VIVALDI: FLUTE CONCERTO IN D MAJOR OP.10 NO.3 'IL GARDELLINO' RV438: CONTEXT

• ANTONIO VIVALDI 1678-1741
• MOST IMPORTANT ITALIAN COMPOSER OF LATE BAROQUE PERIOD
• BORN IN VENICE
• TRAINED FOR PRIESTHOOD
• APPOINTED MAESTRO DI VIOLIN AT OSPEDALE DELLA PIETA
• PROVIDED MUSICAL TRAINING FOR ORPHANED GIRLS
• COMPOSED MUSIC FOR TALENTED MUSICIANS
• MUSIC PUBLISHIN INDUSTRY BECAME SIGNIFICANT IN 18TH CENTURY
• SETS OF PIECES PUBLISHED THAT HE DEDICATED TO VARIOUS NOBLEMEN
• 1711 - L'ESTRO ARMONICO OP. 3 DEDICATED TO GRAND PRINCE OF TUSCANY.
• LIKE TO TRAVEL AND COMPOSE FOR OPERA
• TRAVELLED TO VIENNA IN 1740
• DIED IN VIENNA

• WROTE CHURCH MUSIC, OPERA, SONATAS
• CONCERTO MOST ASSOCIATED WITH VIVALDI
• WROTE OVER 500 CONCERTOS
• ROUGHLY 350 SOLO CONCERTOS
• WHAT TO EXPECT:

1) SOLOIST ACCOMPANIED BY ORCHESTRA

2) THREE MOVEMENTS

3) OUTER MOVEMENTS PLAYED AT FAST TEMPO

4) MIDDLE MOVEMENT PLAYED AT SLOW TEMPO

• PIONEERED RITORNELLO FORM
• ALMOST ALWAYS USES IT IN THE FIRST MOEVEMENT
• IN BETWEEN EACH APPEARANCE OF TUNE - EPISODE - SOLOIST PLAYS OTHER MUSIC
• RITORNELLO MODULATE AND THEN RITORNELLO HEARD IN NEW KEY
• PROCESS CONTINUES UNTIL EPISODE RETURNS TO HOME KEY

• OPENING RITORNELLO - TUTI - TONIC
• FIRST EPISODE - SOLO - PROBABLY MODULATING TO DOMINANT
• SECOND RITORNELLO - TUTTI - PROABLY IN DOMINANT
• SECOND EPISODE - SOLO - MODULATING, PERHAPS TO RELATIVE MINOR
• THIRD RITORNELLO - TUTTI - NEW KEY - POSSIBLE RELATIVE MINOR
• PROCESS CONTINUES UNTIL AN EPISODE WHICH RETURNS THE MUSIC TO THE TONIC
• FINAL RITORNELLO - TUTTI - TONIC

TUTTI - MEANS EVERYBODY - USED TO DESCRIBE A PASSAGE WHERE THE FOCUS IS ON ALL THE PLAYERS, NOT JUST THE SOLOIST

• FOUND IN A SET OF 6 FLUTE CONCERTOS BY VIVALDI - PUBLISHED IN AMSTERDAM IN 1728
• WIND INSTUMENTS NOT COMMON IN ITALY
• THIRD OUT OF 6
• 'IL GARDELLINO' - THE GOLDFINCH
• THE CHIRRUPING IN THE INITIAL FLUTE ENTRY MATCHES THE TITLE AS WELL AS IT SUITS THE INSTRUMENT
• BAROQUE FLUTE - WOODEN AND SOFTER TONE
• ACCOMPANIMENT - DELICATE AND LIGHT IN TEXTURE