

A concerto is about a soloist and an orchestra, whereas a concerto grosso is about soloists passing the melody along. The concertino group plays the main melody, while the ripieno group plays the accompaniment.Ī concerto grosso, in contrast to a traditional music concerto, emphasizes a different type of musical experience. The concertino group usually consists of the first and second violins, and the ripieno group consists of the rest of the orchestra. Is The Four Seasons A Concerto Grosso?Ĭredit: The Four Seasons is a concerto grosso, a type of Baroque instrumental music in which the whole orchestra is divided into a small group of soloists (the concertino) and a larger group (the ripieno). Polyphony is used to explain the composition.


The fast-slow-fast pattern of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons is exemplified in the movements, concerto form, and program music. Vivaldi wrote these pieces while working as the court chapel master in Mantua around 1718*1720. This piece from Vivaldi tells the cycle of seasons in a musical tableaux.Īntonio Vivaldi’s Four Seasons (Italian: Le quattro stagioni) is a series of four violin concertos that play out in a variety of seasons. With the collection, a shift in artistic style takes place between the concerto grosso baroque and the modern solo concerto. The four violin concerti that make up The Four Seasons are among the best-known works in the Baroque repertoire, and are often heard on their own, outside of the set.Īntonio Vivaldi wrote 12 concertos between 17 as part of his Opus 8 set. In Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, the solo violinist stands out against the ensemble, much like a concerto soloist.
