0:00 I. Recitativo: Amor hai vinto 1:11 II. Aria: Passo di pena in pena (Andante) 7:27 III. Recitativo accompagnato: In che strano e confuso 9:16 IV. Aria: Se à me rivolge il ciglio (Allegro) Composed: between 1726 and c.1731 (Talbot) Turin source: Foà 27, ff. 53-61 Concerto Italiano, ‘Concerti e Cantate’ Sara Mingardo, alto Rinaldo Alessandrini, direzione Opus 111 OPS 30-181
What a lovely performance! Vivaldi's writing is so natural and poignant, especially in the recitatives ("l'alama mia dal dolore abbandanato")! Thanks for posting this favorite.
Viendo por el texto más profano, es lo mas probable que se interpretaban en los palacios de la corte en Venecia. ya que en el (pio ospedale della pietà) era para estreno de música orquestal y para musica litúrgica.
Vivaldi fue profesor de musica en un orfanato, ahi compuso y dedico los 32 conciertos de fagot a los niños huerfanos. Gran parte de las cantatas profanas las compuso en este momento, ya que disponia de virtuosisimas cantantes. Eso, fueron por encargo(por ejemplo las serenatas fueron encargados por el embajador de francia para celebrar el casamiento de nobles)
Please, can somebody explain to me why the singer often changes the notes at the end of each small phrase in the two recitativos? For example, in the second bar of the first recitativo, "hai vinto" should sound as CGG, whereas the alto sings CCG. Many other similar cases occur in the following. Is she singing another version of RV 683 or (arbitrarily?) modifying Vivaldi's original score?
This is a common performance practice in recitatives called appoggiatura, in which an ornamental note is added to delay the resolution of the cadence (hence why they're usually heard at the ends of phrases). In later centuries, these ornamentations are usually notated in the score. However, in Renaissance and Baroque scores, this ornamentation was usually implied or left up to the individual performer. Hope that helps, as this is something I wondered about myself early in my studies!
@@alexanderbirchmusic Thank you very much for your kind and informative reply. I did know that in Baroque music many embellishments are implied and their realization is left to the freedom of the performer (within certain limits, of course). For example, I feel completely comfortable with the following sentences quoted from the entry "Ornament (music)" of Wikipedia: This practice is also related to the necessity of saving time, since authors like Vivaldi, Haendel, etc. were often overworked. However, I need to learn more about the performance of recitativos in the Baroque period, since at least two doubts still reside in my mind, i.e., 1) an appoggiatura consists in "adding a non-chord note, or auxiliary note, which is typically one degree higher or lower than the principal note, and may be chromatically altered" (quoted and adapted from the above Wikipedia entry). This is not the case for the second bar of RV 683, where no auxiliary note is added, but rather the original note (G) is replaced by another one (C); moreover, C is certainly not one degree higher than G. In other terms, here I cannot regard the performer's change as an appoggiatura; 2) if Vivaldi had written the part exactly as sung by the performer, he would have spent no more time than he did for his original writing, since the singer limits herself to changing the original notes, rather than adding new ones to them. So my problem is to understand why Vivaldi did not directly write the part as sung by the performer, if he had wanted so.
