partimentiin the Age of Romanticism
167
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Example 3 (continued)
of partimento fugue in Italian pedagogy.3In the preface to his Bassi imitatie

fugati divisi in trelibri(ca. 1830s), Raimondi writes:
Despitethe fact that the verywell knownMaestridell'ArmoniaChoron,Marpurg,and othershaveonlymentionedthe schoolof the "Bassid'imitazione"in
passing,. . . until now no one has everpublisheda collectionof bassesfor the
instructionof youngpeople who devotethemselvesto the musicalart, in such
a wayas to facilitatethe path to fugue. . . . With the greatestsorrowI heard
fromsomeill-advisedyoungpeople thatin orderto composeworksin whatever
genre it wasenough to knowthe principlesof voice-leadingand to writesome
solfeggi,withoutwastingtime in the studyof fugue.
After having stressed the importance of counterpoint and fugue in the syllabus of the old Neapolitan school, he continues: "Iwrote these Basses for those
who are already skilled in counterpoint. But it is necessary to warn young
scholars that they must first work hard on the partimenti by various authors,
and only after that can they attempt to compose, otherwise their efforts will be
fruitless."He concludes with the exhortation to "livehappily."4
3 The basso imitato e fugato is still in use in the traditional
Italian syllabus of the course in composition.
4 "Sebbene i chiarissimi Maestri dellArmonia Choron,
Marpurg, ed altri avessero accennata soltanto la scuola dei
Bassi d'imitazione, pure quest'utile insegnamento stato
mai sempre trascurato, ne si finora redatta una raccolta

di Bassi, per istruire i giovani che si dedicano all'arte musicale, e cosi rendere loro agevole la strada per passare all
Fughe. . . . Con sommo rammarico intesi da taluni mal consigliati giovani, che per comporre dlie opre in qualunque
168
Raimondi'sprefaceis the only part of his book that containswritten

explanations.The restof the book containsnothingbut music,followingthe
Neapolitantraditionof committingto papersolelythe examples,and relying
on oraltransmissionfor the explanations.
UnlikeRaimondi'spartimentofugues,his bassiimitatiefugatiare, from
the perspectiveof form,morefree.Thereis no standardformalscheme,so the
differentelementsof the fugue (those outlinedin Table1) can be arranged
in differenttonal and formal designs. Still, the most importantdifference
andfugalbass"lies not in the
betweenthe partimentofugueand the "imitative
overalldesignbut in the techniqueof realization:the formerwasimprovised
at the keyboard;the latterwas writtenout. Compositionalassignmentson
Raimondi'sbassicompletedby three of his students- CarmeloFodale,Vin- provideimportantevidencefor the style
cenzo Fiodo, and PietroPlatania
writtenrealizations(Fodale1835;Fiodo 1835;Platania
of nineteenth-century
I-Nc Platania58.3). As Raimondiwrote in the preface to his Bassiimitatie
fugati,thisworkwasdesigned"tofacilitatethe path to fugue"(Raimondica.
1830s), though it is unclear exactlywhich kind of fugue Raimondihad in
mind.Nonetheless,it seemsevidentthat the bassoimitatoefugatowashalfway
betweenstandardpartimentopracticeand the writtenvocalfugue,thusrepresentingat the sametimea finalstageof partimentotrainingand a preparatory
stagefor the studyof the vocalfugue.
AccordingtoJesseRosenberg(1995,210), Raimondi'schoice to publish
a book entirelydevotedto fugalprocedures,togetherwiththe completelack
of anyexplanation,is a signof a conservativeposition.Thisis trueonlyin part.
traditionrepresentedbyRaimondiandhis pupilPlataniadid
The late"Leista"
the
to
try preserve old traditionin the new era,hoping to renewmusicteaching fromwithinthe Neapolitanschool of composition.YetRaimondi'sbelief
in harmonyas science,his researchinto newpossibilitiesin counterpoint,his
gigantism"(Stella2007), as wellas the strongexperimentalism
"contrapuntal
thatsurfacedin his maturecompositions,all testify,despitehis strongconnections with an academicclassicism,to the Romanticnatureof his theoretical
works.
Pietro Platania
PietroPlatania,consideredby Raimondihis best pupil, continued his master'sinvolvementwithpartimenti.Around1860,when he wasthe dean of the
Regiocollegiodi musicadel Buon Pastore(GoodShepherdRoyalCollegeof
Music)in Palermo,Plataniajotted downa sketchfor the syllabusof the har-
genere, bastava semplicemente aver conoscenza della disposizione dlie parti, e far dei solfeggi, n doveasi perder
lungo tempo nello studio delle Fughe. . . . Questi bassi per
sono stati da me scritti per coloro i quali sono gi provetti
nel Contrappunto, e fa mestieri di avvertire i giovani studiosi,

che devono precedentemente occuparsi con impegno nei
partimenti dei variiAutori, e poi cominciare a comporre, altrimenti infruttuose riusciranno le loro fatiche. . . . Vivi felice."
GaetanoStella ~ Partimentiin the Age of Romanticism
169
mony and counterpoint classes in his conservatory: "Harmony.In a rational

