IC A COMPARISON OF FORMAL AND STRUCTURAL PRINCIPLES IN THE CONCERTI GROSSI OF CORELLI'S OPUS VI AND VIVALDI'S OPUS III THESIS Presented to the Graduate Council of the North Texas State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF MUSIC By Euclid A. Hart, B. M. E. Denton, Texas August, 1968 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES . iv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. v Chapter I. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE CONCERTO GROSSO. The Temperament and Ideals of the Seventeenth Century The Rise of Instrumental Music The Concerto Principle The Emergence of the Concerto Grosso II. BIOGRAPHIES AND WORKS OF CORELLI AND VIVALDI . 24 Corelli's Life Corelli's Works Vivaldi's Life Vivaldi's Works III. A COMPARISON OF FORMAL AND STRUCTURAL PRINCIPLES IN THE CONCERTI GROSSI OF CORELLI'S OPUS VI AND VIVALDI'S OPUSIII . 39 Descriptive Information Pertaining to Corelli's Opus VI and Vivaldi's Opus III Structural Characteristics Pertaining to the Cycle Form as Observed in Corelli's Individual Movements Use of the Concertino by Corelli Form as Observed in Vivaldi's Individual Movements General Comparison of Styles Conclusion BIBLIOGRAPHY. 93 iii LIST OF TABLES Table Page I. Corelli's Instrumental Works . 30 II. Corelli's Opus VI . 40 III. The Concerti Grossi of Vivaldi's Opus III . 44 iv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Page 1. Theme of "Allegro" (Finale) of Corelli's Concerto Number 1 . 53 2. Excerpt from "Adagio" of Corelli's Concerto Number 5 . 56 3. Excerpt from First Movement of Corelli's Concerto Number 1 . 58 4. Excerpt from First "Allegro" of Corelli's Concerto Number 1 . 59 5. Excerpt from First "Allegro" of Corelli's Concerto Number 5 . 60 6. Excerpt from "Minuetto" of Corelli's Concerto Number10. 61 7. Excerpt from First Movement of Corelli's Concerto Number 5 . 62 8. Excerpt from First Movement of Corelli's Concerto Number 2 . 62 9. Excerpt from Opening "Allegro" of Vivaldi's Concerto Number 2 . 66 10. Excerpt from Opening "Allegro" of Vivaldi's Concerto Number 8 . 68 11. Excerpt from Opening "Allegro" of Vivaldi's Concerto Number8 . 68 12. Excerpt from "Allemande" of Vivaldi's Concerto Number 9 . 70 13. Excerpt from Opening "Allegro" of Vivaldi's Concerto Number 5 . 70 14. Form and Description of Opening "Allegro" of Vivaldi's Concerto Number 5 . 71 V Figure Page 15. Form and Description of Opening "Allegro" of Vivaldi's Concerto Number 1 . 73 16. Form and Description of Opening "Allegro" of Vivaldi's Concerto Number 10 . 73 17. Closing "Allegro" of Vivaldi's Concerto Number 7 . .* 78 18. Excerpt from First "Allegro" of Corelli's Concerto Number5* . 82 19. Excerpts from "Vivace" of Corelli's Concerto Number 6 . 83 20. Excerpt from Opening "Allegro" of Vivaldi's Concerto Number 10 . 83 21. Excerpt from First "Allegro" of Corelli's Concerto Number 3 . 84 22. Excerpt from Opening "Allegro" of Vivaldi's Concerto Number 10 . 84 23. Excerpt from "Pastorale" of Corelli's Concerto Number8 . 85 24. Excerpt from "Grave" of Corelli's Concerto Number3 . 86 25. Excerpt from Central "Allegro" of Corelli's Concerto Number 1 . 86 26. Theme of "Giga" of Corelli's Concerto Number 12 . 87 27. Excerpt from Opening "Allegro" of Vivaldi's Concerto Number 11 . 88 28. Excerpt from First "Allegro" of Corelli's Concerto Number 7 . 88 29. Excerpt from "Larghetto" of Vivaldi's Concerto Number 10 . 90 30. Excerpt from "Largo" of Vivaldi's Concerto Number 1 . 91 va- CHAPTER I HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE CONCERTO GROSSO The Temperament and Ideals of the Seventeenth Century The study of any art work, whether it be music, painting, or literature, can best be appreciated when viewed against the background of the period which pro- duced it. Although the concerti grossi of Corelli and Vivaldi are the products of a later date, it is well that the point of departure be the beginning of the seven- teenth century. With the fading of the Renaissance, and of its aspi- rations and ideals, a new age was being born. Contrary to the humanistic philosophy and tendencies of the Ren- aissance, the new age sought the revival of medieval tra- ditions. As the highly balanced, classical designs of the Renaissance began to disintegrate, once again Gothic elements and forms appeared. The search for a new aes- theticism, influenced by the return of medieval and Goth- ic elements, gave rise to that period in history referred to as the Baroque. 