Slide 1

Slide 2 Concerto Ritornello Form Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 Vivaldi, Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (Spring) SELF-GUIDED STUDY Slide 3 Orchestra (aka tutti) 15-25 strings + harpsichord louder dynamics simpler music vs Soloist(s) 1 to 5 players may feature woodwinds, brass softer dynamics technical, virtuosic Concerto combines 2 highly contrasting groups: Most concertos have 3 or 4 movements. Slide 4 Movement 1 fast, energetic Ritornello form (always) Slide 5 Ritornello sections played by tutti returning theme or part of it Unity Solo sections played by soloist(s) New melody (ies) in each Solo section Contrast Contrast R 1 S 1R 1 S 1 R 2 S 2 R 3 S 3 R 4 S 4 etc R X R 2 S 2 R 3 S 3 R 4 U U U U CCC CCCCCCC Time 0:00 Time ?:?? Slide 6 R 1 R 2 R 3 R 4 R 5 R 6 R 7 R 8R 1 R 2 R 3 R 4 R 5 R 6 R 7 R 8 R 9 R 9 ______________________________________________ Connect Kamien 1.Ritornello theme (R) has two identification components: melodic contour double tone motive 2.Some R sections use both the melodic contour and motive; others employ only the motive. 3.Listen to each R section using Connect Kamien and indicate on the lines below what identifies it. NOTE: Kamien uses Tutti to refer to Ritornello. Slide 7 123456123456 Some Solo sections include bits of the Ritornello theme in the background or as a brief part of the solo melody. Which of these excerpts do this? When you have mastered this and the previous slide, you are ready to listen to the entire movement. Slide 8 Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D Maj, Mvt. 1 Concerto Grosso I= ritornello form soloists= flute, violin, harpsichord long harpsichord cadenza a technical tour de force much drive toward final ritornello Connect Kamien VLChasten audio -0.500s Slide 9 R 1 R 2 R 3 =Unity RSR=Contrast S 1 S 2 S 3 =Contrast Slide 10 Vivaldi Concerto for Violin & Orchestra, Op. 8, No. 1, (Spring from the Four Seasons ), Mvt. 1 Concerto I= Ritornello form Program music Connect Kamien Slide 11 Listen to movement 1 of Vivaldis Violin Concerto. using Connect Kamien, my formal analysis (next slide) and the Kamien text. 1.Can you identify each recurrence of R? 2.Who is supposed to play in a ritornello forms S sections? 3.Who plays in Vivaldis S 1 S 2 S 4 sections? (Check the book!!) 4.Do you agree that Vivaldi is breaking ritornello formal rules? 5.Explain how S 1 and S 4 can produce both contrast and unity. 6.Compare and contrast the Vivaldi and Bach movements: How many formal sections in each movement? Which movements structure is more consistent with ritornello form? Which is longer? Which has the greater energy? (This is somewhat subjective. 7. What is program music? Use Kamien or VA Tech Music DictionaryVA Tech Music Dictionary 8.Why is the Spring Concerto said to be programmatic? Slide 12 Ritornello form R1S1R2S2R3S3R4S4R5S5R6R1S1R2S2R3S3R4S4R5S5R6 Song birds Murmuring streams Thunder, lightning Song birds Vivaldis Concerto, Mvt 1 Connect Kamien Slide 13 1. Vivaldi wrote >450 concertos for strings, woodwinds, and brasses. Why did he and his contemporaries write so much music? 2. Google Stradivari and/or Stradivari violin and scan several items to get an idea of Stradivaris life span, work, and place in the history of violin making. Describe the quality of string instruments made in Italy during Vivaldis life. 3. Vivaldi wrote more than 300 concertos for strings (>230 for violin). Vivaldi and the string instrument makers, Stradivari, Amati, Guarnerius were nearly contemporaries. See a connection? 4. Remember program music? 5. In what musical era or century is program music particularly popular? 6. Can you cite elements of Vivaldis Violin Concerto that make it programmatic? 7. Does Vivaldi compose at the beginning, middle, or end of the Baroque era? When did Vivaldi compose his Spring concerto? 8. As musical eras draw to a close it is common for composers to experiment and innovate. Might this phenomenon have influenced Vivaldi? 9. What, then, is Vivaldis role in the development of music?