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What kinds of musical contrasts appeared in the early stile concertato?
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concerto
Caricature of Antonio Vivaldi, pen and ink on paper by Pier Leone Ghezzi, 1723; in the Codex Ottoboni, Vatican Library, Rome. The inscription below the drawing reads, âIl Prete rosso Compositore di Musica che fece L'opera a Capranica del 1723â (âThe red priest, composer of music who made the opera at Capranica [College in Rome] of 1723â).
In the early stile concertato, composers utilized several distinct forms of musical opposition to create variety and tension. These contrasts, which later became fundamental to the Baroque concerto, include the following:
- Opposition between groups: This involved alternating between different choirs of voices or instruments, as well as between a full ensemble and smaller groups of soloists.12
- Texture and ornamentation: Composers contrasted simple, straightforward musical parts with more decorative, virtuoso passages.1
- Basso continuo vs. melody: There was a clear opposition between the essential basso continuo (the foundational bass line) and its melodic elaboration.1
- Motivic interplay: Voices or instrumental parts engaged in imitative or motivic interplay, creating a sense of competition or "contesting" between parts.13
- Vocal and instrumental roles: The style frequently featured the opposition between vocal and instrumental forces.1
These techniques, which emerged from the polychoral traditions of Venice, relied on the interaction of heterogeneous groups to produce novel antiphonal effects and a balance between concord and contest.41