Antonio Vivaldi (1 gen 1678 anni – 1 gen 1741 anni)

Descrizione:

The leading Italian composer of concertos. Although he also wrote many operas and cantatas, he is best known today for the some five hundred concertos that he composed. His most famous are obviously The Four Seasons

Some concertos were modeled on the ABA format of opera seria arias. Pieces of this type usually dispensed with the slow opening "Preludio"and had three MOVEMENTS: FAST RITORNELLO ONES FRAMING A SLOW cantabile, a lyrical accompanied solo.

A venetian priest, known as the "Red-haired priest" for his hari and fiery temper. Taught girls at an ospedale (like a conservatorio).

500 concertos, 350 feature solo instrument, 230.

Concertos with multiple soloists, known as the concertinto group, which alternate with the full ensemble, know as the ripieno.

Since there are so many concertos, it's not surprising that they follow same procedures time and again, just like opera composers. The sequence of ritornellos in a first movement defines and unifies the structure both melodically and tonally. In between come the solos, called episodes, which alternate not only with the ritornellos but also with the full ensemble.

In contrast to the ripienos that are confined to repetitions, sometimes abridged, of the ritornello, the soloist rarely repeats musical material. Episodes present new hurdles progressively more challenging in figuration, such as arpeggios, fast slurred scales, and wide-leaping triplets. The typical concerto mvoement offers a fascinating interplay of the fixed and the fluid: one body of players is confined to a single idea or group of ideas, while the other, either solo or soloists plus continuo, is seemingly unconstrained in its spontaneous unfolding. One group favors repetition, the other favors diversity. The full ensemble is dramatically subordinate but structurally dominant, while the soloist is dramatically dominant but structurally subordinate. Their effect together is one of disparate parts fitting harmoniously into a satisfying, functionally differentiated whole, all of it grounded by the constant auxiliary presence of the basso continuo, everyone's companion and aide. All this may suggest a social metaphor of some kind. Indeed, the concerto form has always been viewed as a sort of model of social interaction, of coordinated or competitive activity. That is one of the things that has invested its seemingly abstract patterns with meaning and fascination for listeners.

The remaining two movements of a typical concerto amplify the sense of kinship with opera seria. A slow second movement is most often scored for soloist and continuo alone and projects the feeling of a florid song over a static bass. The final movement is usually another ritornello-style composition that brings back the full ensemble. Typically shorter and less serious than the first movement, it provides a framing conclusion to the three-part whole. The concerto thus reproduces in its texture the effect of a typical da capo aria: outer sections with ritornellos frame a contrasting middle section in which the soloist is accompanied by the continuo instruments only.

Aggiunto al nastro di tempo:

Data: