Baroque Concerto Grosso

Main  Characteristics    Soloists – the concerto grosso is a work for two or

more soloists.

Orchestra – split into two sections; the ripieno (the

main orchestra) and the concertino (soloists).

Instruments – harpsichord, cello, violin, violas,

oboe, recorder, bassoon.

Continuo – harpsichord plays chordal harmony with

cello or bassoon playing the bass line.

Terraced Dynamics – the volume changes

suddenly between loud and soft.

Texture – melody & accompaniment, polyphonic,

homophonic, contrapuntal. Can be quite complex.

Ornamentation – melodies are embellished with

trills and turns. These sound quite ‘busy’.

Venue – small spaces, for example, a chamber or

room.

Composer –

Bach

CONCERTINO (SOLOISTS)

RIPIENO (MAIN ORCHESTRA)

BACH – BRANDENBURG CONCERTOS

1600 - 1750

CORELLI – OPUS 6 NO.4 IN D MAJOR

Baroque Solo Concerto

Main  Characteristics    Soloist – this is work for just one soloist and

orchestra.

Orchestra – slightly larger orchestra than the

concerto grosso.

Instruments – Harpsichord, cello, violin, violas,

oboe, recorder, bassoon.

Continuo – harpsichord plays chordal harmony with

cello or bassoon playing the bass line.

Terraced Dynamics – the volume changes

suddenly between loud and soft.

Texture – melody & accompaniment, polyphonic,

homophonic, contrapuntal. Can be quite complex.

Ornamentation – melodies are embellished with

trills and turns. These sound quite ‘busy’.

Venue – small spaces, for example, a chamber or

room.

Composer –

Vivaldi

SOLOIST

MAIN ORCHESTRA

VIVALDI – CONCERTO IN A MINOR FOR VIOLIN

1600 - 1750

HANDEL – CONCERTO NO.1 FOR OBOE IN Bb MAJOR

(OR ANY OTHER BAROQUE ERA SOLO INSTRUMENT)

Classical Solo Concerto

Main  Characteristics    Soloist – this is work for just one soloist and

orchestra.

Orchestra – much larger orchestra than the

Baroque era.

Instruments – the piano and clarinet were

invented in this era. Brass and woodwind feature

prominently.

Cadenza – this is the name given to the passages

where the soloist plays unaccompanied and really

shows off their technical skill. Usually improvised in

this era.

Gradual Dynamics – crescendos and diminuendos

feature. Volumes fall and rise gradually and

smoothly.

Venue – slightly larger space than the Baroque era

due to size or orchestra. A recital hall would have

been a suitable venue.

Composer –

Haydn

SOLOIST

MAIN ORCHESTRA

HAYDN – PIANO CONCERTO NO.11 IN D MAJOR

1750 - 1820

MOZART – CLARINET CONCERTO IN A MAJOR

(OR TRUMPET, FLUTE, HORN, CLARINET, VIOLIN, CELLO AND ANY OTHER CLASSICAL ERA INSTRUMENT)

Romantic Solo Concerto

Main  Characteristics    Mood – concertos in this era become much more

dramatic sounding and emotive.

Orchestra and soloist – the interactions between

these two become much more complex. The

orchestra has now expanded in size greatly.

Instruments – developments in instrument making

quality resulted in musicians being able to play very

technically challenging music. New additions

included the tuba, trombone, and piccolo.

Cadenza – these were now very technically

demanding and were often composed rather than

improvised.

Harmony and melody – this era made lots of use

of chromatic scales and dissonant, clashing notes.

Venue – a large concert hall due to the size of the

orchestra.

Composer –

Beethoven

SOLOIST

MAIN ORCHESTRA

BEETHOVEN – PIANO CONCERTO NO.5 IN Eb

1820 - 1900

ELGAR – CELLO CONCERTO IN E MINOR OPUS 85

(OR TRUMPET, FLUTE, HORN, PIANO, VIOLIN, CELLO AND ANY OTHER ROMANTIC ERA INSTRUMENT)