What Is Basso Continuo?

I am a conductor and ensemble leader in Basel, Switzerland.

In this video I am covering the basics of Basso Continuo (b.c. for short). You might have heard that it's a fundamental pillar of music in the 16th and 17th century in Europe and might have encountered it under different names: Generalbass in Germany, Thoroughbass or Figured Bass in England.

But what exactly is it? Why was it "invented"? And why have people called those times the "Basso Continuo Era"?

I hope I can help you and clarify the WHY behind this concept and its origins.

My website: http://www.davidfasold.de

Where I studied: https://www.musik-akademie.ch/schola-...
What I studied: https://www.fhnw.ch/de/studium/musik/...

00:00 Intro
00:35 What is music like in 16th century Italy?
01:17 Welcome to the instruments
02:11 Sonare sopra il basso
03:02 Basso seguente and Basso continuo
04:18 Music with few voices: Stile moderno
05:30 Music for the stage: Stile rappresentativo
07:26 After the experiments: Consolidation of Basso Continuo
08:04 Figures
08:30 A new era
09:00 Closing thoughts