Antonio Vivaldi

Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (1678- 1741), nicknamed il Prete Rosso ("The Red Priest") because of his red hair, was an Italian Baroque composer, Catholic priest, and virtuoso violinist, born in Venice. Recognized as one of the greatest Baroque composers, his influence during his lifetime was widespread over Europe. Vivaldi is known mainly for composing instrumental concertos, especially for the violin, as well as sacred choral works and over forty operas. His best known work is a series of violin concertos known as The Four Seasons.

Vivaldi wrote such a large number of concerti (more than 500 survive, even though most were never published during the composer's lifetime) that certain "normative" formulas inevitably emerge: the clear solo/tutti differentiations and alternations within the ritornello-form first movement, the binary or variation form of the slow second movement, and the fast, virtuosic finale. The expectations established by these norms, however, set off all the more distinctly the many instances where the composer deviates from the "standard" scheme, and while the work under consideration here, the Concerto in F Major, RV 99, adheres to some of the standard Vivaldian procedures, it also exhibits a number of unusual features. First and foremost, the RV 99 concerto is one of a relatively small subset of Vivaldi's concertos that do not employ a separate ripieno orchestra to accompany the featured soloist or soloists. Rather, these so-called chamber concertos, of which survive 23, employ a small instrumental ensemble, usually three woodwinds or strings with basso continuo. They maintain the concerto format, however, by making clear textural distinctions between the full ensemble of the tutti sections and solos or duets in the intervening episodes. In the RV 99 concerto, however, these distinctions are blurred by a highly variable relationship between instrumentation and form and by musical materials that recur and transform within a variety of contexts. Whereas Vivaldi's first-movement ritornellos often appear in their entirety at the beginning and then in fragments between the subsequent episodic sections, the opening of this concerto recurs more or less intact, with surface alterations each time. A simple rising and falling melody passed between the recorder and oboe forms the main motive, followed by an exchange of descending syncopated lines. The episodes likewise all follow similar harmonic and melodic contours -- also with a particularly prominent descending sequence -- giving the overall movement more of a sense of variation form. Vivaldi rarely leaves much open space in his textures, but the second movement stands out for its melodic restraint and use of rests. Cast in a standard binary form, the movement features intermittent melodic turns echoed between the recorder and oboe above a steady walking bassline in the bassoon. The lively final movement, on the other hand, leaves no gaps unfilled and virtually eliminates any distinction between solo and tutti, its intertwined motives hurrying anxiously forward, virtually without pause, until arriving at the final chord.

Although originally written for Strings & Basso Continuo, I created this arrangement for String Quartet (2 Violins, Viola & Cello).