Before looking at the Baroque Solo Concerto, we first of all need to understand the stylistic musical features of Baroque music:
| Musical Element | Detail |
| Basso Continuo section | Cello, lute, harpsichord or organ. The cello would play the bass line while the chordal instrument would play chords to fill in the texture |
| Ornamentation | Decorating melodies with trills, mordents, grace notes, turns |
| Terraced Dynamics | Either loud of quiet – no crescendo/diminuendo |
| Balanced phrases | Phrase lengths of an even number |
| Variety of textures | Polyphonic/contrapuntal (independent melodies) Homophonic (parts moving together in harmony) Melody and accompaniment |
| Modulations | Moving to related keys (e.g. dominant or relative minor) |
| Small orchestra | Strings, woodwind (recorders, flutes, oboes bassoons), brass, timpani |
COMPOSERS include J.S. Bach, Handel and Vivaldi. Click on the names to listen to pieces by the composer.
You may be asked about the following features in the listening exam:
| Features of the solo instrument: -Rhythm…Does it use fast notes and /or slow notes? -Melody…Does it use scales and / or leaps? -Melodic devices….Does it use ornaments – what type? -What type of articulation does it use?
| Features of the accompaniment -Is it chordal or homophonic? -Long chords? -Repeated chords? -Bass note plus chords? -Is it polyphonic/contrapuntal? -Is there some imitation? Relationship of parts How do the solo instrument and the orchestra work together? |
The Baroque SOLO CONCERTO grew out of the Concerto Grosso in which a single solo instrument (such as VIOLIN, CELLO, RECORDER, FLUTE, OBOE, BASSOON, TRUMPET or LUTE), played with the STRING ORCHESTRA which provided the ACCOMPANIMENT (together with the CONTINUO).
The idea of contrast became stronger and composers often gave the soloist some difficult and technically demanding passages to play.
Baroque Solo Concertos = THREE MOVEMENTS contrasted by tempo – fast, slow, fast – with a single mood or style within each movement.
Baroque Solo Concertos also had long, flowing MELODIES decorated with ORNAMENTS and include SEQUENCES and IMITATION.
Mainly uses a POLYPHONIC TEXTURE (with some HOMOPHONIC sections for contrast) E.g. Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” featuring a solo violin against a string orchestra with continuo.