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VIVALDI'S BAROQUE: THE LOST PERFECTION OF PERFORMING ART AND COMPOSITION
TECHNIQUES
Poghosyan A.R.
Yerevan Culture University, Chair of Strings Arshakunjac 40, Yerevan, 514514, Republic of Armenia
Babayan B.G.
Yerevan Culture University, Char of Classical Vocal Arshakunjac 40, Yerevan, 514514, Republic of Armenia
Abstract
Baroque music is one of the most impressive parts of musical cultural heritage of western and eastern Europe. And nevertheless all the evolution of musical instruments and music in general, as well as the huge changes in art of performance, especially due to permanent search of new soundings, which are being created by instruments with usage of electromagnetic energy, baroque music still remains to stay actual up to now. One of the authors who were reopened in XX century was Antonio Lucio Vivaldi, whose known compositions list still being updated by new discoveries. In current paper it is discussed the wide range of unrepeatable uncial features of Vivaldi's music, which still remains part time undiscovered for modern performers.
Keywords: Baroque music, Vivaldi, instrumental music, violin, performing art, vocal compositions.
Baroque music is being dated as art and compositions which have been created during a period of approximately from 16th to 18th centuries, countries of Western Europe and especially in Italy [1-3]. Since XX century and up to XXI century the technical progress has the huge influence to the process of evolution of new musical instruments creation. This process including the reconstruction of ancient sounding and ancient authentic instruments too. The classical examples of it could be demonstrated by the phenomenon of music for Hang [4,5]. Simultaneously, there are the significant changes in music styles in general, as well as the huge changes in art of performance, especially due to permanent search of new soundings, which are being created by instruments with usage of electromagnetic energy (thereminvox, electric guitar, etc.). Nevertheless, all these tendencies, the baroque music still remains to stay actual up to now. Sometimes it makes us to look at the well-known classical compositions through the prism of authentic baroque instruments soundings. One of the central points in this phenomenon of baroque music still is interesting is the specific expression of epoch spirit by the unique techniques, which previously were mistakenly considered as primitivistic. Since the II half of XX century, when the numerous names of authors were reopened being found drop by drop from the compositions of later epoch authors according to their noted acknowledgments in some autograph scores, and up to nowadays, baroque music compositions examples are actively rediscovering as forgotten ones or as lost ones, being disclosed for listeners and scientists of XXI century. One of those authors who were rediscovered modern epoch of 20th century was A.L. Vivaldi, whose known compositions list is still being reupdated again and again by new discoveries of operas, concertos and other compositions for the incredible combinations of instrumental music, as well as vocal compositions lime motets, etc. One of the authors who were reopened in XX century was Antonio Lucio Vivaldi, whose known
compositions list still being updated by new discoveries [6].
According to baroque music historical classification, it is being divided to 3 periods: early baroque period (since 1580-1600 till 1630-1650), middle baroque period (since 1630-1650 till 1680-1700) and late baroque period (since 1680-1700 till 1730-1750). Due to this classification system, Antonio Vivaldi is being considered as one of Italian composers of late baroque period, representing the Venice Baroque. Looking at the wide range of creations of Vivaldi, it might be emphasized, that He was one of the rare universal authors, who were able to give a breath as religious as well as comic and dramatic music using various instruments and the versatility of technical elements which are presented in later epoch periods music, such as like in J.S. Bach's, Mozart's and Paganini's virtuosos compositions: fugues, caprices, concerts, etc [7].
