Hello, it is a while since I studied figure bass (mainly theory) but not much playing. (So exciting having figured bass built in and intelligently designed.)
Any recommendations in books to re-learn. Probably seeing the figured bass then different ways to interpret it would help, just to experience it practically.
I found a number of books on Amazon but not sure what would be helpful.
Thank you in advance.
Please see this earlier thread. I think the Albrechtsberger book is pretty useful (it’s what I read in my undergraduate days) but I daresay there are more recent scholarly works.
I would strongly suggest the following book by my former teacher Jesper Bøje Christensen. In addition to a very clear theoretical description it contains a wealth of information and examples of 17th-18th Century continuo realizations.
Jesper Bøje Christensen: Die Grundlagen des Generalbassspiels im 18. Jahrhundert. Ein Lehrbuch nach zeitgenössischen Quellen. Bärenreiter, Kassel 1992. (6. Auflage. 2012, ISMN 979-0-006-48912-1)
English Translation by J. Bradford Robinson:
Eighteenth Century Continuo Playing. A historical guide to the basics. Bärenreiter, Kassel 2002. (2nd edition. 2014, ISMN 979-0-006-50549-4)
French Translation by Marinette Extermann:
Les Fondements de la Basse Continue au XVIIIe siècle. Une méthode basée sur les sources d’époque. Bärenreiter, Kassel 2002. (4th edition. 2013, ISMN 979-0-006-49820-8)
Italian Translation by Maria Luisa Baldassari:
Fondamenti di prassi del basso continuo nel secolo XVIII. Metodo basato sulle fonti originali. Ut Orpheus Edizioni 2003, ISMN 979-0-2153-0823-7.
Czech Translation by Dagmar Kupčiková:
Základy generálbasové hry v 18. století. Učebnice dle historických pramenů. Brno 2011. (2nd edition. 2014, ISBN 978-80-7460-063-0)
These two books are useful practice for lower levels: