The Concerto Grosso is a big feature of Baroque music. It is an instrumental composition written for an ensemble of Baroque instruments. It shows off a small group of soloists, who are known as the Concertino (you can also call them a Concertante) and they are backed up by a Basso Continuo - usually played by harpsichord and cello. The rest of the ensemble is known as the Ripieno and the piece of music is built from a main motif, called the Ritornello.
As you can see, Concerto Grosso is one of these concepts that has associated concepts that go along with it.
See if you can spot the different parts of a Concerto Grosso in this example. The Concertino begins and you can see the Ripieno joining in after two violinists from the Concertino have played a few bars.
It is imperative that you learn how to associate concepts correctly.
Let's go over what the Concerto Grosso involves again:
A small group of soloists - the Concertino (Concertante)
A larger group of accompanying instruments: Ripieno
A continuous bass line played by a chordal and melodic instrument: Basso Continuo
A recurring phrase of music on which the whole piece is built: the Ritornello
Practise listening to Concerti Grosso by clicking through this playlist.
Make sure you know what to expect before you listen:
- Instrumental; no singers
- Polyphonic
- Simple, small orchestra typical of the Baroque era
- Ripieno
- Concertino
- Ritornello
- Basso Continuo
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