One of the features of compositions of Antonio Vivaldi is the aspire to achieve the maximal approximation to human voice sounding using the various musical instruments, in both cases of strings or winds. Simultaneously with it, in music of Vivaldi always is being used the aspire to obtain the instrumental sounding of human voice vocal. That is why we can see the specific techniques of spiccato and staccato musical touches both in batches of strings and winds, as well as in vocal compositions. One of the brightest examples of combination of two these directions in the works of Vivaldi is aria of Costanza "Agitata da due venti" from "Griselda" opera, 2 act, RV 718 and the "Adagio" from concert for violin and strings RV 314a. Besides, Antonio Vivaldi sometimes used the structurally close forms of 3 part containing concertos in both vocal and instrumental compositions, brilliantly combining the maximal possibilities of chosen instrument or the type of male or female vocal. Practically every II part of string and multi-instrumental concerts of A. Vivaldi are created in style of classical aria with aspire to obtain the
maximal similarity to human voice sounding in both staccato and legato techniques [8].
Sometimes it's noted by author even in name of composition, such as like "Lagro e Cantabile" from the Concert for multiple instruments (2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 recorders, 2 violins, bassoon & strings) in C-Dur "Per la solennita di S. Lorenzo" RV 556. It should be especially emphasized the consequent usage of different instruments as accompaniment for making the sound of high and low notes more harmonic even in case of passages which includes alternation in octave steps (such as like in aria of Costanza "Agitata da due venti" from "Griselda" opera, 2 act, RV 718) and some dissonances (such as like in case of the forst part "Allegro non molto" (in F-moll) of Concerto No. 4 in F minor, Op. 8, RV 297, "Winter" (L'inverno) from "The Four Seasons" cycle of violin concertos) [6,7]. The other features of Vivaldi music is the presence in vocal batches, inter diapason compositions for voice, like the aria "Agitata da due venti", in which there are involved the high notes mostly specific for soprano, with simultaneous presence of mezzo soprano diapason notes. Besides, for Vivaldi vocal repertoire is specific the usage of coloratura techniques not only for soprano but although for contralto, baritone and other voice timbres. In multi-instrumental compositions Vivaldi often uses the contrasts of timbre of voice, simultaneously with the usage of similar timbre combinations, very often giving a solo role to instruments, which today practically are not used for solo performances [9].
Starting from the early compositions and up to lateK ones, all the music of Antonio Vivaldi is full of existentialism philosophy, such as like in case of II part of Concert for Violin, organ and strings RV541 "Garve", which is inspired by eternal life conception, and surviving of soul and idea, through all the tortures of earthly body path. Besides, all the deepness of philosophy of existentialism is sometimes expressed in music of Vivaldi by elements of techniques such as like virtuoso's combination of consonance and dissonances in accords, polyphony, chromatic passages, as well as cadenza writing, which are more characteristical for later periods, such as like Mozart, Pagani, and others. One of the examples of His composition with the spectacular demonstration of the mentioned features is Concert for Violin and strings: "Winter" from Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione, Op. 8 No. 4 / "Le quattro stagioni", RV297. By the language if music the author expressed in this concert all the fears and hopes of life and death, while the abstraction of comparison of human life sunset and the calendar winter as the fall season of year [10].
Due to modern vocal traditions, the laws of modern opera singing and classical performance art, not always is possible to find the appropriate singer for performing of baroque music, due to the more emphasizing of singing technics, which are extremely differing from the ones, which were dominant in epoch of baroque [11]. The forcing of the strength of voice in both cases of male and female, low or high voices, by the
particular infringement of the crystal purity of the sound, equalizing the timbres of the chest and head registers, excessive vibrato and much more other features of modern opera traditions often make it impossible to perform baroque batches as they were intended by author in the original version [12]. But in controversy to the mentioned above disadvantages of performing baroque in frame of modern vision of performance, the frequently immediate application of some baroque techniques to the classical instruments like violin's bow artificial decreasing is not always giving a positive result for performance quality in case of authentic compositions.
Conclusion
All in all, summarizing all the mentioned above, it might be concluded that the secrets of baroque music performance still remain particularly unknown and need to be researched by the persistence of a delicate balance between the pursuit of historical reconstruction and contemporary performing art traditions. Thus, the baroque art still remains as so far inaccessible and intangible for scientific analysis as well as so immensely close and familiar to our souls, being simultaneously lost in centuries and reopened today by modern musicians and listeners.
References
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