Vivaldi: Concerto for 2 Cellos

Concerto in G minor for Two Cellos, Strings, and Continuo, RV 547 – Antonio Vivaldi Born March 4, 1678, in Venice, Italy Died July 28, 1741, in Vienna, Austria Although the exact date of this work’s premiere is unknown, most scholars assume that they were first performed by the young ladies of Venice’s Pio Ospedale Della Pietà sometime during Vivaldi’s tenure there. It is scored for two solo cellos, strings and basso continuo (consisting of harpsichord and a bass instrument, usually bassoon, cello, or bass).

Today it is nearly impossible to imagine that, just over fifty years ago, the name of Antonio Vivaldi would not have been recognized – even among music scholars. It was largely through scholars studying the music of J. S. Bach that Vivaldi’s works came to light. Bach admired the Venetian composer’s work, especially his concerti, and copied several of them for study. Reproducing a musical score in the early eighteenth century was a painstaking process involving weeks of handcopying every staff, note, and other music symbols. The fact that Bach exerted the effort to do so speaks highly of the German master’s esteem for the elder Vivaldi’s craftsmanship. It also speaks volumes as to Vivaldi’s fame outside of his home city of Venice.

It was the partnership between the Venetian orphanage Pio Ospedale della Pietà and Vivaldi that brought the most attention to his music. This pairing also provided the composer with a captive orchestra and an institution loaded with able soloists, for which he could compose without technical restrictions. As is often quoted, the French traveler Charles de Brosses, who visited the Pieta in 1739, was completely taken with the orchestra. He wrote, “I avow that there is no sight like that of a young and fair nun in a white habit, with pomegranate blossoms over her ear, leading the orchestra and beating time with all the grace and precision one can imagine.” Over five hundred concerti by Vivaldi have been unearthed, most of them for violin, although a surprising number (over thirty) are for bassoon. Musicologists discover new Vivaldi works in libraries and monasteries nearly every year, adding to the already impressive total.

By the 1720s, Vivaldi was well known across Europe, his music having been available in print for a decade. His technique of illustrating musical contrasts suited the concerto format perfectly.

Vivaldi streamlined the concerto form, codifying it into the fast-slow-fast genre still used today.

He likewise managed to popularize the idea of alternating virtuosic solo sections with a recurring orchestral ritornello.

Although the date of composition is uncertain for the Double Cello Concerto, it was likely written for the students at the Ospedale. Although Vivaldi wrote for unusual combinations of instruments, this work is the only one he penned for two cellos.

The work begins with the typical Vivaldi allegro with much arpeggiation and ample technical passages for the soloists. Somewhat surprising is the dark minor key that imparts a sense of gravitas to the work. Vivaldi’s largo second movement is introspective and features intertwining parts for the soloists. There is a pensive quality rarely found in this composer’s music outside of his operas. The finale is a lively allegro with sweeping cello lines and heightened duties for the basso continuo.