and practicalsense. Written realization. After 6 months practical performance
on the piano and on the melodium [a reed organ] . . . Suggested authors:
Fenaroli, Mattei and after, according to the professor's choice, a number of
partimenti by Cotumacci, Sala, and Raimondi" (I-Nc Platania 58.3) .5 Sometime in this same period Platania wrote his Trattatod'armonia(published in
1883). Unlike his master Raimondi, Platania refused to add figures to his partimenti, thus following the age-old Neapolitan tradition. In the preface to his
Trattatod'armoniahe writes:
The presenttreatisefollowsa practicalsystemof teachingHarmonywithout
indicationsof figuresin the bassline, insteadinstillingin the pupil an awareness of the naturaland inflexible canons of Harmony,i.e. the Rule of the
Octave,the origin of the harmonizedscale from the three fundamentaland
immutabletriadsembodyingthe tonality,the proper tendenciesof tones in
theirvariousdirections.. . . The use of figuresmakespupils,notwithstanding
their professors'theoreticalexplanations,one might sayalmostinvoluntarily
harmonizewithouta clear determination,and without analysingtheir own
work.I have thereforerestrictedthe indicationof figures to the end of the
book, and only to showsome special or rare waysof harmonizing,different
fromthe commonusage.6
This text, written by Platania around 1860, contains some references to an
unpublished treatise on partimento titled SulVarmonia.In this work Platania
states, "The method I hint at is based on a simple and very important rule: the
pupil must study the basses without figures, learning to recognize the right
figures after having understood the fundamental rules of harmony studied
I-Nc S.C. 12.8.2) .7
theoretically and practically"(Platania, SulVarmonia,
Platania follows, in general, the traditional approach used by countless
Neapolitan masters (including Fenaroli). He first begins with cadences and
then introduces the Rule of the Octave, the different bass motions, and finally
special, more complex patterns.Yet he imbues his partimenti with a Romantic
aura that is completely absent from partimenti written by masters of the previous generation (e.g., Raimondi or Zingarelli). The most original aspects of his
5 "Armonia. In senso razionale e pratico- per iscritto- Dopo
sei mesi esecuzione pratica sul piano e sul melodium . . .
Autori da adottarsi: Fenaroli, Mattei e dopo, a scelta del
professore, una quantit dlie lezioni di partimenti di Cotumacci, Sala e Raimondi."
6 "II prsente trattato s'informa ad un sistema pratico
d'insegnamento armonico senza indicazioni di numeri sul
basso, istituendo invece I'allievo sulla cognizione dei canoni
armonici naturali ed irremovibili, cio: la conoscenza delta
regola dell'ottava, la derivazione della scala armonica dalle
tre triadi fondamentali identiche che costituiscono la modalit, la rispettiva tendenza dei suoni componenti gli accordi
nelle loro varie diramazioni. . . . Luso dei numeri fa si che
I'allievo malgrado le spiegazioni teoriche del maestro

trascinato, direi quasi involontariamente, ad armonizzare
senza prcisa persuasione e senza bene analizzare il proprio operate ... Mi sono riserbato io quindi I'indicazione dei
numeri sul partimento verso la fine del Corso, e ci solo per
mostrare le ricercate o speciali manire d'armonizzare, different! dal consueto."
7 "II metodo dunque cui accenno si basa sopra una
semplice ma importantissima regola, quella cio, che lo
allievo studiasse i bassi senza numeri, ma questi facendoli
riconoscere dopo merc i precetti fondamentali d'armonia
ragionata teoricamente e praticamente."
170
outputare thus to be found in the more advancedpartimenti,ratherthan in

the introductoryexercisesthatcloselyfollowthe traditionalpath.
The partimento-relatedoutput of Plataniamaybe summarizedunder
twomaincategories:real partimentiand "imitativeand fugalbasses."Of the
firstcategoryof partimenti,only a single realizationfrom Plataniaof one of
his own partimentisurvives,togetherwith a detailed example of a figured
partimento.No realizationof an imitativeand fugal bassfrom Plataniahas
come to light.Some manuscriptsin the Naplesconservatorylibrary,however,
includerealizationsbyPlatania(or byhis students)of partimentibyFenaroli,
and of imitativeand fugal bassesby Raimondi.All these worksbear witness
to significantchanges that occurredwithin the Neapolitantraditionin the
second halfof the nineteenthcentury.
Let us firstexaminea writtenrealizationof partimentono. 2 fromFenaroli'swidelypublishedbook 4. It waspenned by an anonymousstudentwho
studied under Plataniaaround 1860 (I-Nc Platania61). In many respects
this realization(shownin Example4) followspast tradition.It is writtenin
a keyboardstyle,with frequentchangesin the numberof voices duringthe
- a characteristic
continuopracfeatureof the eighteenth-century
partimento
tice. The realizationemploys,even if in a somewhatextendedway,all of the
rf-
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Example 4, Anonymous, Partimento. I-Nc Platania 61. The bass is taken from lesson 2, book
4, of Fenaroli's Partimenti.
171
five classes of partimento rules: (1) cadences and basic axioms, (2) the Rule
of the Octave, (3) dissonances, (4) bass motions (here with remarkable chromatic variants), and (5) scale mutations (modulation). The texture, however,
tends to be more chordal than in a typical eighteenth-century partimento
realization (for a comparison with a more eighteenth-century style of realization, see the article by Sanguinetti, this issue).
An example of the second kind of partimento is no. 51 from Raimondi's
Bassi imitatiefugati, as realized by Platania (I-Nc Platania 58.13). This realization was probably completed during the 1850s and follows closely Raimondi's
tradition. Two excerpts of it are shown in Example 5.
The exposition begins with the subject sounding together with the bass
line, as was customary in the partimento-fugue tradition (mm. 1-8, Example
5a) . Unlike in a partimento fugue, in this format the given part is alwaysthe
bass. This means that the first subject entry must be supplied by the student,
who must scan the bass line in order to find the "hidden"subject (in this case,
(a)
Ultimi bassi imitati e fugati

|
|
^T,
Sop.no
Tenor fin (* I
[J
I
Sj
"
~ 1
"
Bass['JiH..
Platania/Raimondi
"
IT * J ^z=z:
* M 10
-^^
"^^
'= J m
"ztzzzzzr1"!
J J m
J ifi3 '
l4
^
_J_ j 0 ft*
'1
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|J
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-
|>
|fl<
^;j
ir^r/rrrriJ
|J*J
|J
i'J
^TîJ
ir
ij
lo
lo
err
Example 5. Pietro Raimondi, Ultimi bassi imitati e fugati, no. 51; realization by Pietro
Platania, I-Nc Platania 58.13. (a) Exposition, mm. 1-8. (b) Canon, mm. 48-55
r^^
172
of MUSIC THEORY
JOURNAL
(b)
48
"
i$*r
cr^'-J-
ktjrjrrrrir'
cnr
^J^
Jj|r
crrrrrir
52
JJlJ JJJJJJ1J.
|> j.
A,
rl
rrrrJ-
_lj
jt
rîrrrr^
J^S
n
,,
'^
in bars5-8). The identificationof the subject(or subjects)is one of the chief

