continuo
A continuous bass accompaniment in Baroque music, typically played by harpsichord and cello.
In Depth
The basso continuo (usually shortened to continuo) was the harmonic backbone of virtually all Baroque ensemble music from roughly 1600 to 1750. It consisted of a bass line instrument (cello, viola da gamba, or bassoon) playing the written bass notes, plus a chording instrument (harpsichord, organ, or lute) improvising harmonies above them based on figured bass notation.
The continuo player was essentially a jazz musician of the Baroque era — given only a bass line with numbers indicating the chords, they had to improvise a full accompaniment in real time. A skilled continuo player could transform a simple bass line into a rich, elaborate harmonic texture. The decline of the continuo in the Classical era coincided with the rise of fully written-out orchestral parts.
Continuo players in the Baroque era were expected to improvise their entire part from just a bass line with numbers. It was the equivalent of a modern jazz musician reading chord symbols.