The Partimento Tradition in the Shadow of Enlightenment Thought

Authors

Deborah Longenecker, Cedarville UniversityFollow

Document Type

Conference Presentation

Event Date

Spring 4-7-2017

Conference/Event

National Conference on Undergraduate Research

Location

Memphis, TN

Abstract

This presentation investigates the relationship between partimento pedagogy and Rameau’s music theories as influenced by Enlightenment thought. Current research on partimento has revealed its importance in Neapolitan music schools of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Along with counterpoint, partimento was a core subject in the study of composition in the Neapolitan schools; however, as pedagogy and theory began to be influenced by Enlightenment ideals such as the scientific method or a preference for clear systemization, the partimento tradition began to wane. In this presentation, I examine Rameau’s music theory as an example of Enlightenment thought in music, juxtaposing the central ideals of Rameau’s music theory with the ideals of partimento pedagogy and suggesting that Enlightenment thought hastened the decline of partimento study. Both the method of partimento pedagogy and Rameau’s theory of the fundamental bass stemmed in part from the practice of thoroughbass, and both were viewed as effective ways to teach musicians composition and improvisation. However, Rameau’s theory sought to improve on existing pedagogies by condensing eclectic rules and extended study into a few fundamental principles—an example of Enlightenment thought applied to music theory. In the light of Rameau’s understandable, widely applicable theory of harmony based on Enlightenment assumptions, the long years of practice-based partimento study under a maestro gradually became obsolete. The research methodology of this presentation consists of historical research from primary and secondary sources.

Keywords

Partimento, Enlightenment, Music, Music Theory, Music History, Naples, Italy, France

Recommended Citation

Longenecker, Deborah, "The Partimento Tradition in the Shadow of Enlightenment Thought" (2017). Music and Worship Student Presentations. 21.
https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/music_and_worship_student_presentations/21

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.