@@serenissimus1678 As far as Baroque music is concerned (and most certainly in the music of Vivaldi), I believe what we have here is a case of modern performers (and listeners) projecting over 200 years of musical tradition onto earlier music. Before the Classical Period, scores were definitely less detailed, giving much freedom to the performer. Figured bass is a great example of this, where only bass notes are given and the harmonic realization is left completely up to the performer. It is very rare that we hear recordings of Baroque works (despite being performed several centuries after their composition) being performed the same exact way, despite what is written. As far as the appoggiaturas, the practice is one that has developed and solidified through the Renaissance all the way to today. While you are correct that they are typically one degree higher or lower, that does not necessarily restrict an appoggiatura to only those notes. In the modern sense of the term, an appoggiatura is usually approached by a leap and resolved by a step. However, recitatives do not always follow that rule due to the way they are written and have been historically performed. Whether we call it an appoggiatura or not, in this case it is merely a widely-accepted performance technique that has been employed at the discretion of this performer. I cannot speak for Vivaldi (or most composers of the Baroque period) as to why he wrote his parts the way he did. Nor can I speak for the performers of his day who performed his recitatives with appoggiaturas and ornaments that were not explicitly written down (which there is precedent for in writings on operatic performance practice of the day). In the end, I would say that Baroque music is traditionally performed with greater freedom and expression than music later on in history. In my opinion, when a performer of Baroque music sticks to only what is on the page, the true spirit of the Baroque is lost. I like to think Vivaldi and his contemporaries understood that implied improvisatory nature of the music of their day, something that, for better or worse, was lost in the music of the centuries to come. However, as none of us were there during that time, I suppose we can't say for certain why Vivaldi did one thing or another. We can only go off of historical writings, recorded performance practice of the music of the time, and ultimately enjoy being interpreters and listeners of this beautiful music for our time. :)
@@alexanderbirchmusic Thank you again for your reply. Although I generally agree with you, there is still something I cannot understand about this performance. For example, at bar 11 Vivaldi writes an appoggiatura (the only one in this recitativo) under the syllable "pe" of the word "pena" . Well, I find it paradoxical that the singer adds appoggiaturas (in a broad sense) almost at every bar, but when there is one (in the strict sense) explicitly written by the composer, she does not sing it (indeed, she replaces the original E with F sharp, instead of singing F sharp and E on the same syllable). Perhaps the explanation I am looking for can be found in some treatise on singing written in the late Baroque period (e.g., "Opinione de' cantori antichi e moderni, o sieno osservazioni sopra il canto figurato" by Pier Francesco Tosi). For the moment, all I can say is that I am missing something here.
> (Quoted from "The Chamber Cantatas of Antonio Vivaldi" by Michael Talbot, p. 154).
I do agree.
One of the best comments that I have ever read on UA-cam! Two Thumbs Up 👍👍
I was one of those sceptics. Thanks to UA-cam I know now that V was perfectly capable to write large scale contrapuntal works and everything else.
0:00 I. Recitativo: Amor hai vinto
1:11 II. Aria: Passo di pena in pena (Andante)
7:27 III. Recitativo accompagnato: In che strano e confuso
9:16 IV. Aria: Se à me rivolge il ciglio (Allegro)
Composed: between 1726 and c.1731 (Talbot)
Turin source: Foà 27, ff. 53-61
Concerto Italiano, ‘Concerti e Cantate’
Sara Mingardo, alto
Rinaldo Alessandrini, direzione
Opus 111 OPS 30-181
Vivaldi is an underrated composer!
Magnífica Sara
Best UA-cam channel ever, and best composer ever
And the little quotation of Farnace in the text of the first recitative... "Gelido in ogni vena, scorrer mi sento il sangue"
Thanks!
What a lovely performance! Vivaldi's writing is so natural and poignant, especially in the recitatives ("l'alama mia dal dolore abbandanato")! Thanks for posting this favorite.
I strongly agree 👍👍
I like the double Fugue
9:16 is similar to Gl'oltraggi della sorte from montezuma
¡Que hermosa música!
Cuánta alegría y virtuosismo.
¿Se sabe para que ocasiónes Vivaldi componía Cantatas?
Viendo por el texto más profano, es lo mas probable que se interpretaban en los palacios de la corte en Venecia. ya que en el (pio ospedale della pietà) era para estreno de música orquestal y para musica litúrgica.
Vivaldi fue profesor de musica en un orfanato, ahi compuso y dedico los 32 conciertos de fagot a los niños huerfanos. Gran parte de las cantatas profanas las compuso en este momento, ya que disponia de virtuosisimas cantantes. Eso, fueron por encargo(por ejemplo las serenatas fueron encargados por el embajador de francia para celebrar el casamiento de nobles)
Can you upload "alla caccia, alla caccia" ?
Please, can somebody explain to me why the singer often changes the notes at the end of each small phrase in the two recitativos? For example, in the second bar of the first recitativo, "hai vinto" should sound as CGG, whereas the alto sings CCG. Many other similar cases occur in the following. Is she singing another version of RV 683 or (arbitrarily?) modifying Vivaldi's original score?