difficultiesin the realizationof an imitativeandfugalbass.The secondexcerpt
showsa four-voicecanon on a sequence (threevoicesat the unison,and the
remainingvoice at the fourth:mm. 48-55, Example5b). The crossingof the
voices (Example4b, mm. 49ff.) and dissonantclash in approachingthe unison (betweensopranoand alto,mm.49-50, 51-52, and 53-54) are typicalfeaturesof eighteenth-centurycounterpoint,ones that survivedin the Neapolitan traditionwell into the nineteenthcentury.The other bassesof Raimondi,
also realizedin Platania'shand, are increasinglymore elaborated,more and
moresimilarto a fuguewithmiddleentries(on the mediant,the submediant,
or,closerto the fugue traditionof NicolaSala,the fourthdegree), imitations,
canons,andstretti.
The partimentiwerealso used as a meansof instillingthe basicprinciof
ples musicalform.Thus,Platania,in some of his bassiimitatiefugati,added
173
slow introductions,as he also did in his free fugal compositions.The same

pedagogicalfunctionwas accomplishedby some partimentithat look (and
In other words,the partisound) like a Romanticpiano etude, or a romanza.
mento, afterhavingleft behind the eighteenth-centurygenres and stylesof
the toccata,the concerto,or the galantsonata,madea lastattemptto survive
byadoptingthe newtrappingsof Romanticism.The bassand figuresin Example 6 presenta partimentoetude by Plataniain A-B-A form plus coda. No
realizationhas survivedfor this partimento.The upper partwasrealizedby
thisauthor.
l^'Aiffpi
pi
"
'
pi
\t
^^
pi
: l3
'
5
3
pu!
9
H6
W
Nil
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6
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8
I,
.1
9
5
13
3
7
s
3
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4
~
-
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h^
19
9
5-68
3
4
-
3
5
4
3
6
5
3
8
Example 6. Pietro Platania, Trattato d'armonia (1883), partimento

by this author
H3
4
2
$6
13
873
1)6
29 from book 3; realization
174
Compared to the Fenaroli tradition, this partimento appears far more

harmonically advanced, with chromaticism, dissonant chords, and an idiomatic Romantic tension. Yeta closer look revealsthat the fundamentals remain
those taught by Fenaroli. In m. 1, the 5-6 exchange prevents parallel fifths
in the motion from I to II; in mm. 2 and 3, the figures are omitted because
the bass motion alone is sufficient to suggest the correct harmonies (which
basicallyconsist of a series of successive mi-famotions causing an alternation
between triads over the fa degrees and sixth chords over the midegrees) . The
most interesting case in this example is perhaps m. 4, where the complex
figures present nothing more than a Romantic elaboration of the cadenzacomposta.Thus, even if the left-hand texture closely resembles many nineteenthcentury virtuoso piano pieces (e.g., prelude op. 28/24 by Chopin, etude op.
740/8 and op. 740/12 by Carl Czerny, or op. 20/24 by Joseph Kessler), the
harmonic structure is basically the same as in Fenaroli.
The very last partimento in Platania's collection is titled "In forma di
capriccio" (see Example 7) . This partimento- which we might call a parti- likewise abounds in complex thoroughbass figures, along the
mentoromanza
^ ih I? Jl3 * =
nji
7
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)
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t^fc* -0-'j-ntj
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7
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8
8
13
8
1(4 3
4
2
2
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6
3
8
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7-3
3
8
6
6
5
8
4
2
6
8
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s r
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rjx L^ ! r pcr l r r fff i r ip iM^ r^r r r

8
3
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-
6
5
3
uj
5
3282-23
Example 7. Platania, "In forma di capriccio," no. 33, book 3: an excerpt from Platania's
realization
'*
8
175
and it exhibits a strict

