The Baroque concerto (roughly 1650 to 1750): the concerto grosso and solo concerto, ritornello form, the basso continuo, terraced dynamics and small forces, with composers such as Corelli, Vivaldi and Bach.

What this dot point is asking

The Baroque concerto (roughly 1650 to 1750) is the earliest stage of Area of Study 2. You need to know its two main types (the concerto grosso and the solo concerto), its defining structure (ritornello form), the role of the basso continuo, its terraced dynamics and small forces, and the leading composers (Corelli, Vivaldi, Bach). The listening paper expects you to recognise a Baroque concerto from these features and describe how ritornello form works.

The two types of Baroque concerto

The concerto grosso came first (Corelli's are models of the type) and the solo concerto grew alongside it, with Vivaldi writing hundreds, including The Four Seasons. The essential idea in both is contrast between soloist(s) and the larger group, traded back and forth across the movement.

Ritornello form

The word ritornello means "little return". The orchestra states the ritornello, the soloist takes over for an episode (often more virtuosic and exploring new keys), the ritornello returns (commonly in a related key), another episode follows, and so on, until the home-key ritornello rounds the movement off. Recognising the alternation of a returning tutti theme with solo episodes is the single most reliable sign of a Baroque concerto.

Basso continuo, dynamics and forces

The basso continuo (continuo) is the engine room of Baroque texture: a keyboard (usually harpsichord, sometimes organ) plays the harmony from a figured bass, while a bass instrument (cello, double bass or bassoon) plays the bass line, both continuing throughout. This is why Baroque music often has a clear, active bass and a "filled-in" middle.

Dynamics are terraced: the music shifts suddenly between loud (tutti) and soft (solo), in steps or terraces, rather than with the gradual crescendos of later periods, partly because the harpsichord cannot swell. The forces are small: a string orchestra plus continuo, sometimes with a few woodwind or brass. The music is often continuous and busy, with running semiquavers and clear, regular rhythms.

Examples in context

Vivaldi's solo violin concertos, such as those in The Four Seasons, show the type clearly: a fast first movement in ritornello form, the orchestra stating a memorable ritornello that returns in different keys between virtuosic violin episodes, all over a continuo bass with terraced dynamics. Corelli's concerti grossi contrast a concertino of two violins and cello against the ripieno strings. Bach's Brandenburg Concertos vary the concertino group from one work to the next, but the ritornello principle and continuo texture remain.

Try this

Q1. What is the difference between a concerto grosso and a solo concerto? [2 marks]

• Cue. A concerto grosso contrasts a small solo group (the concertino) with the full ensemble; a solo concerto sets a single soloist against the orchestra.

Q2. What plays the basso continuo? [2 marks]

• Cue. A keyboard (usually harpsichord) playing the harmony from a figured bass, plus a bass instrument (such as cello) playing the bass line, both continuing throughout.

Q3. Describe how ritornello form is used in a Baroque concerto. [6 marks]

• What the marker wants. A recurring orchestral ritornello alternating with contrasting solo episodes, the ritornello returning in different keys (often shortened), with a full statement framing the movement, tracked against the extract.