This way of thinking about the
basso continuo has broader consequences for performers.
Although there is considerable variety in the style, form, difficulty, and scoring throughout the manuscript, most of the pieces are simple solo songs with figured
basso continuo accompaniment.
Steffani's Stabat mater for six voices, six strings and
basso continuo, on the other hand, is treated with interpretative delicacy, mindful of the dolorous text, and enjoys richly nuanced performances by soloists and chorus alike.
Score only (horn, oboe, violin, viola,
basso continuo, Biondolina, D.
The repertoire in the volume is quite varied, from the ten-voice a cappella work for double choir by Berger, to Franck's mixed vocal work with
basso continuo, to the festive and opulent vocal and instrumental composition by Staden.
Grandi, on the other hand, is keen to show how his particular stylistic blend of old and new can be used to produce a concertato Missa brevis with
basso continuo. There is no melodic link between the five movements, but they are closely united by a common stylistic approach that favors reduced-voice textures for all but major structural or textual moments.
Still, it perhaps would have been useful to today's performers to be reminded that this counterintuitive usage (organo =
basso continuo) was not universal, and that each of those designations had multifarious meanings, namely, an instrument or instruments and/or a function or functions.
The CD comprises the Concertos for Violin, Strings and
Basso Continuo in C major (Lee 11-1), B flat major (Lee 11-18), D major (Lee 11-2) and A minor (Lee 11-16) and is accompanied by an interesting scholarly text written by Vaclav Kapsa.
Although Colonna published twelve collections of sacred compositions between 1674 and 1695, most are either double-choir psalms and mass settings in old-style counterpoint with
basso continuo, or small-scale motets with one or two voices and continuo, sometimes with two solo violin parts.
Concertos & Sinfonias Concertos for Bassoon, Strings and
Basso Continuo in G minor and F major, Concerto in G major for Flute, Strings and
Basso Continuo, Concerto for Violin, Strings and
Basso Continuo, Sinfonias in D major and F major
Cantata BWV 18, Gleich wie der Regen und Schnee, with four violas, two recorders and
basso continuo follows the same pattern: strings at Chorton in G minor, and recorders in A minor (a' = [+ or -] 415).
Weihnachtstag, fur Soli (SATB), Chor (SATB), zwei Trompeten, Pauken, zwei Horner, Flote, zwei Oboen, Fagott, zwei Violinen, Viola und
Basso continuo. Herausgegeben von Klaus Winkler.