lines of Raimondi's Nuovogeneredi scientificacomposizione,
This work, followthe
and
the
melodic
contour.
between
figures
relationship
in
with
a soggettomelodico
ing the first part reproduced Example 7, continues
(melodic phrase), a period-like theme realized here by Platania with an asymmetrical period of eight plus seven bars added to the realized version only (see
Platania 1883, Partimentibk. 3, 43) . The formal design is again an A-B-A form
with a shortened ripresa,a very common feature of Italian nineteenth-century
instrumental music (Rostagno 2003, 68-70).
The Neapolitan Partimento in Milan: Raimondo Boucheron
The largelyself-taughtLombardcomposer Raimondo Boucheron (1800-1876)
occupies a special position in the tradition of partimento.8 He was born in
Turin and took some music lessons in his childhood from obscure maestros
like Vincenzo Goletti in Cuneo and Don Amedeo Savoia and Giovan Battista
Colombo in Mondovi.9But he managed the most important parts of his training by himself. He became a well-knowncomposer of sacred music (from 1847
to his death he was maestro di cappella at the Milan cathedral) and a teacher
of composition. His best pupils were Edoardo Mascheroni, Edoardo Perelli,
and Gustavo Adolfo Noseda.10Boucheron published an important book on
musical aesthetics, Filosofeadeltamusicao esteticaapplicataa quesVarte{ThePhilosophyof Music, orAestheticsAppliedto ThisArt, 1842) and an interesting harspiegatadai rapportidelVartecolVumana
mony book titled La scienzadelVarmonia
natura Trattatoteoricopratico(The Scienceof HarmonyExplainedby theRelation
Artand HumanNature- A Theoretical-Practical
between
Treatise,[1856] ) , in which
he attempted the original approach of grounding harmonic procedures on
principles of psychology and ethics.
Some years later he wrote the Esercizid'armoniain 42 partimentinumerati (HarmonyExerciseswith Forty-twoFiguredPartimenti, [1867]). With this
work, Boucheron, like Platania, tried to meld the eighteenth-century partimento tradition with nineteenth-century harmonic innovations. But unlike
Platania- whose work, as mentioned, grew out of the authentic Neapolitan
tradition- Boucheron made use of only parts of the Neapolitan tradition,
using them in a different context, one deeply influenced by German and
French music theory.
8 The theoretical output of Boucheron is listed and briefly
discussed in Sanguinetti 1997
9 Vincenzo Goletti was organist at the cathedral of Cuneo;
Giovan Battista Colombo was maestro di cappella in Mondovi. See the anonymous manuscripts l-BGc Serassi
368GoV and l-BGc Serassi 198CGB. I found no information
about Don Amedeo Savoia.
10 Edoardo Mascheroni (1859-1941) was an Italian conductor and composer. He conducted the Italian premiere
of Beethoven's Fidelio (1886), Catalani's Wally, and Verdi's
Falstaff. He also composed some operas. Edoardo Perelli
(1842-1885) was a composer and journalist. He wrote some
interesting anti-Wagnerian articles for the Gazzetta musicale di Milano (see Carlo Matteo Mossa 1988, 41). Gustavo
Adolfo Noseda (1837-1866) was a composer and collector.
His important collection of rare editions and manuscripts is
now in the libraryof the Milan conservatory.
176
is set in twovolumes.The firstis dedicatedto a theoEsercizi

d'armonia
reticaldiscussionand to the forty-twopartimenti.The second is called Chiave
(Key)and consistsof full realizationsof all the partimentiin book 1, thus
offeringstudentsthe opportunityto checktheirownworkagainstthe author's
templates.Boucheronclearlyassessesthe intent of his book in the preface:
Whya newPartimenticollection,afterthe well-knownworksby Sala,Fenaroli,
Mattei,and others,and in a time in whichmanypeople regardthis approach
to harmonyas almostuseless?... I appreciatemore than others the worksof
these reveredmaestriwho preceded me . . . nor shall I ever cease to recommend their study.But, at the same time, I wouldargue that from the daysin
which Sala, Fenaroli,and Matteicomposed their partimentito the present,
Harmony. . . has gained such a momentum. . . and has begun searchingfor
such effects,whichour well-deserving[authors]had neverdaredto think.11
The firstvolumebeginswithsix chaptersdevotedto the rulesof partimenti.

versionof
French-flavored
In these chapters,Boucheronoffersa remarkably
earlier
did
half
a
as
Emanuele
Imbimbo
(Cafiero
century
Neapolitanrules,
this issue). The firstchapteris devotedto the basicrules of harmony:intervals, the concepts of fundamentalbass, consonance/dissonance,inversion,
and the differenttypesof triadsandseventhchords(Boucheron[1867], 5-9) .
The second chapteris titled "Dell'origine e ragionedegli anzidettiaccordi"
Chords").In thischap("Onthe Originand Purposeof the Above-Mentioned
ter Boucheronintroducesthe bythen commonnotionof tonalitybeingbased
on scaledegreesI, IV,andV (Boucheron[1867], 10). Buthe addsa discussion
thatis doublyreminiscentof Rameau'sconceptof doubleemploi,
and of Franois-JosephFtis'snotion of appellativetendencies.If we considerIVas one
of the pillarsof tonality,the sixththatis often addedabove4 in the basswould
changethistriadinto a ILButBoucheronsaysthatthe addeddissonancedoes
not modifythe natureof thatchord,butonlyconfersto it a moreintensestriving towardits goal (as does the seventhwhen addedto the triadon V). In his
ensuingdiscussionof the Ruleof the Octave,in the standardFenaroliversion,
he callscadenzedM
the descendingfifth-progressions
along the scale.In doing
he
from
so, departsconsiderably
Neapolitantheory,whichconsiderscadenze
only those progressionsinvolvingroot-positiondominantand tonic chords
(Boucheron [1867], 10). Later,at the end of his sixth chapter,Boucheron
will providestudentswith a detailed table of cadences (Boucheron[1867],
37-42).
11 "Aqual pro' una nuova opera di Partimenti, dopo le celebri
di Sala, di Fenaroli, Mattei e pi altri, ed in un tempo, in cui
questo modo di studiare l'armonia da molti stimato quasi
inutile? . . . io apprezzo, quanto altri mai, le opre di quei
venerandi maestri che mi precedettero; ... ne cesser mai
di raccomandame Io studio; ma osserverei in pari tempo,
che dall'epoca, in cui Sala, Fenaroli, Mattei composero i loro
partimenti, ai di nostri, I'Armonia,... ha preso uno slancio . . . e si avviata in cerca di effetti, ai quali i benemeriti
non avrebbero mai osato pensare."
The third chapter is titled "Del ritmo" ("On Rhythm").Boucheron

explainsthe differencebetweenstrongaccentand weakaccent,underlining
the importanceof rhythmin music.As an example,he showsthe necessity
for the strongaccenton a tonic chord thatends an authenticcadence,or on
a dominantchord that ends a half cadence- the rhythmand the harmony
mustcoincide.He writes:"Thecadence,therefore,essentiallybelongsto the
domainof rhythm.This element exerts such an influence on it that, if the
harmonicmotiondoes not coincidewithit, thereis no closure"12
(Boucheron
[1867], 13).
The fourth chapterdeals with voice leading and with the resolution
of dissonantchords. He discusseshere all possiblebass motions, tryingto
simplifyand rationalizethe traditionalseriesof motionsofferedby the Neapolitan maestros.Boucheronconsidersonly six possibilitiesfor the motion
of the fundamentalbass:a third,a fifth, or a seventh,either up or down.In
this chapter,Boucheronlistsall possibleresolutionsfor the six typesof seventh chords that he classifiesin "species"(this classificationwas customary
among Italiantheoristsof the late nineteenthand earlytwentiethcenturies;
see Example8) .
g~
8
^Specie
H
^
3aSpecie (fo
}{
4aSpecie3a
(fc
E^
5*Specie
^
6aSpecie (jjk
j||/|j
Example 8. Boucheron, Esercizi d'armonia,

