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RE: Music Life - A Little Bit of Cellist Hell with Canon in D, and Some Sleepy Time with a Vivaldi Concerto
Many of these dances (in this case not a dance) based upon a ground bass tended to be quite repetitive for the bowed bass. This is particularly extreme example of it though!
Often the other continuo (harpsichords, lutes, harps) would be improvising freely anyway. It would not be unusual for the bowed instruments to join in. As long as the general affect and structure of the piece was not disrupted!
That means that those playing continuo parts were great at improvising, or should be! Or else, if they played non-harmonic notes when they shouldn't...They would be in big trouble!
They were! Improvisation is a lost art in classical music. It used to be done in all instruments, and it was a normal thing to be able to do it well and in the style and affect of the piece. Early music has brought some of this back!