340 Early Music May 2013 In short, McClary’s amalgam of modal and tonal prin- ciples strives hard to establish clear definitions and historical norms that would offer a rich vein of allegori- cal poetics—conflicted Phrygian, illicit F!, ambivalent Mixolydian—but she stumbles over the details of the repertory that contradict her, and she more often reveals her functional-harmonic biases that contradict the modal theory she intends to elucidate. The shaky epistemological foundation of McClary’s modal theory is not, however, fatal to her book. Divorced from its modal/tonal baggage, her discussion of the music is often sensitive and insightful. Her chapters on the cru- cial impact of the soprano voice, male and female, in Italian performance and composition, and on the hover- ing, moment-by-moment aesthetic of French harpsichord music offer two examples—both with relatively little modal theorizing—of her ability to capture a defining musical essence and to reflect it back, illuminatingly, on the culture that created it. There is, in sum, both ambi- tion impressively fulfilled, and cluttering methodological baggage. McClary’s writing conveys a strong personality brimming with ideas, which means that readers of Desire and pleasure will get abundant helpings of both her vir- tues and her faults. doi:10.1093/em/cat033 Peter van Tour he lost art of partimento Giorgio Sanguinetti, The art of partimento: history, theory and practice (New York: Oxford University Press, 2012), $49.95 / £32.50 Books about the history of music theory do not always have a strong appeal to practitioners of music. But some- times they do, and Giorgio Sanguinetti’s The art of par- timento: history, theory and practice is definitely such a book. It presents a musicological topic now in vogue, which will interest singers, players of plucked instruments (whether soloists or continuo players), keyboardists and theorists. Giorgio Sanguinetti, one of the most important pioneers of studies in 18th-century Italian music theory, presents this book about the practical exercises called partimenti that were used by Italian composers during the 18th and 19th centuries. In this book, ‘partimento’ is defined as ‘a sketch, written on a single staff, whose main purpose is to be a guide for improvisation of a composi- tion at the keyboard’ (p.14). Sanguinetti shows in the first chapter that partimenti may have had their roots in the Roman school of composi- tion of the late 17th century, although the technique mainly flourished in the teaching environments of the Neapolitan conservatories during the course of the 18th century. This method of teaching also had a profound influence on 19th-century music theory in both Italy and France. With the help of partimento technique a composer could sketch a polyphonic composition by notating the lowest sound- ing voice, sometimes with added figured bass numerals. It is easy to understand the time-saving benefits of such a compositional tool in, for example, the creation of operas in 18th-century Naples. But the technique was also used in church music for both writing and playing fugues. The art of partimento is divided in four parts with con- cise and informative titles: ‘History’, ‘Theory’, ‘Practice’ and ‘A Guide to Realization’. It is staggering to notice that this book seems to be the first monograph ever to have been written on partimento. Sanguinetti has carried out the for- midable task of systematically describing the history, rules and precepts of this repertory of Italian music theory. The first part of the book sketches out an overview of the history of partimento from its first Roman roots in pieces by Bernardo Pasquini to the published collection of partimenti by Pietro Raimondi (1786–1853). Six successive generations of mainly Neapolitan masters are discussed, including Nicola Fago, Francesco Durante, Leonardo Leo, Giovanni Paisiello, Fedele Fenaroli, Nicola Sala and Giacomo Tritto. The overview of sources given by Sanguinetti is unsurpassed, especially the most valuable survey of musical source material, which can be accessed through the companion website www.us.oup.com/us/ companion.websites/9780195394207/. The second part of the book deals with the theory of partimento through a synoptic view, described according to five classes: (1) Basic axioms; (2) The rule of the octave; (3) Suspensions; (4) Bass motions and (5) Scale mutations. In two carefully shaped chapters Sanguinetti explains many interesting details about the basic rules. Concepts such as the rule of the octave (règle de l’octave) and the basic rules of the dissonances are explained in detail, along with methodological aspects such as how to harmo- nize various conjunct or disjunct movements of the bass. The remainder of this volume (parts 3 and 4) deals with practical issues. The author proposes a three-fold pro- cess in working out realizations, referring to Emmanuele at Uppsala Universitetsbibliotek on August 17, 2013 http://em.oxfordjournals.org/ Downloaded from