book 1, the six "species" of seventh chords
12 "La cadenza dunque principalmente propria del

ritmo e questo elemento vi esercita tale influenza che,
se l'andamento armonico non vi coincide, la posa non ha
luogo."
177
178
Unlike Neapolitan theory, which considered consonant all the chords

contained in the Rule of the Octave (Sanguinetti in press), Boucheron considers the dominant seventh chord dissonant, as well as all the other types of
seventh chords. Then he shows some possible resolutions of the diminished
seventh chord, the diminished triad, and the augmented triad (Boucheron
[1867],14-22).
In the fifth chapter Boucheron further expands some aspects of the
voice leading. He presents the motion of the parts (parallel, contrary, and
oblique). The sixth and final chapter is titled "Degli accordi composti e
del pdale" ("On Compound Chords and on the Pedal Point"; Boucheron
[1867], 27-32). Boucheron calls those chords that result from a suspension
"compound chords." He points out that the second chord of a suspension
contains the note of resolution and then gives a series of examples listing the
difference between 4-3, 7-6, and 9-8 suspensions. The chapter ends with a
short presentation of anticipations, presented as the opposite of suspensions,
and, in a short paragraph at the very end, of pedal points.
The theoretical part of the book is followed by the forty-twopartimenti.
While most nineteenth-century maestros encouraged, as we have seen, a written-out practice of realizing partimenti, Boucheron, throughout his treatise,
refers several times to keyboard practice. He expresses his views on this regard
in the following remark:
It is betterto warnthat on the piano,as on the organ,it is not alwayspossible
to achievea voice leading of the same perfectionas in a four-voicevocal or
instrumentalcomposition,unless one divides the chords between the two
handsaccordingto the properextensionof vocalpartsas soprano,alto, tenor
and bass.This kind of realization,calledby La Croix"byextension,"although
morecorrect,is less easyfor the beginnersthan the commonway,thatis, playing the chordswith the righthand and only the basswith the left. . . . Sincein
our realizationwe adheredto the secondmanner,it followsthatin those partimenti where the harmonyis joined with a melodic thought or figure, some
unavoidabletranspositionswill occurthatwouldnot happenin the otherway.13
(Boucheron[1867],26)
All the partimenti are written with complete figures and on two staves: the
actual partimento is in the upper staff, and a fundamental bass is in the lower
one.14The figures used by Boucheron prescribe exactly the position of the
avvertire che sul piano forte come sull'organo

di parti della
non si pu sempre ottenere un andamento
di
richiesta in una composizione
medesima
perfezione
quattro parti vocali o strumentali distinte, se non dividendo
13 "Conviene
loro a un di presso
quattro parti vocali, come
modo per,
soprano, contralto, tenore e basso. Questo
se riesce pi corche il La-Croix chiama per estensione,
retto, riesce al principiante meno facile di quello pi comugli accordi
fra le due
I'estensione,
quale
nemente
usato
mani e dando
mano
destra,
incaricando
gli accordi
intieramente
del solo
basso.
...
ci siamo
che non occorrerebbero
avrebbero
per eseguire
la sinistra
per tanto attenuti nella Chiave, onde in

un pensiero o
quei partimenti che all'armonia accoppiano
disegno melodico accadono spesso inevitabili trasposizioni
questo
14 The fundamental
nell'altro sistema."
bass in association
already been discussed
with partimenti
by GiacomoTritto
colla
(1816).
had
parts in the realization. They are also very detailed, including decorative
motions like passing and neighbor tones. Boucheron 's use of complete figuring differs, however, from the contemporary practice of republishing old
partimenti collections with newly added figures. In his case, we find musical
situations that the old partimento theory would have been unable to classify
and to realize. Boucheron writes:
I publishthis workonly after havingused it with the few studentsfor whomI
wroteit. [In thiswork],wheneverpossible,I haveaddedto the bareharmonya
genuine melody,in order to give satisfactionto the tastes and minds of the
youth.In orderto do this, I madeuse of unusualfigures,not commonlyused,
but necessaryto show- or to hint at- the [musical]idea. In doubtfulor difficult cases, the studentshould seek advicein the part [of this book] titled La
chiave(TheKey),where the same ideas are written down in full notation.15
(Boucheron[1867],preface)
In doing so, Boucheron follows the opposite path of Platania. The latter
rejects the use of figures and insists on the utility (for the students) of finding
the correct solution for themselves, provided that they have the appropriate
theoretical background. By contrast, Boucheron chooses to give all the figures
as a practical demonstration of the new harmonic possibilities.
Boucheron- like a great many of his contemporaries- felt that partimenti pertained to the study of harmony, not counterpoint. Accordingly
Boucheron 's partimenti never show obvious traces of fugal or contrapuntal
procedures. No longer connected with partimenti, counterpoint became a
separate domain of knowledge pursued in separate studies.
In the work of Boucheron, partimenti have the added purpose of
acquainting students with common formal schemes. Usually these partimenti
have a period-shaped theme inside an A-B-A form with a shortened reprise
of the A section (as was seen in the advanced partimenti of Platania). The
B section is often in a relative key or in a third-relation key. This, too, was a
typical feature of nineteenth-century Italian instrumental music (Rostagno
2003,73).
In Example 9, from Boucheron 's partimenti, it is possible to observe
some of the stylistic and harmonic characteristics pointed out earlier (the
examples show realizations by Boucheron himself). One can see very clearly
that Boucheron obtains chromatic chords mainly by using chromaticized passing tones in an otherwise structurallydiatonic frame. For example, in bar 1
15 "Pubblico [quest'opera] solo dopo averla usata con I miei
pochi allievi per cui la scrissi, mescendo per quanto era possibile alia nuda armonia una schietta melodia a maggior pascolo dlie menti e del gusto giovanili, cosa che mi indusse
a valermi di numeri non comunemente usati, ma necessari
a indicare o far indovinare il pensiero, che pi determinatamente espressi in note nella parte intitolata La Chiave, che
l'allievo potr consultare nei casi dubbi e per esso difficili."
179
180
JOURNAL
of MUSIC THEORY
(a)
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Example 9. Boucheron, Esercizi d'armonia, partimento no. 40, mm. 1-28. (a) The figured bass
with a fundamental bass below, (b) The realization by Boucheron
the motion5-6 in the alto voice becomes5-15-6, or, one barlater,the opposite motion6-5 becomes6-b6-5.The characteristic
symbolon the thirdquarter of bars2 and 4 on the staffrepresentingthe fundamentalbassindicates
the presenceof a dominantharmony;it meansthat even if the fundamental
bassline indicatesa Cl as root of the diminishedseventhchord,the realroot
(theA) is implied.A morestructuraluse of chromaticismis the modulationto
At major,a tritoneawayfromthe home key.This keyis reachedthroughthe
181
(b)
hf
p";l
Uif
I '
'nil
If
If
If
iiVvfk11 "^
[r*i
y'pi'T
lv!'nr
r
If
Ip
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r
1|
i^'iii.1
|f
I!
Ir
;l
p
r
lr
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r
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1^^
Y'1
y
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rp
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l,,"|jt,.iJ|
"
=
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Mr
|iVr'^lJ|l|liH
182
enharmonicreinterpretationof a dominantseventhV of V (reachedin bar

