The Baroque concerto grosso (c.

1675–1750)

Late in the 17th century, within a generation after the vocal-instrumental concerto
had last flourished in Germany, the concerto grosso began to assume a clear identity
of its own in Italy and soon after in Germany and beyond. Its main ingredients have
been noted earlier—the opposition of choirs or choir and soloists, the exchanges of
melodic imitation, the trio setting of soloists, and even the use of “concertate” in a
title of a purely instrumental work (by Castello). Other purely instrumental precedents
of the mature concerto grosso exist in the considerable literature of music for
opposing instrumental choirs in numerous “sonatas,” “sinfonias,” and “canzone”
(instrumental pieces in several sections), starting with the works of Giovanni Gabrieli.
Such anticipations, including the Sinfonia à 8 (i.e., in eight parts; 1618) of one
Francesco Usper—a fortuitous, miniature concerto grosso in all but the name—
accumulated during the 17th century. Good examples are the orchestral “trumpet
sonatas” written in Bologna, Italy, during the second half. But not until the 1670s did
the term concerto grosso itself come into general use. It indicated the larger of two
contrasting instrumental groups within a composition, and in this sense the term was
opposed to concertino (the smaller group), and signified the relation of full orchestra
to one or more soloists. By 1698 it appeared as an actual title itself, in the published
Concerti grossi…, by an Italian, Lorenzo Gregori. That this title did indicate a composite
concept (i.e., of opposing instrumental groups) is evidenced by frequent distinctions
in prefaces and tables of contents between it (or its shorter equivalent, “Concerti”)
and the sinfonia or sonata. As one example, the Sinfonie a tre e concerti a quattro
(Sinfonias in Three Parts and Concertos in Four Parts, Opus 5; 1692), by the Italian
violinist and composer Giuseppe Torelli makes a distinction not only in the number of
parts but in the style: between a dense, polyphonic, older style in the sinfonias, often
performed with only one player to a part, and a newer, more open style in the concerti,
suitable to multiple (orchestral) performance of the parts. As another example,
whereas the German Georg Muffat had already called attention to the tuttisoli
dispositions in his five orchestral “Sonate” of 1682, when he republished these in 1701
with revisions he changed the title of each to “Concerto.”

Orchestration
Fundamental not only to the scoring but to the style, and even the musical structure
of the Baroque concerto, was the opposition between the full orchestra, or concerto
grosso (also called tutti, or ripieno), and the concertino (also called soli, or principale).
A full complement of strings, usually two to four on a part, often sufficed for the “full
orchestra,” in addition to the one to three instruments needed to play and realize the
basso continuo. Usually at least a low melody instrument, bowed or blown, and a
chordal instrument, plucked or keyed, were used for the basso continuo. The same
trio setting that had been popular from the start of the century, typically two violins
and a cello, often served as the concertino. When the concertino was not playing soli
passages it figured as part of the concerto grosso. Illustrative of these typical settings
is the celebrated Christmas Concerto (Opus 6, No. 8; 1714), by the Italian violinist and
composer Arcangelo Corelli. The basso continuo sometimes rested while the
concertino played (a frequent procedure in Vivaldi’s concerti). One significant
consequence of the tutti–soli relationship and its opposition of weighty and light
masses of sound was a tendency to sharpen the contrast with the popular Baroque
device of “terrace dynamics,” or blocks of contrasting loud and soft sound. This
occurred especially in the echo effect of a soli passage played piano after a tutti
passage played forte. To this dynamic contrast might be added the rhythmic contrast
between steady, solid beats in the tutti and more intricate, quicker figures in the soli,
growing out of that same tendency toward simplicity, on the one hand, and virtuosity,
on the other. Furthermore, not only all of the melodic ornamentation but also most
of the passagework were ordinarily given to the soli rather than the tutti. When the
tutti strings were augmented by wind instruments and the concertino was reduced to
two players or only one (resulting in the first solo concerti), all these oppositions
became that much more pronounced. Attention may be called, too, to the artful
highlighting of the contrasts through different spacing—that is, through varied
alternations of the two groups, now frequent, now less frequent after longer passages.
These several means of contrast provided by motive interplay hardly exhaust the
sources of variety to be found in the Baroque concerto grosso. Much variety is
achieved in another of its basic kinds of opposition or competition. This is the motivic
(or imitative) interplay between parts that is so characteristic of the stile concertato,
or concerted style.

