MONDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2015

QUOTE:
"Too many pieces of music finish too long after the end."
AUTHOR: Igor Stravinsky

MEANING OF THE QUOTE:
"The secret to writing a good piece of music is not to
  make it too short or too long. Timing is everything."

COMPOSER
VIVALDI

CONCERTO for FOUR VIOLINS,
CELLO, STRINGS, and CONTINUO
B MINOR OPUS 3 NO. 10 RV. 580
(L'Estro Armonico, 1711)
Viktoria Mullova, Baroque Violin
G. Antonini, Conductor
Il Giardino Armonico

https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-ts=142

1914688&v=4MdFsZQFeyU&x-yt-cl=84503534

1. Allegro

2. Largo e Spiccato

3. Allegro

This piece comes from a collection of concertos

called "L’Estro armonico." The first movement

is structured as an alternation between the

ritornello (the recurring theme played by the

entire or "tutti" ensemble) and solo sections,

usually for one of the four violins. Unusual for

Vivaldi, the slow movement consists of a chain

of sections in different tempi. The finale is a

gigue where the solo violins often

play in dialogue.

Bach (left) and Vivaldi (right)
http://internalvistas.blogspot.com/2013/05/vivaldi-and-bach.html

J. S. Bach was an admirer of Vivaldi's work
(though they had never met) and was deeply
influenced by it; so much so that he made
some transcriptions of Vivaldi's music
including one arranged for four harpsicords
based on this concerto for four violins.

L'Estro Armonico (Harmonic Inspiration),

Op. 3, is a collection of twelve concertos

(his first published collection of concertos)

for one, two, and four violins written by

Antonio Vivaldi in 1711 and dedicated

to the Grand Prince of Tuscany,

Ferdinand III de' Medici.

Ferdinando II de Medici

It augmented the reputation of Vivaldi as

Il Prete Rosso (The Red Priest). Vivaldi

scholar Michael Talbot described the set

as "perhaps the most influential

collection of instrumental music to

appear during the whole of the

eighteenth century."

http://imslp.org/wiki/L'estro_armonico,_Op.3_(Vivaldi,_Antonio)

Op. 3, L'Estro Armonico:

12 Concerti per Violini

(Complete)

Ottavio Dantone, Conductor 

Accademia Bizantina

https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-ts=1422

411861&v=XmGQ_bvM0lQ&x-yt-cl=84924572

BASSO CONTINUO
 PODCAST 
Basso Continuo is a form of musical
accompaniment (accompaning solo
instruments and singers as well as
instrumental groups) used in the
Baroque period. It means "continuous
bass" and is a method of thickening
musical textures by augmenting the
bass line. Usually this accompaniment
was played by a keyboard instrument
and another bass instrument such as
cello, violone (an old form of double bass

Sir Peter Lely: A Violone or "Great Bass Viol," c. 1640

or bassoon.

Dennis van Alsloot: Procession à Bruxelles, 1615

(Baroque bassoon at far left.)

The keyboard instrument was normally a

harpsichord or, if it was being played

in a church, an organ.

Harpsichord by Giacomo Ridolfi, Rome, ca. 

1660-1690 (left) and Italian Baroque Organ (right)

It was not usual to write out all the

notes for the keyboard player. The

composer normally just wrote the

bottom line (an independent bass

line) which would be played by the

bottom part of the left hand, and by

the cello or whatever the instrument

being used. The composer would

indicate what the harmony should

be (which chords should be played)

by writing figures underneath the

music . This is why this

accompaniment is sometimes called

"figured bass," besides the names of

"thoroughbass," or simply "continuo."

The continuo player will "realize"

the figured bass i.e. he will improvise

the chords which are shown. In

modern editions of old music the

figured bass part has normally been

realized (written out) by the editor.

