AO2: Vivaldi: Concerto grosso in D minor Flashcards
MELODY: Mvt. 1: opening based on broken chords (b1-4) and descending scales (b6, 1st violin). Melody harmonically charged, depicts underlying harmony.
1st Mvt. of Bach’s Fourth Brandenburg Concerto (1717-1722) - key motifs outline opening tonic, dominant harmony.
MELODY: Mvt. 1: bars 20-30 - concertino cello breaks away from continuo with idiomatic, virtuso semiquavers to become principal melodic instrument
Feature increasingly common in the cello-writing of the mid-Baroque concerto grosso. 2nd Mvt. of Corelli’s Op.6 No. 11 concerto gross, has a rapid cello obbligato passage.
MELODY: Mvt. 2: combination of conjunct music at beginning of fugue, followed by a series of disjunct leaps outlining the circle of fifths. Also scalic descents at bar 33-34
Vivaldi steals fugal subject from a pre-existing work: 2nd Mvt. of Marcello’s Op. 1 No. 2 concerto grosso from 1708.
MELODY: Mvt. 2: motivic writing prevails, motivic development of fugal themes in Episode Two
Mvt. 3 dotted Q-SQ-Q motif first heard with pitches D-E-D
Motivic writing used in Baroque as a means for creating melodic development and unity.
Fourth Brandenburg Concerto (BWV 1049) - opening ritornello theme broken down into six motivic fragments developed through fortspinnung
MELODY: Mvt. 3: melodic burden falls on upper strings, concertino first violin, ripieno remains subservient and functional in their accompaniment
Solo violin accompanied only by upper strings NOT common to Vivaldi’s Venetian contemporaries: 1st Mvt. of Op. 7 No. 7 concerto grosso by Valentini in 1710
MELODY: Mvt. 4: varying melodic movement. Conjunct passages immediately juxtaposed with angular and disjunct movement. Broken chord arpeggios also occur in solo first violin
Solo violin part of Bach’s Fourth Brandenburg concerto - (progressive nature of Vivaldi’s concertato style and the influence this had upon more mature Baroque composers e.g Bach)
MELODY: Mvt. 4: solo first and second violins lie in thirds within the melody but mainly first solo violin carries melodic dominance over the second.
In contrast, predominance of concertino first violin over second looks towards 18th century classicism and breaks away from Torelli’s Op. 8 concerto grossi, where neither violin was melodically dominant over the other.
MELODY: Mvt. 4: cadenza-like virtuoso melodic passage for solo first violin.
Idiomatic virtuosi writing of solo instruments common to programmatic music of the Romantic era. Idiomatic virtuosi writing of the solo violin in the 1st Mvt. of Bach’s Fourth Brandenburg concerto. Paved the way for later Baroque violin concerto of Tartini and solo concerto writing and first movement cadenza format of classical era composers such as Viotti and Mozart
HARMONY:
Perfect cadences shape music at end of finale. Mvt. 1: predominance of primary triads in root position.
Mvt. 2: modulation to a closely related key (G minor).
Mvt. 4: modulation to closely related keys (G minor and A minor).
Pedal notes (long dominant pedal and shorter tonic pedal)
Mvt. 2: circle of fifths, bass downwards: E-A-D-G-C
Typical mid-Baroque functional harmonic vernacular that dominated the period.
All five features found in many Baroque pieces - Handel’s Op. 6 No. 8 Concerto Grosso of 1739-1740
HARMONY: Mvt. 2: within fugue there is a long dominant pedal and a shorter tonic pedal. Similar effect achieved in dialogue between first and second concertino violins.
Dominant pedal creates anticipatory tension, tonic pedal creates stability: common Baroque harmonic trait.
Bach’s C minor fugue from Book 1 of The Well Tempered Clavier - tonic C pedal creates stability while dominant G creates tension.
HARMONY: Mvt. 2 secondary dominant chords used. II7b with sharpened third found at end of Mvt. 2. E major seventh chord acts as V7 of V.
Secondary dominant chords helped make up conventional harmonic language of the mid-Baroque.
Sequential passages of secondary dominant chords in first movement of Bach’s Fourth Brandenburg concerto (1717-1722)
HARMONY: Mvt. 2: 4-3 suspensions indicated by figured bass.
Mvt. 4: 7-6 suspensions indicated by figured bass in finale.
Chains of suspensions in final tutti passage of finale
Chains of suspensions common to mid-Baroque harmony to create interest and intrigue.
Contemporary concerti - first Allegro passage of Corelli’s Op. 6 No. 8 ‘Christmas Concerto’
HARMONY: Mvt. 3: chromatic chords used to increase sense of emotive charge in slow mvt. Neapolitan sixth chords and diminished seventh chords exploited by Vivaldi to create this emotional charge.
Use of chromatic chords to create emotional charge common to time within Baroque era in which Vivaldi was writing.
Bach favoured the Neapolitan sixth chord - used it to similar effect in the first movement of his Fourth Brandenburg Concerto.
Diminished seventh chords well-established way of creating harmonic tension - ninth concerto in the Op. 1 set concerto grossi of Pietro Locatelli.
TONALITY: key is D minor. Remains in D minor throughout generally. Some harmonic contrast between movement (especially chromaticism at beginning of mvt. 2) – however predominantly in D minor in every movement.
However, later Baroque composers preferred to have tonal contrast in between movements.
