Regras de Acompanhar by David Perez. A Critical Edition

Abstract

“It is not easy to tell exactly what a partimento is. It is a basso continuo or thoroughbass, but one that does not accompany anything except itself. It is a figured bass, but very often it has no figures at all. It is a bass, but can as well be a soprano, an alto, or a tenor. Whether tenor, alto, or soprano, it is often the lowest voice, but sometimes it can skip from one voice to another in the texture. It is written, but its goal is improvisation. And, finally, it is an exercise perhaps the most efficient exercise in composition ever devised-but also a form of art in its own right.”1 Partimenti realization is a fundamental practice for any musician specializing in baroque performance. For a keyboard player, it is an essential basis to understand basso continuo, counterpoint, composition, improvisation and a great pedagogical tool as well. Even though nowadays it is known that partimento practice has its roots in Italy in the eighteenth century, it was not brought back to life until the past decades. Unfortunately, many sources which have an enormous pedagogical potential still remain unknown and unedited. David Perez was one of the most famous Italian composers of dramatic music in his time and surely one of the most prestigious composers eradicated in Portugal. Born and educated in Naples, he obviously carries the tradition of counterpoint and partimento, which will led to an important production of partimento and solfeggio sources by him in Portugal. Regras de acompanhar, his collection of forty-one partimenti, is a rich example of the partimenti tradition and praxis. Several questions arise when approaching his partimenti source. In which context was it used? What did the author intended as an outcome of those partimenti? How can one use this source nowadays as a musical pedagogical tool? Questions concerning the context of his book in Portugal, the style and several realization possibilities will be discussed forward along with an edition of selected partimenti.