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Communication Dans Un Congrès Année : 2021

The Three-voice Texture in 18th-century French Continuo

Résumé

Studies devoted to thorough bass, even those focused on French continuo, have not brought out specific rules regarding the chord texture: it varies according to different parameters but also has its share in the aesthetic quarrel between Italian and French music. Indeed, Rousseau praises the light Italian accompaniment while Rameau holds these mutilated harmonies in contempt. This stylistic distinction remains in the chord nomenclature: the Italian augmented sixth chord differs from its French and German counterparts by comprising only three pitches — these designations having been theorized and acknowledged at the beginning of the 19th century at the latest. However, the implications of a three-chord texture have yet to be investigated beyond the urge for flexibility and the aesthetic choice. On the one hand, many theoreticians call for a steady consciousness of harmony, bringing forward the need to be aware of the modulations and the place of each chord within the key: a three-part texture may affect the voice-leading and omitted pitches need to be clearly identified. On the other hand, one may reflect on the potential advantages of such a texture in methods or collections that promise a quick and easy learning and performance to dilettante musicians. This paper aims to shed light on the way three-voice texture was considered and used in keyboard accompaniment in France, paying specific attention to the second half of the eighteenth century. A primarily review of the theoretical sources up to Catel’s Traité d’harmonie (1802) is completed by observations made in contemporary musical works engraved with figured bass or written-out keyboard accompaniment. Confronting all these sources offers a basis to reflect on the importance of this texture model that may have represented a halfway solution in the then declining continuo practice in France.
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Dates et versions

hal-04380937 , version 1 (08-01-2024)

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  • HAL Id : hal-04380937 , version 1

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Clotilde Verwaerde. The Three-voice Texture in 18th-century French Continuo. The Figured Bass Accompaniment in Europe, Centro Studi Opera Omnia Luigi Boccherini, Sep 2021, international virtual conference (Brescia), Italy. En cours de publication. ⟨hal-04380937⟩
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