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This question is for baroque specialists -- I have encountered several works where there is a basso part with no numbers for realization. I'm curious -- would it have been originally intended to be cello (bassoon, double bass, etc.) only, i.e. without harpsichord, or would it have been possible (or normal) for a harpsichordist to work out the correct chords without the numbers?

This particular JC Bach is only one example.

I'm not a baroque specialist; but composers did not always give figures with the continuo bass line.

A large portion of Bach's B-Minor Mass lacks figures, as does much of Handel's Messiah, if I'm not mistaken.

In the late baroque/early classical, there's often a part for "basso" which is NOT the continuo, but rather simply a bass instrument (usually a double bass or a violone). Haydn's early divertimentos have this, for instance. There was a discussion about this before - viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2833, and I finally found the answer in a book around Haydn I peeked at at the library.

Thanks for both of these!