Accompanied Solfeggio
The chapter provides a survey of the history of accompanied solfeggio from its origins in late sixteenth-century monody and basso continuo to flamboyant rococo arias and nineteenth-century exercises in composition. Three case studies provide an overview of the main didactic functions of the Type 3 solfeggio: (1) an expert critique of Italian bel canto in the form of a parody by Mozart, (2) a typical object of its mockery in the form of a bravura study by the castrato Farinelli, and (3) a lesson in composition by Zingarelli. The chapter then investigates the closeness of the relation between the contrasting solfeggi that made up multi-movement lessons by comparing slow-fast pairs by Leo and Cafaro. Did they record alternative renditions of the same underlying cantus firmus?