No historical period ends with the tidiness that textbook dating would
imply. Even as Bach was composing some of the finest Baroque music,
indeed finest music ever, the currents that would lead to the next
musical style were beginning to flow quietly beneath the surface.
The indication "tutti" indicates the first violin's melody during times
when the full orchestra plays. "Solo" marks the point of entrance of the
guitar accompanied by basso continuo. A visual analysis of the score
discloses that the entire section, as is the following section not
furnished here, is built upon two motives and their variants. The first
motive is both melodic and rhythmic. Vivaldi uses the three-note
kernal to built a longer melody by presenting it at consecutively
different pitch levels throughout the section. The rhythm is described,
at its simplest, as a rapid two-note motion followed a longer single
note. The melody of the motive encompasses the interval of a third.
The second motive has a character that is more rhythmic than melodic,
but it should be noted that the repeated notes are important to the
identity of the motive.
The motive that appears in measures 5-6 and repeated in measures 6-
7, under the arched phrase line given above the score, is a hybrid. It
features the range of the interval of the third from the first motive and
the repeated note and rough approximation of the second. A new
feature of the hybrid motive, found as the last three notes of measure
5, is the rhythm. Described in the simplest terms, it is a long note
followed by a rapid two-note motion. This rhythmic snatch is derived
from the first motive, and is a variant of that rhythm presented
backward. The ascending line, beginning in the middle of measure 7
and continuing to measure 9, consists of pairs of repeated notes that
climb in successive chromatic steps. The paired repeated notes derive
from the repeated notes of the second motive. The last note of measure
9 is actually the beginning of the melody that fills measure 10. The first
three notes of the measure derive from the last three notes of the
second motive. Like the hybrid motive in measures 5-6, each of the
four-note groupings in measure 10 encompasses the interval of the
third, the same span as that of the first motive. The musical materials
of the solo are handled similarly. The four-note of measure 14 also
encompasses the interval of a third, and the repetition of the figure
echoes the figural repetition of ideas found in the motives of measures
5-6 and measure 10. The motive in measure 18, repeated also in echo,
contains elements of the basic motives. It incorporates the reversed
rhythm of the first motive introduced in the hybrid at measure 5. It
features the repeated note of the second motive in its central portion.
Here, however, the range is extended to encompass the interval of a
fourth. The material at measure 20, also repeated in the subsequent
measure, represents a metamorphosis of the material of the first
measure. The motives of the first half of the measure have the range,
like the first motive, of a third, and the rhythm is the derivative one
derived from the first motive and introduced at the end of measure 5.
The second half of the measure duplicates the rhythm of the second
motive and features a similar downward leap. The range of the last two
notes of the measure retains the interval of the third.
Vivaldi's use of the motive as the smallest structural unit of melody
was extremely far-sighted and anticipated one of the most important
characteristics of the music of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. Musical
movements of the Baroque, regardless of genre, featured one thematic
idea. The thematic idea was most often a melody of considerable
length, so Vivaldi's motivic construction stands in sharp contrast to the
general practice.
In the example above, the first gavotte is played with each section
repeated. The second gavotte is also played with each section repeated.
Upon arrival at the end of the second gavotte, the player returns to the
beginning of the first gavotte and plays the dance but without
repeating the sections. Here, however, I have chosen to repeat Section
A because it gives the work a better sense of balance. The juxtaposition
of the two dances and their combination into a s single movement
creates the same form found in the Classic period as the "Minuet and
Trio." It was not uncommon to find two dances combined in the
scheme Dance I-Dance II-Dance I, or ABA, in the late Baroque, and such
combinations served as the model for the later Minuet and Trio form.
Bach's "Gavotte I" exemplifies strongly Vivaldi's motivic influence upon
Bach and demonstrates the process of "rounding" that occured in
binary Baroque dances in the first half of the eighteenth century.
Vivaldi's influence regarding the motive is explored extensively in the
subsequent Supplemental Lecture.
The motive that the first gavotte is built upon is presented in the first
two measures. Nearly all the subsequent music spins out this motive,
each time beginning on a new pitch. Note the repeat of the initial
motive beginning in the second half of the last measure of the fifth line.
This repeat of the initial motive represents the aforementioned
"rounding" of the AABB form to create AABaBa. Here the lower case
"a" represents the thematic reference. The last few measures form a
short coda. A similar development of materials is found in the second
gavotte.
Classical composers, in particular Franz Josef Haydn, carried the
process of "rounding" further to create a new form, the sonata or
"sonata allegro." The form would become the mainstay of Classic
period music, especially first movements of symphonies and string
quartets, and is still found in some of today's classical compostions.
Haydn is ascribed with the development and refinement of sonata
form though other composers worked along the same lines.
Inherent in sonata form is contrast. The sonata spins out of two
themes, not just one, and the two themes are always constructed to
create sharp contrasts. For example, if the first theme has a rousing
martial chararcter, the second will be gentle, sweet, and lyrical.
Combined with the expanded capabilities of the instruments to
contribute timbral and dynamic contrasts, the Baroque mission of
dramatic contrast is finally realized in the Classic period in ways
unimaginable to the Baroque composer. Moreover, violent contrasts in
the music are not a surprise in an era of great political and social
upheaval.
Below is a graph which contrasts the rounded Baroque binary dance
form and the sonata or "sonata allegro." "Allegro," of course, is a
reference to tempo appended because the form was almost exlusively
used as the first movement of multi-movement works. In the graph, "T"
stands for theme. Listening is essential to understanding. The
materials describing sonata form in Kamien are excellent but should be
compared to the Bach example above.