Bach’s Fifth Brandenburg Concerto is in D but the second movement is in B minor
TONALITY: Mvt. 2: tonality used to articulate internal structures, particularly within the ritornello passages - Episode Two of the second movement to G minor.
Typical of earlier models of the form within concerto grossi.
Bach’s Fourth Brandenburg concerto (BWV 1049) - ritornelli differentiated tonalities; related modulations, e.g to E minor
TONALITY: Mvt. 3: occasional passages are in more remote keys, such as F minor in the third movement.
Indicative of more mature, progressive approach to the tonal system that mid to late Baroque composers begin to use.
Vivaldi looks forward to works of composers like Bach - similar tertiary modulations common e.g. G to Bm in mvt. 1 of Bach’s Fourth Brandenburg Concerto
SONORITY: Mvt. 1: cello part has virtuoso solo music, frequently breaking away from the continuo line, shown in mvt. 1
Increasingly common in cello writing of the mid-Baroque concerto grosso.
Rapid cello obbligato passage in 2nd movement of Corelli’s Op. 6 No. 11 concerto grosso.
SONORITY & TEXTURE: Mvt. 1: unusually, two solo violins play unaccompanied at the beginning of the piecce - innovative textural opening to a work
Breaks away from traditional models of Corelli.
Reminds one of an earlier concerto by Torelli, Op. 8 No. 4 - two solo violins have a similar figuration in same key in triple time during middle section of second movement - incorrect to describe Vivaldi as texturally unique.
SONORITY & TEXTURE: Mvt. 2: adagio of second movement is tutti
Such a texture is common to slow sections of concerto grossi
Second Adagio of Corelli’s Op. 6 No. 1 concerto grosso - less extreme but still chordal homophony
SONORITY: Mvt. 3: solo sections leave out solo cello, also no continuo. Bass line played by a viola. Movement effectively a cantilena for solo certino first violin; tutti strings are subservient and accompanimental
Solo violin accompanied by only upper strings NOT common to Vivaldi’s Venetian contemporaries
First movement of Op. 7 No. 7 concerto grosso by Valentini
SONORITY: Mvt. 4: last passge carries character of a solo concerto cadenza. Prominence of first violin concertino over second violin was far more modern and progressive.
Looks towards 18th century classicism. Breaks away from older concerto grossi where violins were more or less on an equal footing.
TEXTURE: Mvt 2: fugal writing illustrative of contrapuntal writing (imitative counterpoint specifically)
Not out of place with older sonata de chiesa.
First movement of Torelli’s Op. 8 No. 3 concerto
However Vivaldi’s style is not antiquated; fugal style still used in mature Baroque concerto grosso - final movement of Bach’s Second Brandenburg concerto
TEXTURE: Mvt. 2: ritornello-type texture in the fugal section. Tutti passages where the soloists double orchestra parts contrasts with episodes for three soloists and continuo.
Additionally, in Mvt.2 and Mvt. 4, tutti passages are homophonic in texture.
Homophony departs from the concerti of the earlier more contrapuntal tutti passages of Torelli
No. 1 of the Op. 8 set from 1709 - Torelli
TEXTURE: Mvt. 4: harmonisation of melodic line in thirds and sixths. Solo concertino violins sometimes play in thirds in the last movement.
Typical mid-Baroque trait.
Fourth Movement of Corelli’s Op. 3 No. 2 Trio Sonata
RHYTHM / METRE: Mvt. 1: use of continuous quavers in opening or continuous semiquavers in the first cello solo - gives piece rhythmic momentous drive - perpetuem mobile
Common to much Baroque music, common to many concerti of a similar time.
First movement of Bach’s Fourth Brandenburg Concerto (1717-1722)
RHYTHM / METRE: Mvt. 3: in compound quadruple time. Typical dotted rhythm of siciliano dance. Siciliano rhythms lend themselves to the creation of the pathos and expressive content of this movement.
Often used in the Baroque to invoke a pastoral atmosphere
Handel’s 1741 Messiah - the ‘Pastoral Symphony
The concerto grosso
Small group of soloists (concertino) against the full orchestra (ripieno).
Earlier example of concertino would be two violins and continuo (same as a trio sonata) and the ripieno would be a small string orchestra
Vivaldi and the Osperdale della Pieta
Worked there from 1704 - was an asylum in Venice for orphaned and abandoned girls. many orchestral works such as concerto grossi and solo concerti, were written for the girls that lived there.
Influences: Corelli
His concerto grossi were amongst the earliest of the form, demonstrate the use of solo-tutti contrast.
Resembled amplified trio sonatas - could be played by 3 people or 100
Imitated by his pupils.
Influences: Torelli
Idea of contrapuntal or fugal Allegro opening predominantly founded by Torelli
Also a pioneer of the ritornello form of first movement concerti
Twelve concerti of Op. 8 constitute one of the greatest achievements of the Baroque era
Vivaldi’s legacy
Innovator of the concerto style - famous set of four solo violin concerti , ‘The Four Seasons’ (1721)
Built on the traditions of earlier composers such as Torelli and Corelli, thus inhabiting a mid-Baroque style
Simultaneously looking to the future with new stylistic innovations such as the three-movement format of allegro-adagio-allegro.
Would go on to influence not only later German exponents of the genre but the very foundations of the typical solo concerto of the Classical era.
