1. Chapter 9 Baroque Instrumental Music
Concerto and Concerto Grosso: Vivaldi

2. Key Terms Concerto Concerto grosso Concertare Movement Ritornello form
Archlute
Variation form
Basso continuo
Chaconne
Passacaglia
Ground
Ground bass
Double listening

3. Baroque Instrumental Music (1)
For the first time, listeners & musicians took instrumental music seriously
Rise of instrumental music paralleled improvements in instrument-building
Stradivarius, Silbermann, etc.
How long should a piece be?
With vocal music, when the words are done
With instrumental music, no equivalent guide
Instrumental forms & genres had to provide guidelines

4. Baroque Instrumental Music (2)
How to extend purely instrumental music in time in a logical manner?
Repetition, return, sequence, & imitation
Begin & end in the same key
How to create interest and drama?
Contrast & variation
Modulate to other keys in the middle
String contrasting movements together
Baroque forms and genres combine these techniques in various ways

5. Concerto and Concerto Grosso
The most important orchestral genres of the Baroque era
Latin concertare = to contend
Concerto signifies a contest between—
Soloist & orchestra (concerto)
Group of soloists & orchestra (concerto grosso)
Virtuoso brilliance of solos & orchestra’s power, stability

6. Movements Movement = self-contained section of a larger work
Many Baroque works create drama & length by stringing together several short, contrasting pieces (movements)
A typical concerto has three movements
I – bright, extroverted, in a fast tempo
II – slower, quieter, more emotional
III – similar to 1st movement, often faster

7. Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) Famous as violinist & composer
Most popular Baroque concerto composer
Four Seasons his most popular work
Wrote over 500 concertos
The “Red Priest” was also music teacher at a Venetian orphanage
Renowned for quality of musical training
Famous for student concerts
Frequent travel to perform his concertos & operas in musical centers of Europe

8. Vivaldi, Violin Concerto in G
Vivaldi concertos often published in sets of 6 or 12
Sets often given descriptive titles—
La stravaganza (Extravagance), Four Seasons, or L’estro armonico (Harmonic Whims)
Op. 4, No. 12 is the last concerto in his fourth published set (Latin opus = work)
Concerto for solo violin & orchestra
Uses standard three-movement format
I & III fast, brilliant, ritornello form
II slower, gentler, ground bass form

9. Vivaldi, Violin Concerto in G, I (1)
Tempo “Spirited, not too fast”
Subdivides into three short sections–a, b, c
Alternates between 1st & 2nd violin sections