Chapter 27 - Listening Guide Quiz 17: Vivaldi: Spring, from The Four Seasons, I

The opening tune of the ritornello in Spring is immediately repeated (at 0:07). When it repeats, what sounds different about it?

It is quieter.

In the second ritornello (after the bird episode), Vivaldi doesn't repeat the entire ritornello heard at the very beginning of the movement. How is the second ritornello different from the first?

It uses only the second tune of the opening ritornello.

How is the first half of the ritornello different from the second half of the ritornello?

The second half has a different tune.

The first movement of the Spring concerto is programmatic.

True

What does the solo violin play to suggest a storm?

loud, fast notes

In the second episode, which programmatic element is Vivaldi depicting in the music?

murmuring brooks

In ritornello form, the orchestra plays a recurring passage (known as a ritornello) in between different sections of music played by soloists. Vivaldi used ritornello form for the fast movements of his concertos. What are the performing forces in the first movement of Vivaldi's Spring concerto (marked allegro), from The Four Seasons?

orchestra and violin

In Vivaldi's Spring, the first movement is in ritornello form. What instrument(s) do you hear at the beginning of the movement?

the orchestra

In terms of length and melodic material, which is the third ritornello more similar to: the second ritornello or the first ritornello?

the second ritornello

After the ritornello, a soloist plays new music in an episode. Listen to the first episode, then fill in the blank below. In the first episode, the solo instruments play special effects that sound like birds, including repeated notes, running scales, and _____.

trills

In the third episode, the orchestra and solo violin suggest a thunderstorm has arrived. How does the orchestra play to paint that picture?

with fast, repeated notes played loudly