Posted by ed_uk2010 on December 4, 2013, at 6:07:19
In reply to Re: for ed_uk2010, posted by sigismund on December 3, 2013, at 21:24:04
Vivaldi was not a greater write of fugue. He used very little formal counterpoint in his music, and apparently found fugue-writing difficult. To be quite frank, Vivaldi's music various from sublime to trite and banal. He often had to write concertos with exceptional speed for small concerts, and it shows. On the other hand, he best music is just fantastic. Perhaps surprisingly, some of the fugal-style music he did write was a great success. Here are a few examples. Bear in mind, Vivald's fugues are not always strict fugues like Bach's. He preferred instead to write whatever sounded right, be it a proper fugue or not. His fugues are always short. It think it's generally recognised that he did not find them easy to write.
Vivaldi - Sonata a quattro, Al Santo Sepolcro. I've only posted a link to the fugue, not the calm sleepy introduction (which is great in its own way, like night music). This version of the fugue is very fast. There are many slower versions available online if you prefer, some almost to the point of being turgid (wrong word, but never mind). Still, I find this version somewhat rivitalising even though it is a bit rushed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9djDrfOUN8Vivaldi - Kyrie Eleison (Lord, have mercy).
This is a beautiful choral piece in general. The sequence of chords at the beginning was a favourite of Vivaldi, he used it in several different pieces, including other parts of the mass. Anyway, the fugue (or at least the counterpoint) starts at 7:00 minutes, if you'd like to skip to it using the bar at the bottom. I do recommend listening to the whole piece though. The fugal finale sounds a bit pointless without the build up.
Performed here by the excellent King's Consort.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-2e8VUgrEw
Here is another great example of Vivaldian counterpoint, the Cruxifixus, from Credo RV591. The fugue starts at 3:40 mins and is undoubtedly the most touching part of the piece.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zPkhIizEvM
Most of the other Italian Baroque composers wrote more contrapunctal work than Vivaldi (although not to the extent of the Germans)... but their fugues were always more informal than Bach.
You may enjoy this Albinoni, some of his earliest work, from Opus 1. The trio sonatas of Opus 1 are a mixture of energising fugal allegros and generally non/less fugal largos.
This is Sonata no 3. I think my favourite bit is at 4:55 mins, it's just so full of joy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sp1YZc26mng
Hope you enjoy - and don't feel bombarded!
poster:ed_uk2010
thread:1054444
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20131110/msgs/1055410.html