1 2 The Baroque period in music is generally considered to extend from the beginning of the seventeenth century to the middle of the eighteenth century. Whether the term itself comes from the Portuguese barroco, meaning an ir- regular pearl, or from baroco, a scholastic syllogism, its early use was synonymous with extravagance and bad taste. Webster defines it, "fantastically overdecorative; gaud- ily ornate." "Its application to the Fine Arts was based on the opinion (Jacob Burckhardt) that seventeenth century style in architecture and paintings was a debased Renais- sance style."2 Although the works of this period are in fact of the highest artistic qualities, the term has the advantage of adequately describing certain characteristics peculiar to the period and is therefore appropriate. Historical metamorphosis is always the result of many interacting forces, but no other single factor could have affected the social and cultural life of the period more profoundly than that of religion. Seeds sewn by the Refor- mation and Counter Reformation of the sixteenth century were in full bloom in the seventeenth century. The Thirty Years War (1618-1648) initially began as a series of small 1 "Baroque," Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language, College Edition (Cleveland, 196277 p. 119. 2Willi Apel, "Baroque," Harvard Dictionary of Music (Cambridge, Mass., 1962), p. 76. 3 wars waged for the freedom of religion. It was soon transformed also into a political one, the conclusion bringing about the end of European domination by the Haps- burgs with the lead being taken by France and the cultural reign of Louis XIV. The Church, using every means at its disposal to strengthen the Counter Reformation, did not neglect the arts. Cathedrals were built to impress and keep the faithful. The lean classic style of Renaissance archi- tecture gave way in the Baroque to the revival and ex- pansion of Gothic characteristics. Art and music were de- signed to reflect the new vitality of the Church. "It is interesting also, in reflecting the point of view of that day, that a church must not only be a temple of worship; it must also be a museum and concert hall. It should in fact teach the pleasures as well as the Scriptures and lead in all phases of thought."3 Religious ceremonies were the ultimate in pomp and splendor, and the music ac- companying these festivities was composed to overwhelm the listener. The new temperament was reflected in the works of Giovanni Gabrieli and the Venetian school with their multiple choirs of voices and instruments. The old style of Palestrina and the Roman school persisted for a few 3Leo Smith, Music in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries (London, 193177 pp. 44-45. 4 decades into the seventeenth century, but it was a dying art. The paintings of Michelangelo, El Greco, Caravaggio, and other great figures of early Baroque art depict graph- ically the new aesthetics of the period. "The magic en- chantment and religious ecstasy of the beyond held El Greco 's figures spellbound."4 Qualities that distinguished the new styles in music and architecture had their paral- lels in contemporary art works. The penchant for the co- lossal, massive, and decorative is present in these works. The element of contrast, the essence of the new music, is seen in the effects of accented light and shadow in the new art. While the Counter Reformation was to a large degree successful, the spirit of the Reformation pervaded the seventeenth century. Coinciding with the politico-re- ligious wars of the period were the struggles for freedom of thought and the acceptance of scientific truth. De- spite opposition from the Church, such as the condemnation of Galileo by the Inquisition for heresy, it was an age of experimentation, with gains being made in science by such men asNewton, Bacon, and Leibnitz. In the field of philosophy, the writings of Descartes, Locke, and other leading philosophers laid the foundation 4 Paul Henry Lang, Music in Western Civilization (New York, 1941), p. 322. 5 for what is referred to as the "Age of Reason." "The spirit of these times demanded the classification of every problem either in the domain of the natural sciences or in that of mathematic philosophy."5 This scientific attitude is also prevalent in the arts and music. Composers were also theorists. Many works were accompanied by expla- nations of style and technique. Numerous newspaper arti- cles appearing throughout the period testify to long- standing feuds over style among followers of conflicting music camps. The Rise of Instrumental Music During the sixteenth century there was, on the part of composers, an inclination to establish a purely instru- mental music independent of vocal polyphony. Although vo- cal polyphony dominated the period, instrumental music be- gan tentatively to take its place alongside it and combine with it, as well as to assert itself independently of it. Claudio Merulo (1533-1604), as well as other great Italian organists, shook off the influence of the technique of vo- cal composition and wrote in a style idiomatic to the in- strument.6 The great instrumental music of St. Mark's, 5Ibid., p. 433. 6 The first idiomatic forms in keyboard music are the toccata, intonazione and prelude.