Ep. 187 | Peter van Tour - Carlo Cotumacci Edition: 50 Lessons, 75 Partimenti, “Under-Figured Bass”

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Professor Peter van Tour returns to unpack his brand-new edition of Carlo Cotumacci: a landmark publication featuring the only complete autograph of Cotumacci’s teaching—50 Lessons and 75 Partimenti—plus a pedagogy that brilliantly trains analytical reading through what Peter calls “under-figured bass.” We dive into how Cotumacci sits between the Durante and Leo schools, his links to Alessandro Scarlatti, how partimento + counterpoint notebooks formed a single curriculum in 18th-century Naples, and why this source matters for today’s improvisers, organists, and historically minded teachers.

What you’ll learn
• Why this autograph is unique (complete, clean, and pedagogically intentional)
• How the 50 Lessons act as short, teachable “units,” and how the 75 Partimenti ramp to advanced fugues
• The concept of under-figured bass: figures are present, but key accidentals are deliberately omitted to force real-time analysis and modulation awareness
• Durante vs. Leo: elementary (cadences/scales/sequences) vs. thematic training, and where Cotumacci fits
• How partimento and written counterpoint notebooks mirror each other in the Naples method
• Practical tips for modern teachers: imitation → variation → short forms → longer realizations

Highlights & themes
• Cotumacci as organist-pedagogue in Naples; Scarlatti connections; Burney’s testimony
• Durandian “curriculum flow” (cadences → rule of the octave → prepared dissonances → sequences → unfigured bass)
• Using Cotumacci’s materials to teach linear counterpoint rather than chord-blocks
• Advanced items in Book II: unfigured → highly figured partimento fugues
• Why more Leo and Padre Martini deserves publishing/recording—and how neglected archives can reshape our canon

Resources mentioned
• Van Tour’s Cotumacci edition (2 vols.) — published by Westmans
• Durante materials (forthcoming edition mentioned)
• Partimenti/Regole sources (e.g., partimenti repositories)
• “The Art of Partimento” community (for sharing realizations)

About our guest
Peter van Tour is a leading scholar of partimento and historical improvisation pedagogy. His critical editions and research on the Neapolitan conservatory tradition are reshaping how musicians learn counterpoint and improvisation today.

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