A translation on the section Concerning a Partimento that Descends in Ties in Fedele Fenaroli’s Partimenti ossia basso numerato, Book III Naples (1775) Ed. Gjerdingen, with adaptions to the guitar.
The tied note in this Partimento may have a perfect 4th, or even an augmented 4th, at the discretion of the composer. In this manner, the Partimento should not descend beyond the ④: and on the last tied note of the Partimento, the 4th must necessarily be augmented in order to ascend to the 6th of the subsequent Partimento note, on which the motion ends. This note of the Partimento becomes ③ of the key to which the composition has modulated. See example A.
Note:
- In example A the bass notes are tied, but quite the impossible play as written, therefore…
- In example B, I have removed the ties but kept the same voicing. The tied notes could be implied by the player
by accentuating the bass lines. - In example C i have flipped the voices.
Some key signatures are more suitable than others for having a tied bass line.
In the case of a Partimento that begins descending from ⑤ and continues descending by step, at least to ③, one must observe whether the key of such Partimento is a major 3rd or a minor 3rd.
If it is in a major 3rd, it may be harmonized as follows: ⑤ will have a major 3rd, 5th, and 8ve. On the following note of the Partimento, descending by step, which becomes the ④, the same harmony remains in place, where the major 3rd becomes an augmented 4th; the 5th becomes a major 6th; and the 8ve becomes a 2nd. On the next note of the Partimento, which becomes ③, the preceding augmented 4th of the harmony will ascend by step and form a 6th. See example D.
But if the Partimento is in a minor mode, the same rules for harmonizing in a major mode apply, with the sole difference that on the second note of the descending Partimento, which is ④, the composer may, at their discretion, add a minor 3rd to the harmony by removing the 2nd. See example E.
If the Partimento is in the minor mode, it may also descend by semitone steps down to ⑤ inclusively, and this motion allows for various harmonizations.
First Method:
On the first beat of the first note of the Partimento, a 3rd and a 5th are given as harmony; on the second beat of the same note, the 3rd remains, and the 5th moves to a 6th.
Then on the semitone to which the Partimento descends, the previous 6th forms a suspension of a 7th. The Partimento then descends by semitone again, and on this note the previous 7th resolves to a 6th; and so on successively until the penultimate note of the descending Partimento.
This penultimate note, in such a descending pattern, will be the minor 6th of the key; and the resolution of the harmony over it must go to an augmented 6th, and then rise to the 8ve of the following note of the Partimento. See example F.
Note that each of the notes in this semitone-descending Partimento may be accompanied by its third.
Second Method:
The Partimento descending by semitone may also be harmonized in contrary motion, that is: On the first (①) and second (♮⑦) notes of the Partimento, a 3rd is given; on the third (♭⑦) note, a major 4th is given; on the fourth (♮⑥), a 6th is given; and on the fifth (♭⑥) note of the Partimento, which is the minor 6th of the key, an augmented 6th is given, thus ending the motion as explained in the previous section. See example G.
This concludes this essay on partimento that descends in ties, as instructed by Fedele Fenaroli in his Partimenti ossia basso numerato. You can download this essay as a PDF for free.
Karl Michelson 