Such interplay may occur either between tutti and soli choirs or entirely within a
succession of single instrumental parts in the full orchestra. In fact, there are
numerous Baroque “concerti” that thrive primarily on the latter style of continuity,
without any tutti–soli designations at all (for example, Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto
No. 3). The employment of motivic interplay offers certain inherent contrasts of its
own. These include shifts from one high or low range to another within a texture of
interwoven melodies: rhythmic conflicts based on patterns that do not necessarily
coincide with the regular musical metre; and an almost continuous change of key. The
last is achieved by rapid successions of modulations (bridges from key to key) and
drives to the cadence; i.e., building up of tension in the harmonies used, culminating
and relaxing in the cadence, or stopping point. In fast movements, when the propelling
force is not such motivic interplay, it is likely to be a force achieved by outright
statements of musical figures based on chords and scales. Or it may be an unfolding
succession of figures together with the harmonic drive to the cadence. In slow
movements it is likely to be compelling progressions of chords, enhanced by melodic
ornamentation and enlivened by continual suspensions, dissonances, and resolutions
(i.e., by suspending single notes while the harmony around them changes; this creates
dissonance, the tension of harmonies that seem to clash; the tension is “resolved”
when the harmonies change again).
In spite of all this variety there are consistencies of style in the scoring and musical
textures just described. In addition, certain additional rhythmic and melodic traits help
further to bring a sense of overall unity to the concerto grosso. With regard to
rhythmic traits, a steady motoric pulse is likely to prevail throughout the fast
movements. Also, true to the nature of the ever-present basso continuo, a steady
running bass line is likely to underlie both the slow and the fast movements.

Theme and structure

With regard to melodic traits, one cannot ordinarily speak of “main and contrasting
themes” as in the Classical and later concerto. One reason is the lack of individuality
in the main thematic ideas. Corelli’s and Vivaldi’s themes, vigorous as they may be
rhythmically, hardly stand out melodically from the remaining music. Like the musical
context in which they occur, the themes themselves are likely to consist of chord notes,
scales, or simple repeated notes. Frequently they are announced in unison (all parts
playing the same notes) and thus lack a strong initial association with the harmonies
of an accompaniment. Bach is exceptional for the individuality of his themes,
especially in the finales, where they are usually out-and-out tunes, memorable and
fetching (as in his Violin Concerto No. 2 in E Major, BWV 1042). The less a melodic idea
stands out, the less it functions as a true “theme” or unifier when it recurs and the less
it can contrast with any of the other melodic ideas.

Such relatively neutral themes and motives, which unfold more as supplements than
as contrasts, seem to have satisfied most Baroque, especially North German, tastes,
including the express preference for limiting any one piece or movement to but one
“Affekt” (or characteristic emotion). In addition, and more important for musical
continuity, the themes, such as they are, do tend to recur, not only at the more local
level of melodic imitation and motivic interplay but also at certain strategic points in
the musical structure. Their recurrence, most often at the three or four main tonal
landmarks, imparts at least a vague overall outline of formal musical structure. In fact,
these strategic recurrences, plus the melodic imitations, the passagework, and the
adjunct musical themes that separate them, produce in a loose way the most
prevalent structural principle of the fast movements. This is the rondo principle, which
is based on the alternation of a refrain, or “ritornello,” with contrasting musical
passages. In the more tuneful finales, or final movements, the sense of a rondo
“ritornello” is most distinct (as in Handel’s Opus 6, No. 11). Generally, the alternations
of refrains and intervening episodes tally with alternations of the tutti and soli groups,
respectively.

Recurring melodic ideas account for two other of the most frequent principles of
musical structure in the concerto grosso, those of fugue and of variation. A fugue is
based on the polyphonic treatment (through extensive melodic imitation) of a
recurring subject, or theme. In fugal sections of a concerto grosso, tutti and soli unite
as one group or alternate in expositions (statements of the subject) and episodes
(passages in which the subject appears only fragmentarily, if at all). The fugal style
occurs largely in fast movements and varies from loose applications, especially among
the Italians, to strict ones, especially among the Germans. The variation process
depends on continual variation of a constant factor, such as a theme or a group of
harmonies. In the concerto grosso it occurs largely in slow movements; its constant
factor is a simple, freely recurring bass line, or ostinato (a short, repeated motive or
melody). The ostinato often sounds alone in the tutti and may be played in unison at
the beginning and end of the movement. It serves as a foil for the soli parts, which
sometimes enter successively on long tones and gradually unfold into decorative,
expressive passages (as in Bach’s Violin Concerto No. 2). When the ostinato’s
recurrences are free enough and the bass line and treble melody of the tutti stand out
enough, the effect is that of an expressive aria (solo song, as in an opera) with a firm
prelude and postlude (as in Vivaldi’s Opus 3, No. 8), providing one of the many hints
of operatic influences in the concerto grosso. To these structural types—rondo, fugue,
and variation—may be added especially the binary design, with each half repeated,
that prevails in Baroque dances. In binary form, the music of the first half moves from
the tonic key to a closely related key. The second half begins in the new key and
progresses back to the original key. Dances abound in concerti grossi, not only in those
that are primarily orchestral suites or groups of related dance pieces (as are many by
Handel) but in others as well. For instance, the finale of Corelli’s Opus 6, No. 3,
although headed only “Allegro,” is a fine example of a binary gigue (a courtly dance
ultimately derived from the jig).

