Happy Friday Music! Often in the Baroque Period, the “Basso Continuo” (usually termed just “continuo”) would provide the normal harmonic support to a piece of music. An instrument that could play chords (harpsichord, organ, harp etc) was paramount to this and it would be joined by instruments that played in a low register – bassoon, cello, bass viol etc. Some composers in the early 1600s started to give more important and independent roles to the bassoon, signalling a remarkable change of function for it. Instead of taking a generally background role (as a foundation to the music being performed and created), composers were beginning to give it solos and indeed to put it in the limelight on many occasions. Our link video today was written by Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741). He was particularly significant in contributing to the development of the bassoon’s new role, writing 39 concerti for it in 1728-1737 (around 400 concerti in total). After the violin (230 concerti), Vivaldi wrote more concerti for the bassoon than for any other instrument. This is pretty amazing stuff as the bassoon was suffering a decline in popularity at this time and it had never been used as a solo instrument in Venice before! The one in E minor (RV 484) is one of his best. Helpfully the video has a score that we can follow as we listen to the performers play. As is often the case with solo concerti by Vivaldi we can hear fast-slow-fast movements. Quick flowing passages and large register leaps are evident. Beautiful! https://youtube/watch?v=BOZEj8wyj-I This time we see the bassoon in a well-known composition by JS Bach (1685-1750). The Freiburger Barockorchester (founded in 1987) is playing his 1st Brandenburg Concerto in F major. Composed around 1721, this concerto is the only one of the group of six that has four movements and the only one to include a bassoon! https://youtube/watch?v=jZahM6tmNqQ The final video features able musicians who were students at the Guildhall in London when this was recorded. They are playing one of GP Telemann’s (1681-1767) Trio Sonatas (TWV 42:c2). He was a prolific and innovative composer (had written an opera by the time he was 12 etc) and was very highly acclaimed by his contemporaries and by people into at least the early 19th century. Trio sonata performances are usually played by four people (as in this video). There are two solo melodic instruments with a continuo part (which as mentioned earlier is an instrument that can play chords, together with a low register instrument). Super contrapuntal “note against note” music!
Posted on: Fri, 12 Sep 2014 06:30:01 +0000
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