Over the bass line the accompanist

would often improvise ornamental

bits on the treble top. Reading music

from a figured bass was a skill that 

all keyboard and piano players were

expected to have. They needed to

have a good understanding of music

theory, especially of harmony.

http://www.slideshare.net/MsMac0409/part-3-pgs-132178-baroque?related=3

The use of the basso continuo is

confined, for the most part, to music

of the Baroque era. So widespread

was the use of the basso continuo

that some people used to refer to

the Baroque period as the "basso

continuo era." Continuo groups are

employed in vocal and instrumental

ensembles ranging from three

musicians to larger groups.

A Baroque Ensemble

CONCERTO GROSSO
This concerto was written for "four soloists"
who are an ensemble in themselves (called
a "concertino" ensemble) who play along side
an accompanying ensemble called a "ripieno."
During the Baroque era this type of concerto,
very popular in its early years, was called a 
concerto grosso. It was soon to be largely
replaced by the solo concerto, which
had only one solo instrument.

BACH TRANSCRIPTION

Vivaldi's Concerto for Four Violins
was arranged by J. S. Bach

and reworked into his Concerto for Four

Harpsichords and Strings (BWV 1065).

Four Harpsicords

Other than altering the instrumentation, keeping close to

the original, Bach basically only changed the key from

B minor to A minor and filled in some bass harmony.

BACH:
CONCERTO in A MINOR, BWV 1065
for 4 HARPSICORDS,
STRINGS and BASSO CONTINUO
(Transcription of Vivaldi RV 580)
Helmut Müller-Brühl, Conductor
Cologne Chamber Orchestra

https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-cl=849
24572&v=U3-OfCHLO-U&x-yt-ts=1422411861

I. Allegro 00:06

II. Adagio 03:59

III. Allegro 06:02

Here is another version where you can see
all the harpsicords playing together:


BACH:

CONCERTO in A MINOR, BWV 1065

for 4 HARPSICORDS,

STRINGS and BASSO CONTINUO
(Transcription of Vivaldi RV 580)

Part 1:
1st Movement (Allegro)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6joYkUg

mjJw&x-yt-ts=1422411861&x-yt-cl=84924572

BACH:

CONCERTO in A MINOR, BWV 1065

for FOUR HARPSICORDS,

STRINGS and BASSO CONTINUO
(Transcription of Vivaldi RV 580)

Part 2:

2nd Movement (Adagio)
3rd Movement (Allegro)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-ts=14

22411861&x-yt-cl=84924572&v=t4bZ_q-l444

http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concerti_per_clavicembalo_di_Johann_Sebastian_Bach

http://www.marcbolanmusic.com/trex-album.aspx

LINKS

http://ccnmtl.columbia.edu/projects/sonicg/terms/basso_continuo.html
http://www.medieval.org/emfaq/misc/continuo.html
http://music.stackexchange.com/questions/318/why-was-basso
-continuo-not-widely-used-after-the-baroque-period
http://books.google.com.au/booksid=sneYoAFYXqsC&pg=
PA91&lpg=PA91&dq=facts+basso+continuo&source=bl&
ots=3x1sETo3R&sig=VSLNIeVpcBh14rE47qEMYWs7IOs&
hl=en&sa=X&ei=KqJ2T_GZHc2YiAe5lYHgBA&ved=0CFAQ
6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=facts%20basso%20continuo&
f=falsehttp://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basso_continuo
http://everything2.com/title/basso+continuo
http://imslp.org/wiki/Concerto_for_4_Violins_and_Cello_in_B_minor,_RV_580_(Vivaldi,_Antonio)
http://www.tso.ca/en-ca/Discover-the-Music/Programme-Notes/Concerto-in-B-Minor-for-Four-Violins.aspx
http://classicalsheetmusicgratis.org/string-orchestra-2
http://themusicsalon.blogspot.com/2014/10/concerto-guide-vivaldi-concerto-for.html
http://www.aam.co.uk/media/Files/Resources/Programme-notes/14-02_Tognetti.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-ts=1422411861&v=EhV9prGZnkk&x-yt-cl=84924572
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/L'Estro_Armonico

http://www.gendrot-illustration.com/tag/culture/