Concerto instruments and texture across the period: the growth from the small Baroque string ensemble with continuo to the large Romantic orchestra, the changing solo instruments, and how texture (the solo-tutti contrast) develops, roughly 1650 to 1910.

What this dot point is asking

This dot point tracks how the instruments, forces and texture of the concerto changed across Area of Study 2. You need to know the growth from the small Baroque string ensemble with continuo to the large Romantic orchestra, the changing solo instruments, and how the solo-tutti texture develops. The listening paper expects you to identify instruments by their timbre and describe how the texture contrasts between solo and tutti sections.

The growth of the forces

In the Baroque, the accompaniment is a string body plus basso continuo (a harpsichord realising the harmony and a bass instrument such as cello), sometimes with a few woodwind. In the Classical period the continuo disappears, the orchestra grows to include paired woodwind, horns and sometimes trumpets and timpani, and dynamics become gradual. In the Romantic period the orchestra expands further: a heavy brass section, more percussion, and a large string body, capable of the wide dynamic range and rich colour the music demands.

The changing solo instruments

The soloist also changed. The Baroque favoured the violin (Vivaldi) and groups such as two violins and cello (Corelli's concertino), with harpsichord and other instruments featured too. The Classical period made the piano the great solo instrument (Mozart's concertos), alongside the violin and wind instruments such as the trumpet and clarinet. The Romantic period kept the piano and violin central but wrote for them with extreme virtuosity, the soloist dominating a far larger orchestra.

The solo-tutti texture

This contrast is the heart of the concerto in every period, even as the forces change. In a Baroque ritornello movement, the tutti plays the ritornello and the soloist takes the lighter episodes. In a Classical or Romantic concerto, the orchestra states themes in full and steps back so the soloist can shine. Listening for the texture switching between full and light, and noticing who has the melody, is one of the most useful skills for the listening paper.

Examples in context

In a Vivaldi violin concerto the tutti strings and continuo play the ritornello fully, then thin to a light continuo accompaniment as the solo violin takes an episode, a clear Baroque solo-tutti contrast. In a Mozart piano concerto the orchestra (strings, paired woodwind, horns) states a theme, then reduces so the piano can answer, with no harpsichord in earshot. In a Tchaikovsky concerto a huge orchestra with full brass and percussion alternates with passages where the soloist dominates, the Romantic version of the same contrast on a far grander scale.

Try this

Q1. What instruments make up the Baroque concerto accompaniment? [2 marks]

• Cue. A small string ensemble plus basso continuo (a harpsichord and a bass instrument such as cello), sometimes with a little woodwind.

Q2. Name two instruments added to the orchestra by the Romantic period that the Baroque concerto did not use. [2 marks]

• Cue. Any two of: trombones, tuba, and extra percussion (the Romantic orchestra also has full woodwind and horns and a large string body, with no harpsichord continuo).

Q3. Describe how the texture changes between tutti and solo sections. [5 marks]

• What the marker wants. The contrast between full, thick, louder tutti sections (whole ensemble, often homophonic or doubled theme) and thinner solo sections (soloist prominent over a lighter accompaniment), with who has the melody at each point.