continuo

Continuo, short for basso continuo, is a foundational practice of European Baroque music in which a bass line is combined with harmonically realizing accompaniment. The continuo group typically comprises a bass instrument (cello, viola da gamba, double bass) and a chordal instrument (harpsichord, organ, lute, theorbo). The keyboard or chordal instrument realizes the figured bass — numerical figures written below or above the bass line indicating intervals above the bass that form chords. The realization is performed collectively or by a single player depending on context, and may be adjusted to ensemble texture, voice leading, and style.

Originating in the late Renaissance and flourishing in the 17th and 18th centuries, continuo became the essential harmonic framework for most vocal and ensemble music, including opera, cantatas, oratorios, and many instrumental works. The term thoroughbass is used in some texts to refer to the same practice.

Performance practice: the continuo player reads the bass line and realizes chords in real time, often with ornaments and attention to voice-leading and the stylistic conventions of the period. Realization may be shared among keyboard and plucked/string players; doubling of the bass or chords is common to reinforce texture.

Notable repertory and legacy: Monteverdi, Cavalli, Schutz, Scarlatti, Handel, and Bach all relied on continuo. In modern performance, continuo remains central to historically informed ensembles, though exact realizations vary by edition, performer, and stylistic approach.