Sanguinetti, Giorgio. The Art of Partimento: History, Theory, and Practice. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012. 420 pp. Hardcover, index. ISBN 978-0-1953-9420-7, $49.95. Over the last decade, the study of Italian music has focused increasingly on insightful investigation of the Italian partimento tradition. Few studies, however, approach the partimento tradition from a pedagogical standpoint. Giorgio Sanguinetti fills this need with his book The Art of Partimento. The book--equally functional as an encyclopedic reference tool and a textbook on partimenti--appeals to a wide range of readers, including music educators, music theorists, musicologists, ethnomusicologists, and other interdisciplinary scholars. a succinct narrative style, Sanguinetti vividly brings the partimento tradition alive. Since partimento has been popular for more than two hundred years, vast musical resources are spread across the libraries of Europe. To help readers discover these sources, Sanguinetti rigorously selects and presents his complex subject in a clear manner and subtly connects his modern readers to the societies and generations of ancient Italy. The book is divided into four parts: history, theory, the realization of partimento for the beginner, and the realization of partimento for intermediate to advanced readers. The first seven chapters compose the historical section, wherein Sanguinetti explores primary sources in chronological order. Chapters 1 through 3 discuss the definition and origins of partimento. Before the early nineteenth century, partimento was one of the most efficient methods for teaching solo improvisation at the keyboard and an important curriculum component in Italian conservatories. Established in Naples, it eventually spread as Italian musicians migrated and transmitted their national musical aesthetics to the rest of Europe. Through his historical narrative, Sanguinetti expertly presents the development and decline of the partimento tradition and the challenges scholars have faced in attracting interest to this nearly forgotten culture. Chapters 4 through 6 discuss the Neapolitan conservatory, teaching methods, and partimento sources. Conservatories in Italy originally arose in the fifteenth century as charitable institutions giving shelter to orphans and the homeless. During the eighteenth century, the four conservatories of Naples represented the musical center of Italy. Competition among conservatories was intense, and problems between students and castrati often arose. School life is vividly portrayed: In 1782 the fgliuoli of La pieta dei Turchini refused to touch the bread served by the castrati and left the refectory. Under threat, the castrati ran away from the conservatory. The protest continued until all of them, castrati and integri, were sent to jail (40). Chapter 7, the last historical section, presents the genealogy of partimento masters over six generations and includes biographical information. Sanguinetti discusses masters such as Alessandro Scarlatti, Francesco Durante, Leonardo Leo, and Nicola Porpora. Chapters 8 and 9 begin the theoretical portion of the book. Sanguinetti presents the rules of partimenti from five aspects--Basic Axioms, Rule of the Octave, Suspensions, Bass Motion, and Scale Mutations. He discusses each based on the comments of the masters from different periods and covers the historic development of partimento rules from the seventeenth to the early nineteenth centuries. The language Sanguinetti incorporates in this portion of the theoretical discussion remains contemporaneous. While avoiding Rameau's scientific approach to harmony, Sanguinetti's interpretation of the rules employs theoretical concepts that were established prior to modern harmonic theory. Considering the partimento tradition's scope and its reciprocity with other musical genres in Europe before the establishment of Rameau's harmonic theory, the partimento tradition greatly contributed to and influenced the development of harmonic theory. …