Thanks for listening and for the nice words, Jeffery! Yeah, it's probably the tail, right? Not so uncommon of a decoration of a tenor clausula, but a fun one!
Love your style, sounds like a Corelli-ized Froberger :) For some reason everyone who learns this style of improvisation using Neapolitan partimenti end up producing arpeggio sounding things rather than independent lines, which sound out of place especially in a fugue (unless you're Mozart...). Recently I've been using Spiridionis' Nova Instructio (1670 - on imslp), which is a collection of 3 voice musical sequences with diminutions across all the bass motions. I've had some success producing something genuinely musical on paper, chaining things together, but am planning on writing my own figured basses and playing them from the bass alone (with and without diminutions, voices as written and inverted, maybe also writing the outer voices and filling in the inner voice using the figures of the partimento). Not the best model stylistically to emulate, but it's a start that involves actually playing things on the keyboard.
Hey thanks so much for listening! Spiridionis is indeed a great source. Interesting remark about partimenti -- the ultimate goal was melody in all of the parts, which the Italians were famous for. I imagine the flaw you're referring to might be because of bad pedagogy, or just someone who hasn't mastered it yet!
@@parallelfifths2824 I agree with you entirely. I believe the 3 years of solfeggi are more essential than non-experts commonly give it credit for. It might be an "aural" version of Spiridionis, and the difference between hearing the bass line of "Happy Birthday" played in the same rhythm and simply playing the right hand versus - "counting out the intervals from the bass". You've had such a rigorous education and exposure to repertoire that by the time you encountered partimenti it was not possible for this piece of the puzzle to be missing. And it definitely shows in your improvisations. But for me, while I've been composing fugues, I would still have to "count out the intervals" (effectively - that's what starting out with a vertical chordal realization and trying to *reduce* it to counterpoint is - as opposed to *generating* variations by fitting a known melody to a known bass).
I think you have as example people who haven’t mastered the art or that maybe use it pedagogically not in the best way… I think it happens a lot actually. But if you go deeply in good partimento and practical counterpoint sources you can develop a good language even without 3 years of solfeggio….
@@selfreferentialhumor I wonder what 3 years of decorating hymns would do for you rather than solfeggio (not that I disagree about the usefulness of solfeggio). I really cut my teeth playing hymns at the organ and adding little passing tones here and there. I was lucky enough to have a church job since I had started high school, and all of that gave me an extremely thorough education in clausulae, essentially by accident. You say you've been composing fugues and I think this is very helpful. If you don't see results in improvisation from this yet, I promise one day you will...! I also think, on a totally different note, one has to simply be comfortable improvising and not be afraid of letting the hands and mind wander a bit, without really caring about the result. Train your mind to be okay with not knowing every note and enjoying the feeling of the keyboard. Without this kind of passive, observatory attitude, I feel like improvisation risks becoming like an increasingly difficult test every single time. You say you've been composing fugues and I think this is very helpful. If you don't see results in improvisation from this yet, I promise one day you will...!
@@parallelfifths2824 Thanks so much for the useful advice and words of encouragement :) I don't think there's anything special about solfeggi, apart from being paired with a bass line, and having the early partimento exercises use similar bass lines. The partimenti then become "flash cards", rather than theoretical exercises. For Bach chorales would have taken the role of solfeggi (except reversed - fitting a bass line to a melody).
Beautiful playing! Question about the harpsichord - is this the one with the "skunktail" sharps? I remember visiting the Bate Collection in 2019 and had never seen such a thing before!
@@parallelfifths2824 Very cool :) Wish I'd tried playing it. It's funny to hear (elsewhere from you in the comments) that the instrument is actually not in great condition to play!
@@AlessandroSistiMusic It is more of a museum piece -- this is not unusual for these old instruments. At a certain point, they were all neglected for a critical amount of time and are extremely difficult and expensive to bring back into playing condition. I think, considering what the instrument has likely gone through, the Bate Collection has done an excellent job at taking care of the thing.
Insane that this is an improvisation. Mind-blowing!
Practice, like everything else! Thanks for watching and for the compliment :).
Considering she's an exceedingly old, and cantankerous shrew, you made her sound quite lovely.
Hah! Well thanks, friend. She was a indeed a crispy old badger but we got along okay.
Wonderful!
Thanks, Roberto! See? I told you it wouldn't be too long...
