continudynamische

Continudynamische is a term used in musicology to describe the practice of shaping dynamics and rhetorical contour through the basso continuo in Baroque ensembles. It refers to how continuo players realize the figured bass and accompanying chords with keyboard, lute, or other continuo instruments to influence the overall expressive level of a passage, especially when notated dynamics are sparse or absent.

In practice, continudynamische involves decisions about volume, tone color, and texture that accompany the bass line and harmonic figures. The continuo player’s choices in touch, registration, articulation, and the addition or withholding of inner voices contribute to crescendi, diminuendi, and contrasts between sections. This dynamic shaping helps highlight phrases, cadences, and dramatic contrasts, guiding the listener’s perception of form and affect within the music.

Historical context and performance practice emphasize that many Baroque scores rely on the continuo to carry significant expressive responsibility. The non-notated nature of many dynamic indications meant that ensembles coordinated on interpretive norms, treatises, and performance conventions of the time. Modern performers and editors study continudynamische as part of historically informed practice, often reconstructing how continuo groups would have contributed to dynamic balance and phrasing in works by composers such as Bach, Handel, and Vivaldi.

See also: basso continuo, figured bass, Baroque performance practice, harpsichord, organ, continuo realization.