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INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC OF THE BAROQUE
First movement
Ritornello form
Second movement
Third movement
above a certain passage in the score; the music at that point mirrors graphically the
action described; this literary link is called program music.
In Spring (La primavera), the mood and atmosphere of the poem are literally
evoked. The poem is a sonnet whose first two quatrains (making eight lines of text)
are distributed throughout the first movement, an Allegro in E major. (See Listening
Guide 24 for the text.) The solo violin is accompanied by an orchestra consisting of
strings—first and second violins, violas, and cellos—with the basso continuo realized (improvised from the figured bass) on harpsichord or organ.
Both poem and music evoke the birds’ joyous welcome to spring and the gentle
murmur of streams, followed by thunder and lightning. The image of birdcalls takes
shape in staccato notes, trills, and running scales; the storm is portrayed by agitated
repeated notes answered by quickly ascending minor-key scales. Throughout, an
orchestral ritornello, or refrain, returns again and again (representing the general
mood of spring) in alternation with the episodes, which often feature the solo violin.
Ultimately, “the little birds take up again their melodious song” as we return to the
home key. A florid passage for the soloist leads to the final ritornello.
In the second movement, a Largo in 3/4, Vivaldi evokes an image from the poem
of the goatherd who sleeps “in a pleasant, flowery meadow” with his faithful dog by
his side. Over the bass line played by the violas, which sound an ostinato rhythm, he
wrote, “The dog who barks.” This dog clearly has a sense of rhythm. The solo violin
unfolds a tender, melancholy melody in the most lyrical Baroque style. In the finale,
an Allegro marked “Rustic Dance,” we can visualize nymphs and shepherds cavorting in the fields as the music suggests the drone of bagpipes. Ritornellos and solo passages alternate in bringing the work to a happy conclusion.
Like Bach, Vivaldi was renowned in his day as a performer rather than a composer. Today, he is recognized both as the “father of the concerto,” having established ritornello form as its basic procedure, and as a herald of musical Romanticism
in his use of pictorial imagery.
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I]ZCdgidcGZXdgY^c\h
I]ZDca^cZA^hiZc^c\AVW
Listening Guide
-
Vivaldi: Spring, from The Four Seasons (La primavera,
from Le quattro stagioni), Op. 8, No. 1
DATE OF WORK:
GENRE:
Published 1725
I. Allegro
89"GDB
89"GDB
I]Z:c_dnbZcid[Bjh^X
89"GDB
I]Z:c_dnbZcid[Bjh^X!
H]dgiZg
I]Z:c_dnbZcid[Bjh^X!
H]dgiZgZWdd`
HijYn<j^YZ
Programmatic concerto for solo violin, Op.I]ZCdgidcHXdgZh
8 (The Contest Between
Harmony and Inspiration), Nos. 1–4, each based on an Italian sonnet,
with 3 movements each:
No. 1: Spring (La primavera)
No. 2: Summer (L’estate)
HijYnHeVXZ
oll
)
No. 3: Autumn (L’autunno)
No. 4: Winter (L’inverno)
Joyful spring has arrived,
the birds greet it with their cheerful song,
and the brooks in the gentle breezes
flow with a sweet murmur.
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25
The Baroque Sonata and Concerto
The sky is covered with a black mantle,
and thunder and lightning announce a storm.
When they fall silent, the little birds
take up again their melodious song.
II. Largo
And in the pleasant, flowery meadow,
to the gentle murmur of bushes and trees,
the goatherd sleeps, his faithful dog at his side.
III. Allegro
(Rustic Dance)
To the festive sounds of a rustic bagpipe
nymphs and shepherds dance in their favorite spot
when spring appears in its brilliance.
First Movement: Allegro; in ritornello form, E major
WHAT TO LISTEN FOR:
Distinctive timbre of Baroque-period string instruments.
Musical pictorialization of images of spring, based on the poem (birds,
babbling brooks, gentle breezes, thunder and lightning).
