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3 unusual facts about Figured Bass


Bruno Procopio

He studied harpsichord at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris with Christophe Rousset and chamber music with Blandine Ranou and Kenneth Weiss, earning two First Prizes (Premier Prix) in harpsichord performance and continuo playing.

Figured bass

Sometimes instruments are specified by the composer: in L'Orfeo (1607) Monteverde calls for an exceptionally varied instrumentation.

with multiple harpsichords and lutes with a bass violin in the pastoral scenes followed by lamenting to the accompaniment of organo di legno and chitarrone, while Charon stands watch to the sound of a regal.


Albert Riemenschneider

The most enduring publication of his scholarly works was his Bach — 371 Harmonized Chorales and 69 Chorale Melodies with Figured Bass, ed.

Angela East

She has given numerous concerto performances in London's Wigmore Hall and Queen Elizabeth Hall, and has performed as soloist and continuo cellist with many of Europe's leading baroque orchestras.

Millicent Silver

An important point in Millicent Silver's career came at the end of the war, when at Dartington Hall she was persuaded by the conductor Hans Oppenheim to play the continuo in a performance of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas on a harpsichord.

Pieces de viole

Pièces de viole were collections of suites for bass viol and usually continuo written by several French Baroque composers, most notably Marin Marais, whose five Livres form a core of the viol repertoire.


see also

Denis Bédard

A series of grants from the Canada Council enabled him to pursue studies in Paris with André Isoir (organ) and Laurence Boulay (harpsichord and figured bass realization) and in Montreal with Bernard Lagacé (organ and harpsichord) between 1973-1975.