Vivaldi’s prodigious output of concertos for a single instrument heard against a string ensemble similarly inspired Bach’s unparalleled solo concerti for harpishord and violin. The concerti grossi of Corelli, Albinoni, Vivaldi and Handel provided a stimulus for Bach’s Brandenburg Concerti, in which two or more soloists, often of different instrumental types, embellish the larger ensemble’s music as well as taking solo turns. Renaissance consort music, or even Bach’s Art of Fugue, or the canons from his Musical Offering).Ĭoncerto grosso signifies a larger ensemble (many instruments doubling the various voices) out of which a smaller ensemble of soloists periodically appears, rendering a chiaroscuro effect, or at very least an arresting sound-color change. Bach labeled some of his cantatas “concerto.” He seems to be using the word to signify a musical work designated for specific instruments (as well as voices) as opposed to a more abstract work that might be played by any combination of instruments and/or voices (e.g. To further complicate the issue, the word concerto in Italian might signify a composition, an ensemble, or simply a concert. At any rate, both forms evoke the human drama of the individual against the backdrop of the collective, though in dramatically different ways. The English variants of the word (concert, concerted, consent, consort) seem to favor this more consensual aspect. The earlier composers fashioned smaller-scale compositions featuring one or more instruments in which the soloists seem to emerge from the orchestra for solo passages and then step decorously back into the ensemble – firsts among equals.

The later 19 th-century composers pit the grand piano against a large orchestra, and part of the rhetoric of their concertos evokes a pitched battle that often ends in a triumphant draw. The verb concertare in Latin translates as “to contend, dispute, debate,” whereas in Italian concertare signifies “to arrange, get together, agree upon.” This brainteaser is dramatized wonderfully when one contemplates the concertos, say, of Tchaikovsky, Grieg or Liszt as opposed to those of Bach, Vivaldi or Mozart. The root of this confusion lies in its etymological history. The word “concerto” is one of those fascinating words that has many meanings, some of which seem to be opposites. (Allegro) –- Adagio - Allegro –- Menuet and three Trios

Hipocondrie Jan Disman Zelenka (1679-1745)Ĭoncerto for two violins Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) Grave sostenuto – da Capella Presto – Largo andante - Vivace

Stephen Hammer, Priscilla Herreid, Fiona Last, baroque oboe Todd Williams and John Manganaro, natural horn Andrew Schwartz, baroque bassoon Julie Leven, Edson Scheid, Jane Starkman, Daniel Stepner, Asako Takeuchi, Lena Wong, baroque violin Anne Black, Laura Jeppesen, baroque viola ~ Marcus Thompson, viola d’amore and baroque viola Sarah Freiburg, baroque cello ~ Andrew Arceci, violone Michael Sponseller, harpsichordĬoncerto for violin, two oboes, two horns and strings Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)Ĭoncerto armónico III Unico Van Wassenaer (1792-1866)

Vivaldi concertos