Partimenti—Disposizioni—Solfeggi

The sources containing partimenti ascribed to Giovanni Paisiello are few. Only five copies of the first edition of the Regole (1782) are known to exist worldwide. Three additional manuscripts with partimenti ascribed to Paisiello have been passed down to us, one of which is an autograph published in a facsimile in 2008. Together, this autograph and the published Regole (1782) include a total of forty-six partimenti.

Two unique manuscripts contain two- and three-part disposizioni based on partimenti by Paisiello. The Concordance in appendix 2 shows that thirty-one partimenti from the printed Regole (1782) are found in these manuscripts. An additional forty-one partimenti in the manuscripts, not included in the Regole (1782), are most likely authored by Paisiello. For more details, see pages 80–82.

Among the solfeggi found in the sole surviving solfeggio manuscript in Paisiello’s name, only a small number may be his.

The Regole (1782)

The primary focus of the present book is the printed Regole (1782). Its full title is: Regole per bene accompagnare il Partimento, o sia il Basso Fondamentale sopra il Cembalo Del Signor Maestro Giovanni Paisiello. Composte per Sua Altezza Imperiale La Gran Duchessa di tutte le Russie (see fig. 2). The following table offers a description of the individual sources. The first three entries are taken from Robinson’s thematic catalog of Paisiello’s works; Robinson does not include the two Russian sources listed.

The copy in the library of St. Petersburg was unknown until 2014. According to Maxim Serebrennikov, this was the personal copy of Maria Feodorovna. Two pages from this volume that have manuscript additions are given in fac-simile and discussed in detail in chapter 4.

Manuscripts of Partimenti

The following manuscript sources with partimenti by Paisiello are extant today:

The first manuscript, “Regole per bene accompagnare il partimento” (I-Nc 18.3.3/18), is without doubt an autograph by Paisiello. The print of 1782 is largely consistent with the autograph, leading us to assume that the former was based on the latter. For the most part, the autograph and the print diverge mainly in wording. However, the last partimento of this autograph is absent from the print, whereas the last seven particularly beautiful partimenti in the print are absent from the autograph.