Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (1678- 1741), nicknamed il Prete
Rosso ("The Red Priest") because of his red hair, was
an Italian Baroque composer, Catholic priest, and
virtuoso violinist, born in Venice. Recognized as one
of the greatest Baroque composers, his influence during
his lifetime was widespread over Europe. Vivaldi is
known mainly for composing instrumental concertos,
especially for the violin, as well as sacred choral
works and over forty operas. His best known work is a
series of violin conce...(+)
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (1678- 1741), nicknamed il Prete
Rosso ("The Red Priest") because of his red hair, was
an Italian Baroque composer, Catholic priest, and
virtuoso violinist, born in Venice. Recognized as one
of the greatest Baroque composers, his influence during
his lifetime was widespread over Europe. Vivaldi is
known mainly for composing instrumental concertos,
especially for the violin, as well as sacred choral
works and over forty operas. His best known work is a
series of violin concertos known as The Four
Seasons.
Vivaldi wrote such a large number of concerti (more
than 500 survive, even though most were never published
during the composer's lifetime) that certain
"normative" formulas inevitably emerge: the clear
solo/tutti differentiations and alternations within the
ritornello-form first movement, the binary or variation
form of the slow second movement, and the fast,
virtuosic finale. The expectations established by these
norms, however, set off all the more distinctly the
many instances where the composer deviates from the
"standard" scheme, and while the work under
consideration here, the Concerto in F Major, RV 99,
adheres to some of the standard Vivaldian procedures,
it also exhibits a number of unusual features. First
and foremost, the RV 99 concerto is one of a relatively
small subset of Vivaldi's concertos that do not employ
a separate ripieno orchestra to accompany the featured
soloist or soloists. Rather, these so-called chamber
concertos, of which survive 23, employ a small
instrumental ensemble, usually three woodwinds or
strings with basso continuo. They maintain the concerto
format, however, by making clear textural distinctions
between the full ensemble of the tutti sections and
solos or duets in the intervening episodes. In the RV
99 concerto, however, these distinctions are blurred by
a highly variable relationship between instrumentation
and form and by musical materials that recur and
transform within a variety of contexts. Whereas
Vivaldi's first-movement ritornellos often appear in
their entirety at the beginning and then in fragments
between the subsequent episodic sections, the opening
of this concerto recurs more or less intact, with
surface alterations each time. A simple rising and
falling melody passed between the recorder and oboe
forms the main motive, followed by an exchange of
descending syncopated lines. The episodes likewise all
follow similar harmonic and melodic contours -- also
with a particularly prominent descending sequence --
giving the overall movement more of a sense of
variation form. Vivaldi rarely leaves much open space
in his textures, but the second movement stands out for
its melodic restraint and use of rests. Cast in a
standard binary form, the movement features
intermittent melodic turns echoed between the recorder
and oboe above a steady walking bassline in the
bassoon. The lively final movement, on the other hand,
leaves no gaps unfilled and virtually eliminates any
distinction between solo and tutti, its intertwined
motives hurrying anxiously forward, virtually without
pause, until arriving at the final chord.
Although originally written for Strings & Basso
Continuo, I created this arrangement for String Quartet
(2 Violins, Viola & Cello).
