What do incomplete compositions teach us? Giovanni Battista Riccio’s Canzon in echo in Valerio Bona’s Otto ordini di letanie della madonna (1619)

This article examines what incomplete compositions can teach us through the case of Giovanni Battista Riccio’s Canzon in echo, preserved only in its organ part within Valerio Bona’s Otto ordini di letanie. Challenging the common assumption that fragmentary sources are of limited musicological value, the study argues that incompleteness can in fact stimulate more rigorous analytical inquiry. In Riccio’s case, the survival of only the organ bass part poses fundamental questions: the original scoring is unknown, and the work may have been conceived for four, six, or eight voices. By examining Riccio’s output, the author hypothesizes that the piece was likely conceived for four voices with organ. A detailed analysis of the surviving organ part reveals a multi-sectional design alternating triple and duple meter episodes. The bass line preserves numerous clues—such as imitative entries or repeated gestures—that imply the presence of the missing parts. To test reconstruction hypotheses, the study combines traditional analysis with computer-assisted one using intervallic pattern recognition software (CRIM-Intervals). Riccio’s entire corpus was digitized and searched for motivic correspondences. The results demonstrate pervasive internal intertextuality: numerous passages of the Canzon in echo closely correspond to motifs found in works from Riccio’s earlier collections and even anticipate material in the Terzo libro (1620). These self-borrowings—ranging from exact openings to shorter motivic fragments—confirm Riccio’s habitual reuse of melodic formulas. In some cases, these parallels allow the reconstruction of the missing voices by analogy with complete works. In other sections reconstruction remains conjectural but can be guided by patterns observed elsewhere in Riccio’s music. The study concludes that although any reconstruction remains hypothetical, analytical comparison—supported but not replaced by computational tools—can deepen understanding of Riccio’s compositional language. More broadly, it argues that incomplete compositions are not marginal witnesses but valuable laboratories for stylistic investigation. Far from being a limitation, their fragmentary condition can sharpen analytical perception and encourage renewed engagement with early seventeenth-century repertory.