Partimenti del Sig. D. Nicola Porpora“. Critical edition of the manuscript I-Mc Ms. Nc 176

Abstract

The manuscript I-Mc Ms. Nc 176 , intitled “Partimenti del Sig. D. Nicola Porpora” was recently discovered in the musical library of the Conservatory of Milan. Despite its title, the first half of the collection contains exclusively partimenti attributed to Leonardo Leo, including several partimento fugues and a full realization of a triple fugue. The partimenti attributed to Porpora himself are complemented with a short set of regole , moti del basso , a peculiar rule of the octave and some traces of realization in three pieces. The present study provides a comprehensive critical edition of this source , as well as a historical background of the collection within the Neapolitan partimento tradition . The aim of this work is to facilitate the access to these partimenti for the modern performer, as well as making a little contribution to the study of historical didactic sources towards their application in today’s early music education.