Page 106 - ESSENTIAL LISTENING TO MUSIC

Between appearances of the ritornello, Vivaldi inserts program music de- picting spring: solo violins chirp on high, undulating strings suggest a babbling brook, and string tremolos ominously portend a gathering storm.
Finally, Vivaldi’s “Spring” Concerto is marked by a musical procedure prominent in his music: melodic sequence. A melodic sequence is the rep- etition of a musical motive at successively higher or lower degrees of the scale, as in Example 5.8, where the pattern is repeated twice, each time a step lower.
Example 5.8 > melodic sequence
Although melodic sequence can be found in music from almost all periods, it is especially prevalent in the Baroque. It helps propel the music forward and create the energy we associate with Baroque style. But because hearing the same melodic phrase time and again can become tedious, Baroque composers usu- ally follow the “three strikes and you’re out” rule: the melodic unit appears, as in Example 5.8, three times, but no more.
Vivaldi composed more than 450 concertos and in his day was widely ad- mired as both a performer and a composer. But Dame Fortune can be a fickle mistress. Within a few years of his death, Vivaldi was largely forgotten, a vic- tim of rapidly changing musical tastes. Not until the revival of Baroque music in the 1950s were his scores resurrected from obscure libraries and dusty archives. Now his music is loved for its freshness and vigor, its exuberance and daring. More than 200 professional recordings have been made of The Seasons alone. So often is the “Spring” Concerto played that it has passed from the realm of art music into that of “classical pop”—a staple at Starbucks.
Listening Cue
Antonio Vivaldi, The “Spring” Concerto (early 1700s), first movement, Allegro (fast)
Genre: Concerto
Texture: Ritornello
what to listen for: The ritornello played by the tutti alternating and contrasting with the descriptive music of the soloists
reAD . . . a detailed Listening Guide of this selection online. LiSTeN TO . . . this selection streaming online.
84 chapter five baroque art and music
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LiSTeN TO . . . Example 5.8 online.
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