The number of movements in the concerto grosso varies more than in the later solo
concerto or in the sinfonia, symphony, and sonata at any time after the concerto
grosso’s emergence. But the average may be put at from three to five. Corelli and
other Italian pioneers had led off with more movements (insofar as separate
movements can be distinguished from mere sectional changes in their concerti).
Vivaldi reduced the number, mostly by omitting an initial slow movement that his
predecessors had probably derived from the French overture. Instead, Vivaldi largely
settled on and, in fact, standardized the cycle at three movements in fast–slow–fast
order. He may have been influenced by the same cycle in the Italian opera sinfonia (or
overture). The Germans seem to have varied the number more, with the most
movements likely to be made up of relatively short dances. Bach’s six Brandenburg
Concertos do follow the fast–slow–fast plan except that Number 1 adds two dances
and No. 3 leaves out the slow movement, simply substituting in its place two slow
chords that create a feeling of suspension. Handel’s Twelve Grand Concertos in Opus
6 contain four to six movements that vary considerably in order and type.

As usual in tonal music (music based on the system of major and minor keys),
additional variety within unity is achieved in the cycle of concerto grosso movements
through departure from and return to the home key. Much more often than in the
suite, a slow inner movement is placed in a nearly related key. In the shortest, freest
slow movements the tonality, or key orientation, sometimes remains uncertain and in
flux, giving the sense of a bridge from the previous to the following movement (as in
Vivaldi’s Opus 3, No. 10). Unlike the Baroque suite and sonata, in the concerto the use
of interrelated musical themes is not a frequent means of linking the movements. But
the concerto grosso is like these other cycles in its dynamic tendency to progress from
the more serious to the lighter movements. Infrequently a “program”—a story or
nonmusical image—lends further unity to the cycle, as it does in the four concerti of
Vivaldi’s Opus 8 that are known collectively as The Four Seasons. Each of these concerti
is tied closely to a sonnet describing one of the seasons. More often a special unity
results from some unusual trait of musical style or use of an instrument. An example
is the brilliant solo part given, exceptionally, to the “cembalo concertato” (i.e., a
harpsichord that participates with the other instruments in the melodic discourse
rather than, as is normal, confining itself to the realization of the basso continuo) in
Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5.

Concerto grosso, plural concerti grossi, common type of orchestral music of the
Baroque era (c. 1600–c. 1750), characterized by contrast between a small group of
soloists (soli, concertino, principale) and the full orchestra (tutti, concerto grosso,
ripieno). The titles of early concerti grossi often reflected their performance locales,
as in concerto da chiesa (“church concerto”) and concerto da camera (“chamber
concerto,” played at court), titles also applied to works not strictly concerti grossi.
Ultimately the concerto grosso flourished as secular court music.
The typical instrumentation for the concertino was that of the trio sonata, the
prevalent genre of chamber music: two violins and continuo (bass melody instrument
such as a cello, and a harmony instrument such as a harpsichord); wind instruments
also were common. The ripieno normally consisted of a string orchestra with continuo,
often augmented by woodwinds or brass instruments.
Beginning about 1700 with Arcangelo Corelli, the number of movements varied,
although some composers, such as Giuseppe Torelli and Antonio Vivaldi, who were
more committed to the solo concerto, adopted a three-movement pattern of fast-
slow-fast. Fast movements often used a ritornello structure, in which a recurrent
section, or ritornello, alternates with episodes, or contrasting sections, played by the
soloists.
About 1750, having reached its apogee with George Frideric Handel’s Opus 6 (1740),
the concerto grosso was eclipsed by the solo concerto. In the 20th century, composers
such as Igor Stravinsky and Henry Cowell revived the form.