Music, Vivaldi: Bassoon concerto (in E minor)

• Employed by Pio Ospedale dell Pietà (Orphanage/conservatoire), in Venice
• Title was - 'Maestro di violino'
• Took Holy orders in the Church & given the name the "Red Priest"
• Vivaldi was a very talented musician

Violinist, Composer and director of Operas

There are typically 3 movements in Vivaldi's Concertos (quick-slow-quick)

• Written for pairs/groups of soloists, however, MOST OF HIS CONCERTOS WERE FOR SOLOISTS
• Wrote a total of 39 Bassoon concertos (suggests girls in conservatoir could play this standard of music)
• Wrote 230 Violin Concertos (Vivaldi played Violin)
• Ritornello Form alternates the main theme played by the orchestra, with soloist sections

Vivaldi's development of Ritornello Form = in quick movements

• Memorable melodies
• Strong rhythms
• Establishes clear sense of tonic at beginning

• Bar 1 = ornamentation (appogiaturas)
• Bar 2 = Lombardic rhythms/ Scotch snap
• Vln. 2 has melody - wide intervals, each note played on differnt string
• Accompaniment of repeated notes (Violas & Continuo)
• Triple stopping (Vln. 1) - emphasis on loud E minor chord
• Secondary theme (b) introduced - strong chord, then descending octave scale

Contrasting sounds

Bass = arpeggio figure to link 3 phrases

• Bassoon accompanied by continuo (cello & harpsichord)
• Harmony changes twice a bar
• Uses musical ideas from opening ritornello
• Bassoon opens with demisemiquaver arpeggios
• Call & answer between Vlns. & Bassoon
• Vivaldi uses descending sequence through Circle of 5ths
• Virtuoso features:

Rapid demisemiquaver arpeggios

Wide leaps in melody

Trills

Chromatic passages in high register

Rapid descending scale (demisemiquaver)

• Very short
• Key of B minor established (contrasting sound)
• Avoids major keys

• Bassoon takes up 'b' figure - 'b' theme of ritornello
• Newly developed material
• Vlns drop out fully, therefore only continuo
• Solo = free to develop & explore ideas
• Virtuoso bassoon writing:

Movement between register, wide leaps (bars 29-37)

Demisemiquaver passage work (bars 31-32)

Ornamentation - Trills & acciaccatura (bars 29-35)

Decoration of melodic line (bars 33-35)

Sustained melodic phrases (bars 33-37)

• A minor (longest of ritornello restatements)
• Quickly modulating to the Tonic (E minor)
• Lombaric rhythm

• Harmonic rhythm = 2 chords per bar
• Violins briefly interject with demisemiquaver arpeggio
• Bars 54-57 = new material of triplet semiquavers
• Harmony & textre = highly expressive effect
• Imaginative touch - Vln trills

• Final 2 bars repeat octave unison figure (drawing the end of the piece)
• Sounding like an echo (use of dynamics)