(Ital. Basso Continuo). See Music. From an edition of Emilio del Cavaliere's musical drama, called La Rappresentazione di Anima e di Corpo, published by Guidotti in 1600 at Bologna, it appears that Cavaliere was one of the earliest musicians who conceived the idea of writing an instrumental bass different from the vocal bass, gave it the name of basso continuo, and accompanied it by numerals and signs intended to direct the instrumental performers in the improvised accompaniments which they executed. "This fact," says an eminent continental writer, "is proved by the instructions which Guidotti has given in that edition regarding those numerals and signs. I numeri piccoli posti sopra le note del basso continuato per suonare, says Guidotti, significano la consonanza e la dissonanza di tal numero, come il 3 terza, il 4 quarta, e cosi di mano in mano." Thus it would seem that G. Sabbatini, who, in his work printed at Venice in 1628, claims the invention of figured bass, must yield the priority at least to Cavaliere. It appears however that G. Sabbatini was the first person who published the precepts of the so-called Rule of the Octave. Andrea Major of Venice, in his Discorso sulla Origine, Progressi, e Stato attuale della Musica Italiana, says, that in the Euridice and Madrigals of Caccini, and other compositions of the sixteenth century, we find a basso continuo. But this does not overturn L. Viadana's claim, set forth as about 1597, in his Cento Concerti, published in 1603; since the Euridice was set to music by Perti and Caccini, and also performed in 1600; while Caccini's Euridice, set to music entirely by himself, and also his Madrigals, were first published in 1615. See Music, sect. Harmony.