BACH & VIVALDI Cantatas and Concertos

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH   Tail end of the Baroque era  Musical Family (for generations)  Orphaned by age 9  Raised by elder brother  Devout Lutheran

 Married twice Maria Barbara Bach (cousin) Died of unknown causes Anna Magdalena Died in poverty 10 years after Bach  Of 20 children, only 10 survived to adulthood, one with severe disabilities  Lived entire life in 200-mile radius PERSONAL LIFE

HIS WORK Almost half of his compositions have been lost Hundreds of Cantatas Entire works have been cataloged using a BWV code number (1100 +)

 From Italian cantare: to sing  A choral/vocal composition with instrumental accompaniment  Sacred or secular  Multiple movements/sections  Can include solos, duets, and full choir WHAT’S A CANTATA? Thomaskirche, Leipzig Characteristics

CHORALES: THE ANTI-PLAINCHANT

CHORALE-TUNES Strong folk and secular influence on church music The Lutheran musical tradition broke away from the Catholic plainchant tradition Dance meters and forms set newly written texts The congregation would have recognized the chorale tunes

CONCERTO  Some say the word Concerto means “fight” from a Latin root, referring to the competing roles of the soloist(s) and orchestra  An instrumental form, which helped solidify the emerging importance of both secular instrumental music  Most concertos are composed in 3 separate movements Fast Slow Fast

TO CLAP OR NOT TO CLAP?  Generally, you only clap at the end of the LAST movement or section  Most common practice era pieces are in 3 or 4 movements

 Group(s) of instruments vs. orchestra (gang fight)  Championed by Corelli, Torelli, & Händel  Later overtaken by solo concertos  Soloist(s) vs. orchestra (David vs. Goliath)  Often include Cadenza Short improvisatory solo section near the end of 1 st movement  Variations: Double Concerto Triple Concerto TYPES OF CONCERTOS Concerto Grosso Concerto

ANTONIO VIVALDI  (high Baroque)  Father was violinist  Learned violin at an early age  “Red Priest” ordained at age 25  Worked as a music teacher in an Venetian orphanage  Wrote over 500 Concertos  Died in poverty (Vienna)

WINTER, FROM: THE FOUR SEASONS Each season is actually a violin concerto Composed in 1723 Each concerto tries to depict the mood of a season Text painting without text! Excellent example of “Doctrine of Affections”