ANTONIO VIVALDI
Concerto in C Major for two trumpets, strings and harpsichord, RV 537
Complete Works tomo 97; Fanna IX no. 1; Pincherle 75
Allegro
Largo
Allegro
ROBERT NAGEL and MELVIN BROILES, Trumpets
EUGENIA EARLE, Harpsichord
Concerto in G Major for flute, oboe, violin, bassoon and figured bass, RV 437
Complete Works tomo 52; Fanna XII no. 13; Pincherle 105
Allegro moderato
Largo
Allegro
JULIUS BAKER, Flute
HARRY SHULMAN, Oboe
MAX GOBERMAN, Violin
ANTHONY CHECCHIA, Bassoon
EUGENIA EARLE, Harpsichord
JEAN SCHNEIDER, Violoncello
Concerto in F Major for strings and harpsichord, RV 142
Complete Works tomo 6; Fanna XI no. 2; Pincherle 292
Allegro molto
Andante molto
Allegro molto
EUGENIA EARLE, Harpsichord
Concerto in A Major for violin, strings and harpsichord, RV 352
Complete Works tomo 16; Fanna I no. 5; Pincherle 236
Allegro molto
Largo
Allegro
HELEN KWALWASSER, Violin
Concerto in D Minor for strings and harpsichord, RV 127
Complete Works tomo 176; Fanna XI no. 19; Pincherle 280
Allegro
Largo
Allegro
HELEN KWALWASSER, Violin
EUGENIA EARLE, Harpsichord
THE NEW YORK SINFONIETTA MAX GOBERMAN, CONDUCTOR
The CONCERTO FOR Two TRUMPETS, STRINGS AND HARPSICHORD IN C MAJOR, TOMO 97, is Vivaldi's
only creation of this kind. It forms, in some way, the
counterpart to the concertos for two horns in F major (MHS-V/3 and V/4) and owes its existence to
particular circumstances of which we have no knowledge Venice was an operatic city par excellence in the baroque where the solo concerto was to receive a decisive impulse due to Antonio Vivaldi. There an
important chapter in the history of orchestral music was written thanks to the activities of Giovanni Gabrieli at the turn of the 16th century. The brass choir in particular be stowed a pompous and solemn quality on his orchestral pieces that became an essential element in religious and state festivities.
The soprano part of the brass choir was rendered by the cornetto (called Zink in German), a wooden instrument (tube) with a hollow cup-shaped
mouthpiece. Its timbre was different from that of the trumpet. The cornetto lingered on until the time of Bach and Vivaldi Bach used it in several cantatas to support the soprano in a choral while the trombones duplicated the other voices. Vivaldi knew the cornetto from his boyhood, when he was allowed to play as a substitute in the orchestra of St. Mark's. Under the direction of Giovanni Legrenzi, supposedly Vivaldi's teacher in musical theory, this orchestra included two cornettos and three trombones. Cornetto players were still around in Venice in Vivaldi's later years. In thé
records of La Pietà for 1742 Pincherle found the name of a maestra Catterina del Cornetto. She was no doubt
an expert player The instrument did not appeal to the
prete rosso who did not consider it usable for soloistic
or concerto purposes.
Vivaldi probably had knowledge of the experiments
Giuseppe Torelli had made with trumpets in Bologna stimulated by the high technical standard of the
players who were members of the orchestra of San Petronio, Torelli (1651-1708), who played an important role in the evolution of the solo concerto, wrote orchestral works that were moving away from the concerto in the direction of the symphony. In this endeavor he joins forces spiritually with Antonio
Vivaldi. Torelli employed numerous wind instruments, wood and brass, in sinfonie written for ceremonies at
San Petronio, and this array of trumpets, oboes,
bassoons and trombones endowed these symphonies with a certain brilliance.
Pincherle ventures the assumption that among the instrumental forces of La Pietà there were probably
violinists or harpsichordists "who extemporaneously became trumpet or trombone players as the need arose, '" (Vivaldi, Genius of the Baroque, p. 121).
Needless to say, to take on such an assignment presupposes a substantial technical skill and training particularly when the musician is called upon to play as a soloist It seems unlikely that Vivaldi composed the concertos for two horns and that for two trumpets for the young ladies of La Pietà. These compositions may have been suggested by good professional musicians in Venice or elsewhere.
The G MAJOR CONCERTO FOR WOODWINDS, VIOLIN AND FIGURED BASS, TOMO 52 is a companion piece
to Concerto in D major, del gardellino (MHS-V/7) . Both
works are written for the same instrumental combinations and belong to a group of chamber music pieces that Vivaldi later adapted as solo concertos for
flute with string accompaniment They were published in a set of six as Opus 10 in Amsterdam around 1730.
