What is Continuo Lines?
We believe that playing with basso continuo accompaniment is an essential part of learning a musical instrument, and vital to the enjoyment of music-making as a whole - regardless of the setting you find yourself in.
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With Continuo Lines we have developed an ever-evolving online collection of basso continuo play-along recordings for players of all backgrounds and levels of learning. We hope that with this resource players will gain confidence in playing with a continuo line, i.e. an accompaniment consisting of a bass line with added figures (numbers) specifying the harmonies to be played in addition. Initially focusing on recorder repertoire, we plan to offer resources for other instruments in the future.
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Our track library encompasses repertoire from the renaissance and baroque periods. Once you have selected a piece, you can adapt the playing pitch and tempo to your individual needs - then simply click ‘download’ and start playing along.
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Each month we will add more tracks to the library -- you can subscribe to our newsletter below to hear about updates, or submit a request for a specific piece you would like to see included.
Who we are
Described by The Times as a charismatic virtuoso recorder player Tabea Debus is constantly
exploring the horizons of music for recorder and has performed widely in Europe, Asia and the USA.
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Passionate about outreach work, Tabea teaches recorder at Wells Cathedral School and has led composition and chamber music projects at the Royal Academy of Music and Cambridge University.
Tabea Debus​
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She has collaborated with London Music Masters, Jackdaws Music Education Trust, the RAM’s Open Academy and at the Royal London Hospital to bring music workshops to children of all backgrounds.
© Kaupo Kikkas
Benedict Williams began his training as a chorister at King’s College Cambridge, he graduated from the University of York with a First Class Music Degree, and the Royal Academy of Music with a Masters in early keyboards and a Professional Diploma with distinction in continuo playing & directing.
As a duo with Flora Curzon, he is the proud joint recipient of the Royal Academy of Music Patrons’ Award for 2018/19, resulting in a highly-prized Wigmore Hall recital.
As a keyboard player he performs regularly on harpsichord, organ and fortepiano, and has worked with a variety of ensembles & festivals including the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Brecon Baroque, Music for Awhile, Ryedale Festival Opera, The Sixteen and the OAE Experience Scheme.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the Society of Recorder Players for their financial support of the initial development of this site.
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All the audio files have been produced using the Hauptwerk Software using samples from Sonus Paradisi. The harpsichord is a virtual sample of a Mietke style instrument.