CLOSED – maximum number of students has been reached

The course will be organized into two levels:

      1. introductory
      2. intermediate/advanced

Students may participate as auditor to the activities of the other level.

Introductory level:

Basic thorough-bass technique articulated in these points:

      • direction of the voices with numbers referring to the perfect chord, related inversions and, within the end of the course, to the seventh with related inversions;
      • short exercises of improvisation on simple basses;
      • use of different numbers of voices and expressive nuances, of simple level, in a stylistic context;
      • simple parts of sonatas for one or two continuo players;
      • historical approach to the origin of the “Rule of the octave” and stylistic implementation.


Intermediate/advanced level

      • direction of the voices related to chorals with intermediate/complex numbers;
      • chamber music;
      • basses without numbers (only advanced level); provision of a bass to a given melody, adding figures to indicate the intended harmonies (only advanced level);
      • transposition of basses of simple/medium difficulty.

Students may work on their own repertoire pieces or those for the chamber music courses in Urbino. There will be some players and singers who will work with us; XVII and XVIII century music scores will be provided to the participants.

On 25 and 26 July, there will be a specific one-hour seminar with the title “Le false che dilettano” dedicated to the extempore “false” notes in late-600 Italian treatises.

Recommended methods and books:

      • Bourmayan & J. Frisch Méthode pour apprendere la pratique de la Basse Continue à l’usage des amateurs, ed. du Cornet *.
      • Erich Wolf  Generalbassübungen, ed. Breiktopf 6620 *.
      • B. Christensen Fondamenti di prassi del basso continuo nel XVIII secolo, ed. Ut Orpheus *.
      • Pasquali Thorough-Bass made easy (fac-simile), Oxford University Press *.
      • O. Morris Figured Harmony at the Keyboard, part 2, Oxford University Press **.
      • Muffat Regulae Concentuum Partiturae **.
      • Bernardo Pasquini Sonate per basso continuo. Si consiglia il vol. VI dell’Opera Omnia per tastiera      (London, Bl Ms. Add. 31501, I) a cura di Edoardo Bellotti, ed. Il Levante **.
      • Geminiani The Art of Accompaniment…to learn to perform the Thorough Bass on the F. Couperin Concerts Royaux **/***
      • Ph. Rameau Suite da Hyppolite et Aricie**/***
      • Fr. Händel Cantata “O Numi Eterni” (Lucrezia) HWV 145***
      • S. Bach Sonate per violino e basso continuo BWV 1021 e BWV 1023 ***


*    all levels, ** intermediate/advanced level, *** only advanced level

CURRICULUM VITAE

Giovanni Togni graduated with top marks in piano, harpsichord and choir direction further extending his musical knowledge with studies in composition and organ. His musical interests have been focused on early keyboards (harpsichord, clavichord and fortepiano) since meeting his harpsichord teacher Laura Alvini.

He is the winner of the 1991 ECBO selections (harpsichord and organ continuo) in Paris, France, and of the 1993 National Harpsichord Competition in Bologna, Italy.

He performed as continuo player (at the harpsichord and organ) with many ensembles, such as Ensemble Concerto, Il Complesso Barocco, Accademia Bizantina, Ensemble Zefiro, Ensemble Aurora, the European Community Baroque Orchestra (ECBO), the RAI Orchestra in Rome, the Orchestra Mozart directed by Claudio Abbado. Furthermore, he had collaborations with opera theatres like the Teatro Massimo in Palermo and the Opéra de Monte-Carlo and he performed in prestigious Italian and European early music and chamber music festivals, both as a soloist at the harpsichord and fortepiano and in chamber groups.

He has recorded for labels such as Glossa, Brilliant, “Amadeus”, Dynamic, Concerto, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, EMI-Virgin, Deutsche Grammophone (Archiv Produktion) and for the Radiotelevisione Italiana and other European broadcasters.

He has been engaged as lecturer, speaker and jury member, by several institutions like the Giorgio Cini Foundation in Venice, European Harpsichord Competition (Bologna) and the International Early Music courses in Urbino (Fondazione Italiana per la Musica Antica). Since 2017 he is director of the International Early Music courses in Urbino.

He taught harpsichord and historical keyboards at the Cagliari and Milan Conservatoires. Currently he is professor for the same disciplines  at the Conservatoire “G. Verdi” of Como.

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