@@parallelfifths2824 hahah yeah! Thanks for posting :)
The fugue reminds me a bit of the fugue in Ab from WTC II. Very nice!
Thanks for listening and for the nice words, Jeffery! Yeah, it's probably the tail, right? Not so uncommon of a decoration of a tenor clausula, but a fun one!
Marvelous. Superb. Thanks
Thank you for listening and for your support!
This was outstanding :)
Well thanks very much!! Thanks for listening!
Love your style, sounds like a Corelli-ized Froberger :) For some reason everyone who learns this style of improvisation using Neapolitan partimenti end up producing arpeggio sounding things rather than independent lines, which sound out of place especially in a fugue (unless you're Mozart...).
Recently I've been using Spiridionis' Nova Instructio (1670 - on imslp), which is a collection of 3 voice musical sequences with diminutions across all the bass motions. I've had some success producing something genuinely musical on paper, chaining things together, but am planning on writing my own figured basses and playing them from the bass alone (with and without diminutions, voices as written and inverted, maybe also writing the outer voices and filling in the inner voice using the figures of the partimento).
Not the best model stylistically to emulate, but it's a start that involves actually playing things on the keyboard.
Hey thanks so much for listening! Spiridionis is indeed a great source. Interesting remark about partimenti -- the ultimate goal was melody in all of the parts, which the Italians were famous for. I imagine the flaw you're referring to might be because of bad pedagogy, or just someone who hasn't mastered it yet!
@@parallelfifths2824 I agree with you entirely. I believe the 3 years of solfeggi are more essential than non-experts commonly give it credit for. It might be an "aural" version of Spiridionis, and the difference between hearing the bass line of "Happy Birthday" played in the same rhythm and simply playing the right hand versus - "counting out the intervals from the bass".
You've had such a rigorous education and exposure to repertoire that by the time you encountered partimenti it was not possible for this piece of the puzzle to be missing. And it definitely shows in your improvisations. But for me, while I've been composing fugues, I would still have to "count out the intervals" (effectively - that's what starting out with a vertical chordal realization and trying to *reduce* it to counterpoint is - as opposed to *generating* variations by fitting a known melody to a known bass).
I think you have as example people who haven’t mastered the art or that maybe use it pedagogically not in the best way… I think it happens a lot actually. But if you go deeply in good partimento and practical counterpoint sources you can develop a good language even without 3 years of solfeggio….
@@selfreferentialhumor I wonder what 3 years of decorating hymns would do for you rather than solfeggio (not that I disagree about the usefulness of solfeggio). I really cut my teeth playing hymns at the organ and adding little passing tones here and there. I was lucky enough to have a church job since I had started high school, and all of that gave me an extremely thorough education in clausulae, essentially by accident. You say you've been composing fugues and I think this is very helpful. If you don't see results in improvisation from this yet, I promise one day you will...! I also think, on a totally different note, one has to simply be comfortable improvising and not be afraid of letting the hands and mind wander a bit, without really caring about the result. Train your mind to be okay with not knowing every note and enjoying the feeling of the keyboard. Without this kind of passive, observatory attitude, I feel like improvisation risks becoming like an increasingly difficult test every single time. You say you've been composing fugues and I think this is very helpful. If you don't see results in improvisation from this yet, I promise one day you will...!
@@parallelfifths2824 Thanks so much for the useful advice and words of encouragement :)
I don't think there's anything special about solfeggi, apart from being paired with a bass line, and having the early partimento exercises use similar bass lines. The partimenti then become "flash cards", rather than theoretical exercises.
For Bach chorales would have taken the role of solfeggi (except reversed - fitting a bass line to a melody).
Beautiful playing! Question about the harpsichord - is this the one with the "skunktail" sharps? I remember visiting the Bate Collection in 2019 and had never seen such a thing before!
Yes! That’s the one!
@@parallelfifths2824 Very cool :) Wish I'd tried playing it. It's funny to hear (elsewhere from you in the comments) that the instrument is actually not in great condition to play!
@@AlessandroSistiMusic It is more of a museum piece -- this is not unusual for these old instruments. At a certain point, they were all neglected for a critical amount of time and are extremely difficult and expensive to bring back into playing condition. I think, considering what the instrument has likely gone through, the Bate Collection has done an excellent job at taking care of the thing.
awesome stuff!!! was it a nice harpsihord to play??
Thanks, Michael. No, actually, it was terrible. Very difficult to play and many things didn't work.