Area of Study 1, strand 1 (compulsory): the Baroque solo concerto, covering ritornello form, the contrast of tutti and solo, the basso continuo, the fast-slow-fast three-movement plan and the named composers Vivaldi, Bach and Handel.

What this dot point is asking

Area of Study 1, the Western classical tradition 1650 to 1910, is compulsory and is built from three named strands. The first strand is the Baroque solo concerto. AQA wants you to know its conventions in depth, recognise them in unfamiliar listening extracts in Section A, analyse a printed score in Section B, and write about the style in the Section C essay. You study published works by AQA's named composers (such as Vivaldi, Bach and Handel) chosen with your teacher, but the exam can play any Baroque solo concerto, so you must own the conventions, not just one piece.

Forces: soloist, tutti and continuo

The defining drama of the concerto is the contrast between the many and the one. When the tutti plays you hear a fuller, louder texture; when the soloist takes over you hear a lighter texture of soloist plus continuo, often with quicker, more virtuosic figuration. Because Baroque instruments cannot crescendo smoothly, this change of forces produces terraced dynamics, sudden steps between loud and soft rather than gradual swells.

Ritornello form

The three-movement plan and Baroque idioms

The standard concerto has three movements in a fast, slow, fast order. The first movement is brisk and in ritornello form; the slow movement is lyrical, often in a related key (for example the relative minor or subdominant) with a sparer texture; the finale is fast and dance-like, frequently in ritornello form again or a lively binary or dance metre. Across all three, expect the standard Baroque idioms: a single affect (mood) sustained through a movement, terraced dynamics, functional tonal harmony with frequent sequences, a walking or driving bass, ornamented and spun-out melodic lines, and contrapuntal moments where soloist and bass imitate one another.

Recognising the style by ear

Because Section A plays unfamiliar extracts, your knowledge must be audible. From a few bars you should be able to say: small string orchestra plus continuo, a soloist that alternates with the tutti, a clear key with functional cadences and sequences, terraced dynamics and a steady motoric pulse. Those features together date an extract to the high Baroque concerto, even if you have never heard the piece.

Try this

Q1. What three things alternate to create ritornello form, and where is the ritornello complete? [Knowledge recall]

• Cue. The orchestral ritornello alternates with contrasting solo episodes; the ritornello is complete at the start and end and returns shortened in related keys in between.

Q2. Name three audible features that identify a Baroque solo concerto extract. [Short explanation]

• Cue. Any three of: tutti-solo contrast, basso continuo throughout, ritornello form, terraced dynamics, functional tonal harmony with sequences, a driving bass, ornamented spun-out melody, a single affect.