of At major.
25) as an augmentedsixthchordon bVT
Partimento: The Late Years
In the latterpartof the nineteenthcentury,partimentibecameless and less

importantin Italian musical pedagogy.The only exception was Fenaroli,
whosePartimenti
and regolewere
continuouslyin printuntil 1936 (Sanguinetti
in press).In some restrictedcircles,particularly
in Naples,vestigesof the original richnessof this repertorystill survived.This continuation(or perhaps
rediscovery)wasmade possibleby the emergenceof musicalhistoricismand
a renewedappreciationof the art from earliercenturies- it wasperhapsno
accidentthat the greatestItalianexponent of historicism,BenedettoCroce,
livedin Naples.
When the composer,pianist,and pedagogue FlorestanoRossomandi
he realized,under the
(1857-1933)wasa studentin the Naplesconservatory,
of
his
teacher
various
guidance
LuigiVespoli,
partimentibyFenaroliin a style
thatrecapturessome elementsof harpsichordstyle (e.g., trillosand acciaccaturas;Rossomandi1874,bk. 2, no. 29).
Whilethere were,as mentioned,numerouseditionsof Fenaroli,other
musicianspreferredto publish anthologiesof "ancient"authors.In 1896,
Daniele Napoletano published a collection of partimentiby Nicola Sala
(Napoletano1896). In 1933, CamilloDe Nardis,one of the last of the partimento maestros,publisheda collection by variousauthors,a sort of Neapolitan anthologyof partimenti(De Nardis 1933). And whatwas probably
the final collectionof partimentito come fromwithinthe directtraditionof
Neapolitanmaestroswasedited byjacopo Napoliand publishedin 1959.
In the late nineteenthcentury,the practiceof partimentoas improvisation at the keyboardon a givenbassremainedalmostthe exclusivepreserve
of organ pedagogy.At the Palermoconservatory,CarmeloFodale, a pupil
of Pietro Raimondiin the 1880s, taught partimentoat the organ.16Guido
Tacchinardi,Florentinecomposerand organist,composedhis Saggidi basso
numerate e di contrappunto {FiguredBass and CounterpointExercises) as "prepara-
torystudyfor the interpretationof the musicin the tied style. . . adoptedby

the organ school of the RoyalCollege of Musicin Florence"(Tacchinardi
1886).17The latter collection includes the totallyfigured, chromaticpartimento reproducedin Example 10 {Partimento
Tacchinardi1886,
cromatico;
44). AswithBoucheron,the figuresindicatethe exactdispositionof the voices
in a waythatmakesrealizationan almostmechanicaltask.On the one hand,
thisrepresentsan advantage:performersdo not need anypriorknowledgeof
16 The name of Carmelo Fodale as teacher of partimento
al melodium recurs in some uncatalogued documents that
have been found recently in the libraryof the conservatory
in Palermo (Anonymous, uncataloged).
17 "Studio preparatorio all'interpretazione della musica in

stile legato
Adottati dalla scuola d'organo del R. Istituto
musicale di Firenze."
t^
rt
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8
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Example 10. Tacchinardi, chromatic partimento
1.8
_l,8_
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7
US
M
8
J
3
4
-
'
I i
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\l,-l
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excerpts: mm. 1-27; realization by this author
8
-
184
harmonyand counterpointto completea realization.Buton the otherhand,

