Playable BooksREADING EDITIONS
Fenaroli, Partimenti

Fedele Fenaroli · section 10 of 26

or the Suspension of the Fourth

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The fourth can be prepared by all four consonances, that is by the 8ve, 3rd, 5th, and 6th.

Rules, PDF page 8, example 02
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To prepare the 4th by the 8ve, the partimento should rise a 5th or descend a 4th, that is, from ① to ⑤. See the example in the manuscript at letter A.

To prepare the 4th by the 3rd, the partimento should descend by step, that is, from ⑥ to ⑤, or from ② to ①. See letter B.

Rules, PDF page 8, example 03
Fig. 60 · Play this example in the reader ▶

To prepare the 4th by the 5th, the partimento should rise by step, that is, from ④ to ⑤, or from ① to ②. See letter C.

To prepare the 4th by the 6th, the partimento should rise a 3rd, that is, from ③ to ⑤. See letter D.

Note that the 4th can also be prepared by the minor 7th and by the diminished 5th.

Rules, PDF page 8, example 04
Fig. 61 · Play this example in the reader ▶

To prepare the 4th by the minor 7th, the partimento should rise a 4th, that is, from ⑤ to ①. See letter E.

To prepare the 4th by the diminished 5th, the partimento should rise by a semitone. See letter F.

Observe that the dissonance of a 4th should always be accompanied by the consonance of the 5th. That is because the aforementioned dissonance can never have a place above a note that, by its nature, does not take the 5th.

Concerning Dissonances,