This is a common performance practice in recitatives called appoggiatura, in which an ornamental note is added to delay the resolution of the cadence (hence why they're usually heard at the ends of phrases). In later centuries, these ornamentations are usually notated in the score. However, in Renaissance and Baroque scores, this ornamentation was usually implied or left up to the individual performer. Hope that helps, as this is something I wondered about myself early in my studies!
@@alexanderbirchmusic Thank you very much for your kind and informative reply. I did know that in Baroque music many embellishments are implied and their realization is left to the freedom of the performer (within certain limits, of course). For example, I feel completely comfortable with the following sentences quoted from the entry "Ornament (music)" of Wikipedia:
This practice is also related to the necessity of saving time, since authors like Vivaldi, Haendel, etc. were often overworked. However, I need to learn more about the performance of recitativos in the Baroque period, since at least two doubts still reside in my mind, i.e., 1) an appoggiatura consists in "adding a non-chord note, or auxiliary note, which is typically one degree higher or lower than the principal note, and may be chromatically altered" (quoted and adapted from the above Wikipedia entry). This is not the case for the second bar of RV 683, where no auxiliary note is added, but rather the original note (G) is replaced by another one (C); moreover, C is certainly not one degree higher than G. In other terms, here I cannot regard the performer's change as an appoggiatura; 2) if Vivaldi had written the part exactly as sung by the performer, he would have spent no more time than he did for his original writing, since the singer limits herself to changing the original notes, rather than adding new ones to them. So my problem is to understand why Vivaldi did not directly write the part as sung by the performer, if he had wanted so.
@@serenissimus1678 As far as Baroque music is concerned (and most certainly in the music of Vivaldi), I believe what we have here is a case of modern performers (and listeners) projecting over 200 years of musical tradition onto earlier music. Before the Classical Period, scores were definitely less detailed, giving much freedom to the performer. Figured bass is a great example of this, where only bass notes are given and the harmonic realization is left completely up to the performer. It is very rare that we hear recordings of Baroque works (despite being performed several centuries after their composition) being performed the same exact way, despite what is written.
As far as the appoggiaturas, the practice is one that has developed and solidified through the Renaissance all the way to today. While you are correct that they are typically one degree higher or lower, that does not necessarily restrict an appoggiatura to only those notes. In the modern sense of the term, an appoggiatura is usually approached by a leap and resolved by a step. However, recitatives do not always follow that rule due to the way they are written and have been historically performed. Whether we call it an appoggiatura or not, in this case it is merely a widely-accepted performance technique that has been employed at the discretion of this performer. I cannot speak for Vivaldi (or most composers of the Baroque period) as to why he wrote his parts the way he did. Nor can I speak for the performers of his day who performed his recitatives with appoggiaturas and ornaments that were not explicitly written down (which there is precedent for in writings on operatic performance practice of the day).
In the end, I would say that Baroque music is traditionally performed with greater freedom and expression than music later on in history. In my opinion, when a performer of Baroque music sticks to only what is on the page, the true spirit of the Baroque is lost. I like to think Vivaldi and his contemporaries understood that implied improvisatory nature of the music of their day, something that, for better or worse, was lost in the music of the centuries to come. However, as none of us were there during that time, I suppose we can't say for certain why Vivaldi did one thing or another. We can only go off of historical writings, recorded performance practice of the music of the time, and ultimately enjoy being interpreters and listeners of this beautiful music for our time. :)
@@alexanderbirchmusic Thank you again for your reply. Although I generally agree with you, there is still something I cannot understand about this performance. For example, at bar 11 Vivaldi writes an appoggiatura (the only one in this recitativo) under the syllable "pe" of the word "pena" . Well, I find it paradoxical that the singer adds appoggiaturas (in a broad sense) almost at every bar, but when there is one (in the strict sense) explicitly written by the composer, she does not sing it (indeed, she replaces the original E with F sharp, instead of singing F sharp and E on the same syllable). Perhaps the explanation I am looking for can be found in some treatise on singing written in the late Baroque period (e.g., "Opinione de' cantori antichi e moderni, o sieno osservazioni sopra il canto figurato" by Pier Francesco Tosi). For the moment, all I can say is that I am missing something here.