theycannothope to gain anyintimateacquaintancewith the lawsof composition that the old partimentopracticeassured.The harmonizationof this
partimentostraysfar from the Neapolitanrules.The chromaticmotions of
the bass,for example,are accompanieddifferentlyfromwhatwaspossiblein
Fenaroli.Dissonantand chromaticallyalteredchordsresolveto other altered
chordsin an uninterruptedflux, and a strongcadence is found only at the
veryend of the composition(not shownin Example10).
Conclusions
All the authorsdiscussedexemplifydifferentaspectsof the nineteenth-centurypracticeof partimenti.The collectionsin use remainedthe samefor most
of the century:Fenaroli's above all, but also some by CarloCotumacciand
Mattei.The collectionsof earliermasterslike Leo, AlessandroScarlatti,and
Durantewerefarless used, perhapsbecauseof theirlackof a clearpedagogical progressionand perhapsbecausethey were more wedded to an archaic
style.The greatestchange,however,concernedthe use of partimenti.At the
beginningof the nineteenthcentury,the partimentowasstilla tool usedfor a
globalapproachto compositionteaching,just asit wasin the previouscentury.
Throughthe partimento,studentslearnednot only how to place the proper
harmoniesabovea bass,but also how to shapea completepiece of musicin a
givenstyle.Duringthe nineteenthcentury,the partimentograduallybecame
somethingentirelydifferent- an exercisein harmony.On the one hand,classic worksbyFenaroliwerebeing realizedin a four-voice,steadilyprogressing,
block-chordalstyle.On the other hand,newlycomposedexercises(likethose
discussedin this essay) became little more than bassesfor harmonization,
even if retainingthe traditionalname of partimenti.A clearsign of this shift
is the disappearanceof one typicalfeatureof the realpartimento:the change
of clefs.In fact,eighteenth-century
partimentiusuallymovedfreelyfromone
voice of the textureto anotherand, exceptfor the simplestpartimenti,rarely
confinedthemselvesto the bassvoice alone. Anothersignificantchangewas
the gradualdisappearanceof contrapuntalfeatureslikeimitation,canons,and
fugalprocedures.An entiregenreof partimento(perhapsthe mostimportant
of all), the partimentofugue,disappearedentirelyfrompedagogicalpractice.
Itsplacewastakenby the new genre of exercise,the bassoimitatoefugato.
But the decisiveelement, the one that causedthe definitivetwilightof
the partimentotradition,was its divorcefrom improvisation.Only through
practice in the improvisedrealizationof partimenticould students fully
developtheir potential,fashioningin their mindsa deeplyrooted compositional instinct.The shift from improvisationto writtenpracticemarkedthe
end of a centuries-longand glorioustradition.

Works Cited
Boucheron, Raimondo. 1842. Filosofiadliamusicao esteticaapplicataa quest'arte.Milan: Ricordi.
. [1856]. La scienzadeWarmoniaspiegatadai rapportidelVartecolVumananatura- Trattato
teoricopratico.Milan: Ricordi.
. [1867]. Esercizid'armoniain 42 partimentinumerati.Milan: F. Lucca.
De Nardis, Camille 1933. Partimentidei maestriCotumacci,Durante,Fenaroli,Leo,Mattei,Platania,
Sala, Scarlatti,Trittoand ZingarelliMilan: Ricordi.
Fenaroli, Fedele. [1814] . Partimentiossia bassonumerato.Operacompltadi FedeleFenaroliper uso
di Napoli a Nicola ZingarelliMaestrodi S. Pietroin Roma
deglialunni del Regal Conservatorio
Dall'EditoreDedicata.Publ. No. 500. Paris:Typographie
Direttoredel medesimoConservatorio
de la Sirne,ChezCarli,Editeur,M.dde Musique,LivresItalienset Cordesde Naples,

Pristyledu ThtreFavart,ct de la Rue Merivaux.
Gjerdingen,RobertO. 2007. Musicin theGalantStyle.Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress.
fugati efughe [di] Nicola Sala; sceltied ordinatida
Napoletano, Daniele. 1896. Partimenti,ricercate,
DanieleNapoletano.Naples.
Napoli, Jacopo. 1959. Bassi dlia scuola napoletanacon esempirealizzati.Milan: Ricordi.
Mossa,CarloMatteo.1988. Una Messaper la stona. In MessaperRossini.La stona,il testo,

la musica,ed. MichleGirardiand PierluigiPetrobelli,11-56. Milan:Istitutodi studi
verdiani/Ricordi.
Platania, Pietro. 1871. Corsocompletodifughe e canoni di ogni gnre.Milan: Lucca.
. 1883. Trattatod'armonia,seguitoda un corsodi contrappuntodal coralealfugato e partimenti
analoghidivisi in trefascicoli. Milan: Francesco Lucca.
Raimondi,Pietro.ca. 1830s.Bassiimitatiefugatidivisiin trelibri.Naples:Girard.

