Romanesca
- Giuseppe Gerbino
Extract
A melodic-harmonic formula used in the 16th and 17th centuries as an aria for singing poetry and as a subject for instrumental variations. Ex.1 shows the structural notes of the romanesca pattern: a descending descant formula supported by a standard chordal progression whose bass moves by 4ths. This scheme is to be viewed as a flexible framework, rather than as a fixed tune; it provided, though often disguised by elaborate ornamentation, the melodic and harmonic foundations for countless compositions labelled ‘romanesca’....
