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CHAPTERfi27 Sounding Spring: Vivaldi and
the Baroque Concerto
B. Program music: Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons
1. four solo violin concertos, one for each season
2. program music: literary link
a. each concerto accompanied by a poem
b. poetry printed above passages of music
c. music portrays action and emotion of text
C. LG 17: Vivaldi: Spring, from The Four Seasons
(La primavera from Le quattro stagioni), Op. 8,
No.1, First Movement (published 1725)
1. Allegro in E Major
2. orchestral ritornello alternates with solo violin
episodes
3. violin episodes: depict sounds of spring
a. birds: trills and high running scales
b. storm: agitated repeated notes in low strings
c. florid violin passage leads to final ritornello
OVERVIEW
The study of instrumental music of the Baroque era contin-
ues with a focus on the concerto. The four concertos of Viv–
aldi’s Four Seasons are singled out both for their archetypal
ritornello form and as an early venture into the world of pro–
gram music.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. To understand the Baroque era as an age that saw the
development of the concerto, an instrumental genre fea-
turing one or more instrumental soloists and a larger
orchestra
OUTLINE
I. The Baroque Concerto
A. One or more featured instruments with larger
orchestral ensemble
1. three movements: Allegro– Adagio– Allegro
2. experiments in sonority and virtuosic playing
3. first and third movements: ritornello form
a. refrain– based structure
b. orchestral refrains, virtuosic outbursts
(episodes) by soloist(s)
B. Concerto developed in Italy
1. embraced by performers and patrons
2. genre spread north, six Brandenburg Concertos
by J. S. Bach
3. Antonio Vivaldi: one of the most famous, pro–
lific composers of his era
II. Antonio Vivaldi and the Solo Concerto
A. Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741)
1. Venetian composer, violin virtuoso
2. ordained priest (“red priest”)
3. music master at Conservatorio dell’Ospedale
della Pietà, Venice
a. school attached to girls’ orphanage
b. concerts attracted visitors from all over Eu rope
4. renowned during his lifetime as a performer
5. “ father of the concerto”
a. exploited contrast in sonorities
b. established ritornello form
c. developed violin style, technique: rapid scale
passages, extended arpeggios, contrasting
registers
6. output: over 500 concertos (230 for solo violin),
sinfonias, operas, other vocal music
make up the ripieno group before playing the example. This
will help them avoid confusing the ripieni (episodes) with the
tutti (ritornellos) as they listen.
SUPPLEMENTAL REPERTORY
Vivaldi: L’estro armonico, Op. 3
Bach: Violin Concerto in E Major, BWV 1042
SUPPLEMENTAL BIBLIOGRAPHY
YOUR TURN TO EXPLORE
With a classmate or two, find an example of instrumental
music with a title that describes some place or mood or activ–
ity. What specific ele ments of the music do you think were
MODEL RESPONSE
tative of birdsong, the composer places it in the high wood-
winds (a timbre close to that of birds) and incorporates
repetition and ornamental trills, similar to the way birdsong
2. To understand Vivaldi’s concertos as establishing ritor–
nello form, the standard design of Baroque concerto first
and last movements
3. To understand Vivaldi’s Four Seasons as early examples
of program music
LECTURE SUGGESTIONS
1. After reviewing the structural components of ritornello
form, play the first movement of Vivaldi’s Spring from
The Four Seasons. Have students in pairs map out the
the ritornellos and episodes as they occur. Then ask the
class how the ritornellos are similarly constructed, yet
dif fer ent from one another.
2. Display the text of the poem that accompanies Vivaldi’s
Spring from The Four Seasons. Have students form
small groups to identify how the music reflects the
words and meaning of the text as the example plays.
ASSIGNMENT SUGGESTIONS
1. Think back to the da capo aria from Chapter24 (Handel’s
“Rejoice greatly,” Listening Guide 14). What structural
TEACHING CHALLENGES