Partimento is a Neapolitan method of teaching composition and improvisation using a digital (or non-digital) bass recording. The student was expected to develop this bass into a full-fledged...Read more

Partimento is a Neapolitan method of teaching composition and improvisation using a digital (or non-digital) bass recording. The student was expected to develop this bass into a full-fledged polyphonic piece, directly at the instrument.
Partimenti by Giovanni Paisiello is a unique methodological legacy of the Neapolitan school, created specifically for the Russian Empire.
During his stay in St. Petersburg as court composer to Catherine II (1776-84), Paisiello taught harpsichord to Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna (wife of the future Emperor Paul I). In 1782, he published his main instructional work for her: `Regole per bene accompagnare il partimento o sia il basso fondamentale sopra il Cembalo` (Rules for good accompaniment on partimento, or fundamental bass, on the harpsichord).
The collection consists of 46 partimenti, which are divided into three logical parts:
- rules (Regole) - the basics of harmonization of intervals, resolution of consonances and dissonances, basic harmonic formulas;
- practical basses (Partimenti) - exercises arranged in order of increasing difficulty (from simple cadence patterns to developed pieces);
- modulations - schemes for transition from one key to another.

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