Vivaldi's Bassoon Concerto C Major Iii-477
Bassoon Concerto C major III-477
0:00 Introduction-Ritornello major: 0:00 Theme A, 0:12 Theme B
0:20 Solo episode-major (ends in minor)
0:39 Ritornello minor-theme A
0:50 Solo-minor (ends in major)
1:18 Ritornello- major-theme A
1:25 Fortspinnung
1:28 Solo and answer- Spinning off B material
2:00 Ritornello- minor-A theme
2:14 Solo-minor (ends in major)
3:00 Ritornello-A material back in original key: 3:11 Theme B to ending cadence
Vivaldi’s Bassoon Concerto in C major follows Ritornello form precisely. It contains five ritornello sections woven around four solo episodes. The opening ritornello states two themes that are repeated throughout the piece in the ritornello sections. The composer uses tension in the themes to create an illusion of chaos and control. The trills in the A section and the repeated eighth notes in the B theme can be interpreted as tense and the descending scale and cadence at the end of the B section provide relief to the tension. This closely follows the trend of the times. The composers were usually employed in the court of nobility. These employers wanted to emphasize the control they had over their subjects and thus the music portrayed this control. The Bassoon was an instrument not as commonly used as a solo instrument as violin or flute, thus this shows the composer’s small hint of breaking norms and possibly even defying the complete control. The bassoon solos begin simple and as the piece continues they become increasingly more complex and show more emotion and discontent with minor keys. In the end all of the prolific bassoon episodes are politely controlled by the original key that introduced the soloist showing the importance of control and symmetry in the
0:00 Introduction-Ritornello major: 0:00 Theme A, 0:12 Theme B
0:20 Solo episode-major (ends in minor)
0:39 Ritornello minor-theme A
0:50 Solo-minor (ends in major)
1:18 Ritornello- major-theme A
1:25 Fortspinnung
1:28 Solo and answer- Spinning off B material
2:00 Ritornello- minor-A theme
2:14 Solo-minor (ends in major)
3:00 Ritornello-A material back in original key: 3:11 Theme B to ending cadence
Vivaldi’s Bassoon Concerto in C major follows Ritornello form precisely. It contains five ritornello sections woven around four solo episodes. The opening ritornello states two themes that are repeated throughout the piece in the ritornello sections. The composer uses tension in the themes to create an illusion of chaos and control. The trills in the A section and the repeated eighth notes in the B theme can be interpreted as tense and the descending scale and cadence at the end of the B section provide relief to the tension. This closely follows the trend of the times. The composers were usually employed in the court of nobility. These employers wanted to emphasize the control they had over their subjects and thus the music portrayed this control. The Bassoon was an instrument not as commonly used as a solo instrument as violin or flute, thus this shows the composer’s small hint of breaking norms and possibly even defying the complete control. The bassoon solos begin simple and as the piece continues they become increasingly more complex and show more emotion and discontent with minor keys. In the end all of the prolific bassoon episodes are politely controlled by the original key that introduced the soloist showing the importance of control and symmetry in the