Counterpoint and Improvisation in Italian Sources from Gabrieli to Pasquini

Sonar di fantasia, in other words to improvise, was the specific task of the organist: theoretical and practical sources from the Renaissance to XVIIth-century show the existence of a common pedagogic approach to the art of improvisation, in which counterpoint had a key role. A critical study of these sources is nowadays essential to elaborate a more efficient didactic method for the organ, and in general, keyboard instruments.