Andamentidi Basso numeratocon una due o tre
. 1852. Nuovo generedi scientijicacomposizione:
armonie.
Naples:T. Cottrau.
Rosenberg,Jesse. 1995."Theexperimentalmusicof PietroRaimondi."Ph.D. diss.,NewYork
University.
Flonmoe I Ottocento
. 1999."II'leista'Raimondicontroil 'durantistaBellini. In Francesco
musicale.Atti del Convegnodi Morcone,19-21 aprile 1990, ed. Rosa Cafiero and Marina
Marino,75-97. ReggioCalabria:lason.
Florence: Olschki.
Rostagno, Antonio. 2003. La musicaitaliana per orchestranell'Ottocento.
Sanguinetti, Giorgio. 1997. "Un secolo di teoria della musica in Italia. Bibliografiacritica
(1850-1950)."Lefontimusicaliitaliane2:155-248.
. 2005."Declineand Fallof the 'CelesteImpero':The Theoryof Compositionin Naples
duringthe Ottocento."StudiMusicaliM/2:451-502.
Martuccie la acadutadelle
. In press."L'ereditdi Fenarolinell'Ottocento."In Giuseppe
Lucca:
LIM.
and
Francesca
Seller.
Maione
"ed.
Paologiovanni
Alpi,
Sala,Nicola.1794.Regoledi contrappunto.
Naples:Stamperiareale.
Stella,Gaetano.2006."Concezionee tradizionedellaFuganell'operateoricadi PietroPlatania
(1828-1907)."Paperpresentedat the annualmeetingof the ItalianSocietyfor Musicology (Societitalianadi musicologia), TeatroRegio,Turin(October).
. 2007."Uncompositoreeruditodel secondoOttocentoitaliano:PietroPlatania(18281907)."Ph.D.diss.,Universityof RomeTorVergata.
Milan:Ricordi.
e di contrappunto.
Tacchinardi,Guido.1886.Saggidi bassonumerato
Milan:
Artaria.
di
1816.
Scuola
Giacomo.
Tritto,
contrappunto.
Milan:Ricordi.
Zingarelli,Nicol. 1830.Partimenti.
185
186
JOURNAL
of MUSIC THEORY
Manuscript Sources
Anonymous. Bergamo, Biblioteca Civica Angelo Mai (I-BGc) Serassi 368GoV.
Anonymous. Bergamo, Biblioteca Civica Angelo Mai (I-BGc) Serassi 198CGB.
Anonymous. [Partimenti]. Naples, Conservatorio di Musica S. Pietro a Majella, Biblioteca
(I-Nc)Platania61.
Fiodo, Vincenzo. 1835. Bassi imitati efugati Milan, Conservatorio di Musica Giuseppe Verdi,
Biblioteca (I-Mc) NosedaTh.C.1426.
Fodale, Carmelo. 1835. Bassi imitati e fugati Palermo, Conservatorio di Musica Vincenzo
Bellini, Biblioteca (I-PLcon) R38.
Platania, Pietro. n.d. but after 1852. UUimibassiimitatiefugati. Naples, Conservatorio di Musica
S. Pietro a Majella, Biblioteca (I-Nc) Platania 58.13.
. n.d. Sull'armonia.Studio teorico-pratico.
Naples, Conservatorio di Musica S. Pietro a
Majella, Biblioteca (I-Nc) S.C. 12.8.2.
. n.d. Naples, Conservatorio di Musica S. Pietro a Majella, Biblioteca (I-Nc) Platania
58.3.
Rossomandi, Florestano. 1874. Corsodi partimentiarmonizzatida FlorestanoRossomandisotto la
guida del Prof Luigi Vespoli.Collegio1874. Naples, Conservatorio di Musica S. Pietro a
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Stella is lecturer in music theory at Tor Vergata University, Rome. He is the author of Un
compositore erudito del secondo Ottocento italiano: Pietro Platania (1828-1907) and Alcuni aspetti
Gaetano
formait nei quartetti di Pietro Platania.
C*v

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Yale University Department of Music

Partimenti in the Age of Romanticism: Raimondi, Platania, and Boucheron

Partimentiin the Age of Romanticism

during the nineteenth century, Italiancompositionaltheory began to

1 Disposizioni were exercises set in open score for two or

unfigured bass, and was generally used in teaching as a first

Journal of Music Theory 51:1, Spring 2007

DOI 10.1215/00222909-2008-026 2009 byYale University

JOURNAL of MUSIC THEORY

and the writtenpaths

PietroRaimondi(1786-1853) wasone of the most significantfiguresin the

GaetanoStella ~ Partimenti in the Age of Romanticism

withPartimenti,1883). Both men worked to preserve

Types,1871). Platania, however, completely omits the partimento fugue and

JOURNAL of MUSIC THEORY

Example 1. Raimondi, Nuovo genere di scientifica composizione

(1852), book 2, the beginning

GaetanoStella ~ Partimenti in the Age of Romanticism

Table 1. The formal scheme of a typical fugue by Sala

Modulation and/or imitation

Counterexposition (not mandatory)

Augmented subject with the

Imitation (and/or modulation)

Each stretto is followed by an

Example 2. Platania, Corso completo

di fughe e canoni di ogni genere (1871), Fugue no. 5.

(a) Imitation, (b) Modulation

JOURNAL of MUSIC THEORY

.'"ij jti JTJIimj \iu i ' i ikj

J Jl' 'i ' Y "''" ' u^1

Example 3. Raimondi, /Vuovo genere di scientifica

(1852), book 2, lesson 30

GaetanoStella ~ Partimentiin the Age of Romanticism

-f*7 MrF Crj^j ir (?Lr Mf r r r f t7l^Lf j f Mr

Crr r fJlT T 13 LC-J-'1

of partimento fugue in Italian pedagogy.3In the preface to his Bassi imitatie

mai sempre trascurato, ne si finora redatta una raccolta

JOURNAL of MUSIC THEORY

Raimondi'sprefaceis the only part of his book that containswritten

nel Contrappunto, e fa mestieri di avvertire i giovani studiosi,

GaetanoStella ~ Partimentiin the Age of Romanticism

mony and counterpoint classes in his conservatory: "Harmony.In a rational

I'allievo malgrado le spiegazioni teoriche del maestro

JOURNAL of MUSIC THEORY

outputare thus to be found in the more advancedpartimenti,ratherthan in

ty... f f f fltr rhr-r~J0-+0

nJ juin i,j, ril_ *"==t^=\

GaetanoStella ~ Partimenti in the Age of Romanticism

Ultimi bassi imitati e fugati

in bars5-8). The identificationof the subject(or subjects)is one of the chief

GaetanoStella ~ Partimenti in the Age of Romanticism

slow introductions,as he also did in his free fugal compositions.The same

Example 6. Pietro Platania, Trattato d'armonia (1883), partimento

29 from book 3; realization

JOURNAL of MUSIC THEORY

Compared to the Fenaroli tradition, this partimento appears far more

rjx L^ ! r pcr l r r fff i r ip iM^ r^r r r

GaetanoStella ~ Partimenti in the Age of Romanticism

and it exhibits a strict

JOURNAL of MUSIC THEORY

is set in twovolumes.The firstis dedicatedto a theoEsercizi

The firstvolumebeginswithsix chaptersdevotedto the rulesof partimenti.

GaetanoStella ~ Partimenti in the Age of Romanticism

The third chapter is titled "Del ritmo" ("On Rhythm").Boucheron