It was during my studies at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis when I first came in contact with the partimenti of Francesco Durante. I wrote my master’s thesis on the sources of his partimenti, and this, in turn, opened the door to a world hitherto unknown to me, particularly to the fascinating cultural environment of the historical city of Naples and its conservatories. This master’s thesis then led me to undertake further research. The fact that I later chose Giovanni Paisiello as the topic of my doctoral thesis was in part due to his links to Francesco Durante and in part a result of my own love for the music of the galant style. I had long been intrigued by what is not actually written in the notes themselves but what was common currency in the music of the time.

My research has been enriched by encounters with many wonderful people, to whom I would like to express my thanks here. My two maestri, Robert O. Gjerdingen (Chicago) and Enrico Baiano (Naples), generously shared their knowledge and inspired my own work. My organ teachers Ursula Philippi and Jean-Claude Zehnder, and harpsichord teacher Andrea Marcon, have helped me grow as a musician and always supported and encouraged me. I studied my first partimenti under Rudolf Lutz at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. I am also grateful to Ton Koopman and Frans de Ruiter, the supervisors of my research in the docARTES program.

I owe special thanks to my colleague and good friend Peter van Tour (Örebro), who kindly put his partimento database and manuscripts at my disposal. My dialogue with him contributed significantly to my work. Giorgio Sanguinetti (Rome), Anthony R. DelDonna (Washington, DC), Nicholas Baragwanath (Nottingham), and Ewald Demeyere (Brussels) were always willing to answer my questions. Christophe Rousset (Paris) and Maxim Serebrennikov (St. Petersburg) kindly provided access to some remarkable manuscripts.

I am thankful to Thomas Drescher and Martin Kirnbauer for facilitating the inclusion of the German version of this book in the Scripta series of the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, published by Schwabe Verlag. I am also grateful to Thomas Hirt and Schwabe Verlag for allowing me to publish this revised English translation of my book.