Virtuosity of solo violin part, with fast-running scales and trills.
Recurring theme (ritornello, representing spring) that unifies the
movement.
Ritornello theme:
# # # # c œ œ œ œ œ œ œJ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œJ œ œ
&
J
J
J
DESCRIPTION
œ œ œ œ œ œtr
œ
J
J
œ
etc.
PROGRAM
Ritornello 1, in E major.
Spring
Episode 1; solo violin with birdlike trills and high
running scales, accompanied by violins
Birds
Ritornello 2.
Spring
Episode 2; whispering figures like water flowing,
played by orchestra.
Murmuring brooks
Ritornello 3.
Spring
Episode 3 modulates; solo violin with repeated
notes, fast ascending minor-key scales,
accompanied by orchestra.
Thunder, lightning
Ritornello 4, in relative minor (C-sharp).
Spring
Episode 4; trills and repeated notes in solo violin.
Birds
Ritornello 5, returns to E major; brief solo passage
interrupts.
Closing tutti.
(Shorter recordings stop here.)
Listening Guide continues
193
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INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC OF THE BAROQUE
Second Movement: Largo; 3/4 meter, C-sharp minor, orchestration
reduced—for solo violin, 2 violins, and viola
WHAT TO LISTEN FOR:
Singing solo violin melody, with sparse accompaniment (no low
strings).
Slow movement suggests images of a peaceful meadow and sleeping
goatherd.
Repeated rhythmic pattern in bottom part (violas) represents the
barking dog.
Opening of movement, with solo violin, slow and melodious, representing the sleeping goatherd (“Il
capraro che dorme”) and viola, with insistent rhythm, the dog barking (“Il cane che grida”):
Largo e pianissimo sempre
Il capraro che dorme œ
etc.
œ œ ˙
¬ #### 3
œ
∑
œ
Violino
4
solo
&
#### 3
Violino
4 œ .œ œ .œ œ .œ œ .œ œ . œ œ . œ œ .œ œ .œ œ .œ œ .œ œ . œ œ . œ œ .œ œ .œ œ .œ œ .œ œ .œ #œ .œ
ß &
I
#### 3
Í
Violino
4 œ .œ œ .œ œ .œ œ .œ œ . œ œ . œ œ .œ œ .œ œ .œ œ .œ œ . œ œ . œ œ .œ œ .œ œ .œ œ .œ œ .œ œ .œ
II
&
che grida
# # # # 3 ‰ Il cane
œ
Œ
œ
4
LB
J
Viola
‰ œ œ
J
Œ
‰ œ œ
J
Œ
Third Movement: Danza Pastorale (Rustic Dance), Allegro; in ritornello form,
E major
WHAT TO LISTEN FOR:
Lively dance in compound meter (12/8)
Violins play over sustained lower strings, like a bagpipe.
Alternation of full orchestra (with ritornellos) and solo violin, as in first
movement.
Opening of movement, with dance tune (ritornello) in upper strings; lilting, compound meter; sustained
notes (like bagpipe drone) in lower strings:
# # # # 12 œ . œ œ œ
Violino
8
solo
&
con sordino
#
#
# 128 œ . œ œ œ
#
Violino
ß &
I
sordino
# # # # 12 con
œ. œ œ œ
Í
Violino
8
II
&
.
# # # # 12 w
Viola
8
B
¬
Basso Cont.
(Violoncello
e basso)
Allegro
# # 12 w .
L? # # 8
œ œ. œ œ
J
J
œ œ. œ œ
J
J
œ. œ œ œ œ œ. œ œ
J
J
œ. œ œ œ œ œ. œ œ
J
J
etc.
œ . œ œ œ . œ œ œtr . trœ .
œ œ. œ œ
J
J
œ. œ œ œ œ œ. œ œ
J
J
w.
œ. œ œ œ. œ œ œ. œ.
w.
w.
˙.
œ. œ œ œ. œ œ œ. œ.
˙.