The flute concertos deviate considerably in some
respects from the original versions The manuscripts
that were used by the publisher are not preserved but those of the original versions are kept in the
Bibliotheca Nazionale di Torino
The first movement comprises five tutti sections, in which the flute occasionally dominates, and four solo
segments. The forceful octave leaps of the head
motive recur only in the ripieno. The first solo
introduces a new theme The broken chords which the flute injects into the second tutti (in D major) are reminiscent of similar passages in del gardellino. The second solo section appears in some way as a modified
repetition of the first. The “gardellino motive” is also heard in the third tutti in B minor and the first solo is restated once more in the fourth solo passage The movement closes with a modified version of the opening ritornello.
The short middle movement in binary song form is dominated by the flute and serves also as a theme for variations in the finale The melody was undoubtedly dear to the composer who had also used it in the Concerto in D minor which is the seventh in Opus 8
known as Il cimento dell' armonia e dell' invenzionepublished in Amsterdam in 1725. This is the
set which also includes the famous cycle The Four Seasons This sixteen-measure theme appears in Opus
8, No. 7 and subsequently in our concerto as well as in Opus 10, No, 6 in the key of G minor. But in the finale of the latter works the melody presents itself in G major and only its first half is stated. The second half-and this is again one of Vivaldi's extravagant" devices-appears only in varied forms The six variations are the domain of the flute.
The CONCERTO FOR STRINGS AND HARPSICHORD IN F MAJOR, TOMO 6, belongs to a group of about fifty compositions that Marc Pincherle defines as "authentic string symphonies " They are for the most part preserved in the National Library in Turin and the present piece is an item of the Mauro Foà Collection. It is not without significance that it was chosen as one of the first items to be published in the Complete Edition of Vivaldi's works. The contribution of the prete rosso to the evolution of the symphony has been almost completely overlooked until recent times. Nobody can be blamed for that for the artistic documents which finally shed light on the matter lay hidden in a Piedmontese boarding school and in a private collection in Genoa until the 1920s. It was Marc Pincherle who, after studying the numerous Turin manuscripts, realized the importance of Vivaldi in the symphonic field and placed "the large concertos in which there is no solo violin" in the right historic and artistic perspective.
The CONCERTO FOR VIOLIN, STRINGS AND HARPSICHORD IN A MAJOR, TOMO 16, is extant in
two manuscript copies that are preserved in both the
Mauro Foà and Renzo Giordano Collections of the National Library in Turin. The existence of two
manuscripts that are not autographs suggests that the piece was played at different occasions and perhaps also in different places. Technically not too difficult –its compass not going beyond e3 the concerto may have
been presented by advanced students at the concerts
given at La Pietà. It was not conceived as a show piece. There are no extended arpeggio passages, no double stops and no runs or even melismatic figures in high positions. It is none the less an attractive piece
which conforms structurally to the pattern established
by Antonio Vivaldi.
The first movement consists of four tutti and three solo
sections that observe the customary modulatory scheme limited by the use of the related keys; thus E major, C# minor and F# minor. The main theme shows two different melodic elements: the quickly moving
eighth-note passages and the motives in Lombard manner (measures 5 and 6). The head motive foreshadows those phrases that become typical of the opera buffa. The solo sections never refer to the material presented in the opening ritornello. Note the
rhythmic peculiarity in measure 40.
The CONCERTO FOR STRINGS AND HARPSICHORD
IN D MINOR, TOMO 176, is actually a concerto a tre
since the violins (I and II) are combined in unison and the double bass duplicates the violoncello in the lower
octave. The piece displays the three-movement design of the operatic sinfonia and at the same time reveals
features of the concerto. The latter are conspicuous in
the architecture and modulatory scheme. of the first
movement. The opening (main) theme and its manipulation are very interesting, Both the musical
idea per se as well as its treatment foreshadow elements that became common features in the Italian
opera of the 19th century. The motion in the direction
to the upper fifth and the sustained motoric quality of
the motive are traits that were employed effectively by
the prete rosso, and are later conspicuous in the
scores of Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti.
The Largo deviates strikingly from Vivaldi's instrumental arias and duettos such as we usually encounter in the slow middle movements of his concertos. There is no gentle cantilena with coloratura embellishments or an appealing lyrical melody. Here
the main accent lies on the harmonic development and this is why Vivaldi gave the movement a four-part
setting. The Largo is in the nature of an expanded cadenza which functions as a contrasting interlude between the two motoric outer movements. Corelli often employed this device. The harmonic fluctuation keeps the listener in a suspense which is lifted with the entry of the finale, It is comprised of five sections in D minor, A minor, G minor, B flat major and D minor that roll away in moto perpetuo fashion and end with a powerful unison.
Based on notes by JOSEPH BRAUNSTEIN
By arrangement with the Library of Recorded Masterpieces
HT E MUSICALHERITAGESOC I E YT EST. 1960 Additional information about these recordings can be found at our website www.themusicalheritagesociety.com All recordings ℗ 1962 & © 2024 Heritage Music Royalties.
