Romanesque |

ital. romanesca

The name of various common in Zap. Europe 17-18 centuries. instr. dance plays, variations cycles, as well as arias and songs with instr. accompaniment, which is based on a certain melodic-harmonic. a model related to the folia and the old passamezzo (passamezzo antico).

The etymology of the name and the origin of R. are not entirely clear. Apparently, it originated in Italy or Spain; accordingly, the name is interpreted as a synonym for the definition “in the Roman style” (alla maniera Romana) or as derived from Spanish. romance.

The treatise F. Salinas “De Musica” (1577) contains numerous. samples of folk melodies R. – in the style of the Portuguese. folia, related to Italian. galliarde, spanish villancico, pavane, etc., which were often processed by prof. composers. In decomp. R. melodies acquire individual features in connection with the rhythmic. by varying the stepwise progression underlying them in the volume of a quart, by introducing non-chord sounds, ornaments, etc. In this case, however, reference sounds usually enter at regular intervals. One of the first deviations from this is Monteverdi’s duet “Ohimi dov’i il mio ben” in the concerto from the 7th book of madrigals (1619).

More stable was the bass figure (jumping to a fourth), serving as the main. distinguish. a sign of R.; however, from the beginning 17th century and bass quart moves were often filled with intermediate sounds. Muses. R.’s form was established earlier than its name; Originally, plays close to R. were created under other names. The earliest pieces called “R.” are dances for the lute (A. de Becchi, 1568). In the beginning. 17th century R. are more common for singing with a general bass, for cithara (J. Frescobaldi, collections of 1615, 1630 and 1634), in the 2nd floor. 17th century – for keyboard instruments (B. Storace, 1664). In the 19th and 20th centuries the adaptations of the ancient rhymes were carried out by J. D. Alar (for violin and pianoforte) and A. K. Glazunov (r. from the ballet Raymonda).

References: Riеmann H., The “Basso ostinato” and the beginning of the cantata, “SIMG”, 1911/12, year 13; Nettl R., Two Spanish ostinato themes, «ZfMw», 1918/19, vol. 1, pp. 694-98; Gombosi О., Italia: patria del basso ostinato, «Rass. mus.», 1934, v. 7; Hоrsley J., The 16th-century variation, «JAMS», 1959, v. 12, p. 118-32.