The violin, the sonata and the concerto

In the 17th century, instrumental music stopped being a mere cousin of vocal music. It invented its own forms and its own virtuosos, and one instrument became its star: the violin. By the end of the Baroque, two purely instrumental genres dominated Europe: the sonata and the concerto.

Cremona and the golden age of the violin

The violin appeared in northern Italy in the 16th century, first as a dance instrument, considered a little vulgar next to the noble viol. In the small town of Cremona, dynasties of makers perfected it: the Amati family, then Antonio Stradivari (c. 1644–1737) and Giuseppe Guarneri "del Gesù". Their instruments, with a powerful, singing tone, are now among the most precious objects in the world, and soloists still play them. The violin can sing like a voice, leap through fast runs and play several strings at once: it became the virtuoso's instrument.

Corelli: the sonata and the concerto grosso

Arcangelo Corelli (1653–1713), a violinist based in Rome, published little, but each collection became a model imitated all over Europe:

• the trio sonata: two melody instruments (often two violins) and basso continuo, making three parts (but often four players!);
• the sonata for violin and continuo, with his Op. 5 collection (1700);
• the concerto grosso (Op. 6, published after his death, in 1714): a small group of soloists (the concertino) converses with the whole orchestra (the ripieno or tutti). The eighth, "made for Christmas night", remains the most famous.

A distinction was made between the church sonata (slow and fast movements, rather serious) and the chamber sonata (a suite of dances). The word "sonata" simply means "sounded piece", played on instruments, as opposed to the "cantata", which is sung.

Vivaldi and the solo concerto

Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741), a Venetian priest and violinist nicknamed the "red priest", taught at the Ospedale della Pietà, an institution for orphaned or abandoned girls whose all-female orchestra drew visitors from all over Europe. There he wrote hundreds of concertos — more than five hundred survive — for violin, cello, flute, bassoon, mandolin…

Vivaldi set the form of the solo concerto:

• three movements: fast, slow, fast;
• in the fast movements, ritornello form: the orchestra plays an energetic theme (the ritornello), then the soloist shines in virtuoso passages, the orchestra returns with fragments of the ritornello in other keys, and so on, until the theme's final return in the home key.

His Four Seasons, published in Amsterdam in 1725, each depict a season, accompanied by sonnets: you hear birds, a storm, a barking dog, skaters on the ice. His collection L'estro armonico (1711) made such an impression that the young Bach transcribed several of its concertos for keyboard and organ. Yet Vivaldi died poor in Vienna, and his music was largely forgotten until its rediscovery in the 20th century.

Terraced contrasts

The Baroque concerto is built on opposition: one against all, loud against soft. Dynamics change in blocks, like steps on a staircase, rather than through gradual crescendos. A phrase is often played loud, then repeated softly, like an echo. Here is a small demonstration written for this lesson:

M:4/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=100
K:D
!f!d2 A2 F2 A2 | B c d e d4 | !p!d2 A2 F2 A2 | B c d e d4 |]

The harpsichord and keyboard tuning

Meanwhile the harpsichord was enjoying its golden age: François Couperin and Jean-Philippe Rameau in France and Domenico Scarlatti in Spain (more than five hundred sonatas) gave it a vast repertoire. The harpsichordist also played continuo in almost every ensemble. Musicians were looking for ways to tune keyboards so that every key could be played, a decisive question for what came next. The lesson The Baroque period in the final chapter (the piano through history) covers this repertoire and how to play it on the piano.

What to listen for

• A driving rhythm, steady and energetic, moving forward without stopping.
• Clear contrasts: soloist against orchestra, loud against soft.
• A ritornello that returns like a refrain, in different keys.
• The continuo harpsichord, glittering behind the strings.

Listen

• Corelli: Concerto grosso Op. 6 No. 8, "Christmas Concerto".
• Vivaldi: The Four Seasons; a concerto from L'estro armonico.
• Telemann, Albinoni: concertos for oboe or trumpet.
• Bach: a Brandenburg Concerto (1721), to hear the concerto grosso transformed.