The Baroque Concerto and Antonio Vivaldi

Vocabulary flashcards covering the development of the Baroque concerto, ritornello form, and the compositional contributions of Antonio Vivaldi.

Baroque Period

A musical era beginning in 1600 during which instrumental music rose in status to match vocal music, culminating in forms such as the sonata and concerto.

Concerto

The most prestigious type of Baroque instrumental music originating in the 1680s and 1690s, built around the concept of contrasting bodies of sound across multiple movements.

Concerto Grosso

A type of Baroque concerto featuring a small group of solo instruments (such as three players) set in contrast against the larger ensemble.

Solo Concerto

A concerto format featuring one or two soloists paired with a string orchestra, highlighting a theatrical, opera-like solo performance.

Ritornello

An Italian term meaning refrain or return, designating the recurring orchestral theme that frames the solo passages in a concerto movement.

Ritornello Form

A formal structure used in the first and last movements of a concerto where a full ensemble refrain alternates with contrasting solo episodes in various keys.

Episodes

The virtuosic solo sections placed between ritornello statements that feature modulations to new keys, sequences, and flashy passagework.

Antonio Vivaldi

An influential early eighteenth-century Venetian composer, violinist, and priest who standardized ritornello form and composed around 500 concertos.

Saint Mark's Cathedral

A prominent cathedral in Venice where Antonio Vivaldi's father was employed as a violinist, exposing Vivaldi to advanced musical practices.

Vivaldi's String Section Division

A standard orchestral grouping established by Vivaldi dividing strings into first violins, second violins, violas, cellos, and bass violins.

Three-Movement Concerto Plan

A standard tempo structure established by Vivaldi consisting of an opening fast movement, a slow movement in a related key, and a closing fast movement.

The Four Seasons

A celebrated set of four violin concertos by Antonio Vivaldi depicting spring, summer, autumn, and winter based on poetic texts.

Program Music

Instrumental music that tells a story or illustrates an extra-musical narrative, such as the natural scenes depicted in Vivaldi's The Four Seasons.

Gut Strings

Instrument strings made of animal intestine used during the Baroque era that produced a softer and mellower timbre than modern strings.