School of General Bass Playing (Schule des Generalbass-Spiels)

Keller School of General Bass Playing (Schule des Generalbass-Spiels)
German text

The General Bass in the 18th Century

Excerpts from the General Bass schools of Mattheson, Heinichen, C. P. E. Bach and Quantz

During the Baroque era, the years between 1700 and 1750 represent a high point with its outstanding highlights in the works of Bach and Handel.  They are also the decades of the undisputed world domination of the basso continuo, without which no kind of music is conceivable, except for those pieces for one instrument alone.  Therefore it is only natural that the great General Bass schools were created in this period, no longer, as in the 17th century, primarily as instructions for practical performance, but rather as fundamental music theory, which in many cases provided a detailed first introduction to music in general.