Theoretical constructs latent in thoroughbass treatises of the 18th century can serve students of thoroughbass today. In the following work, I draw from Johann David Heinichen’s Der General-Bass in der Composition (1728), David Kellner’s Treulicher Unterricht im General-Baß (2nd edition, 1737), Johann Mattheson’s Der vollkommene Capellmeister (1739), Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg’s Handbuch bey dem Generalbasse und der Composition, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach’s Versuch über die wahre Art das Clavier zu spielen (part 2, 1762), and recent scholarship in the areas of Partimento theory, Musica Poetica, and early music theory in general, to demonstrate how the many thoroughbass figures can all be contextualized in an historically informed theoretical framework. In the first two chapters, (1) thoroughbass figures are analyzed as having an internal hierarchy of primary and auxiliary intervals, allowing chords to be understood both vertically and linearly; (2) chords are localized in the major and minor modes according to bass scale steps; and (3) the various contrapuntal procedures associated with dissonant chords used in both the strict style (stylus gravis) and freer styles (stylus luxurians communis and stylus luxurians theatralis) are analyzed as German musical-rhetorical figures. In chapter 3, these three theoretical constructs are used to organize an extensive collection of dissonant chord progressions derived from the aforementioned treatises of Heinichen, Mattheson, Marpurg, and Bach. In chapter 4, I draw from basic elements of partimento theory—namely cadences, sequences, and the Rule of the Octave (regola dell’ottava or règle de l’octave)—to construct a series of exercises; most of these exercises use a relatively strict four-part texture and are illustrated from multiple righthand starting positions to promote flexibility in the student. Finally, in chapter 5, practical matters of thoroughbass realization, namely pragmatic and expressive concerns, are discussed and illustrated with examples from many treatises of the 17th and 18th centuries.

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Am Anfang des 19. Jahrhunderts übernahm das Pariser Conservatoire verschiedene Aspekte der italienischen Lehrmethoden, insbesondere die Partimenti. Diese französische Tradition begann mit dem Traktat Charles-Simon Catels (1802) und entwickelte sich durch die Publikationen von François-Joseph Fétis (1844), Théodore Dubois (1891), und Charles Koechlin (1927–30) weiter. Henri Challans 380 Basses et chants donnés (1960) ist eine der letzten Veröffentlichungen der französischen Partimento-Tradition. Dieser Beitrag gibt einen Überblick über Challans Traktat. Challan lehrt unter anderem Kadenz- und Sequenz-Muster, wie sie auch in den Orgelwerken von César Franck, Gabriel Fauré, Alexandre Guilmant und Louis Vierne auftreten. Es lässt sich zeigen, dass solche Satzmodelle wichtige Bestandteile der Improvisationspraxis dieser Organisten-Komponisten waren. Zu den typischsten Stimmführungsmustern des französisch-romantischen Stils gehören Kadenzen, die ich ›plagale Varianten‹ nenne, weil sie von der typischen Plagal-Kadenz abweichen. Manche stilistischen Eigenschaften, die wir heute als charakteristisch für Komponisten dieser Schule verstehen, waren von der Partimento-Tradition am Pariser Conservatoire geprägt. / In the early nineteenth century, the Paris Conservatory adopted various aspects of Italian teaching methods, especially partimenti1891), and Charles Koechlin (1927–30). Henri Challan’s 380 Basses et chants donnés (1960) is one of the last publications of the French partimento tradition. The present article gives an overview of Challan’s treatise. Challan presents various cadences and sequences that also appear in the organ works of César Franck, Gabriel Fauré, Alexandre Guilmant, and Louis Vierne. Such voice-leading models were integral elements of the improvisational practice of these organist-composers. Among the most typical voice-leading patterns of the French-romantic style are cadences that I term »plagal variants,« since they deviate from typical plagal cadences. Many stylistic characteristics typical for composers of this school were influenced by the partimento tradition at the Paris Conservatory.