I. Gloria
Gloria, known as the
hymnus
angelicus, is “the song of the heavenly host on the night of the nativity
(Luke 2:14, “Gloria to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men
of good will”).”
It
is sometimes called the Song of the Angels, or the Greater Doxology.
As
the second part of the Ordinary of the Mass, the Gloria was sung after
the Kyrie and was first included in the Mass only on those special occasions
when a bishop was celebrant. Although the usage was gradually “extended
to other festal days and Sundays, it is excluded on penitential days, during
Advent and Lent, and from ferial and Requiem masses.”
A custom for Vivaldi and
his contemporaries in Italy for setting a mass as suggested by Talbot is
that they did not make a complete setting of the Ordinary but a setting
only of its first two or three sections, in which Gloria is included with
Kyrie
and Credo. He suggests that the custom of leaving “the
Sanctus,
Benedictus and Agnus Dei to be sung in plainsong or recited
silently” seems to have become popular in the later 17th century
as a means of allowing more flexibility in the liturgical services.
This might be the reason that two Glorias (RV 588 and RV589) were left
by Vivaldi to the music history.
Possibly being composed in
around 1725, the Gloria (RV 589) did not receive its first modern performance
in Siena until September 20 1939.This
is due to the tremendous discovery of Vivaldi’s personal archive of scores
originally belonging to the Pieta.
Twelve
movements are included in this Gloria setting based on its twelve verses
in the prose hymn. Although the vocal part is intended for the chorus,
there are some solo passages where the choir alternates with the solo,
and some solo/duet settings appear throughout.
II. The Analysis of Laudamus Te
Form/Ritornello
Laudamus te is a
movement using the principle of ritornello, a typical feature in Vivlaid’s
concerto composition that instrumental sections alternate with solo episodes.
The first ritornello beginning
with a G major tonic chord is a seventeen-measure long section in the instrumentation
of violin, viola, cello, contrabass, and organ. Two motivic units are found
in this ritornello. Motive (a) as seen in measure 1 and 2 shows the opening
chords of I-IV-I of G major. It is a norm in Baroque idiom that the beginning
passages (mm.1-2) somehow are identical to the first few measures of the
solo parts (mm.18-19 and mm.20-21). Motive (b) comes from measure 3, which
contains a rhythmic patternthat
appears frequently in the rest of this movement.Episode
1 appears at measure 17 when Sop. I enters, and ends at measure 36 with
a tonic chord in D major. The first appearance of an incomplete ritornello
passage, which comes from the A part of Ritornello 1, begins at measure
36 lasting for seven measures and ends at measure 42.Episode
2 begins with a duet in the intervals of parallel 3rds at measure
42. With modulating passages to A minor (mm.48-54) and E minor (mm.54-62),
this episode ends at measure 62.The
incomplete ritornello in A minor is placed between Episode 2 and Episode
3 from measure 61 to measure 66.It
is then continued by Episode 3, lasting for only nine measures to repeat
the statements of Adoramus te and Glorificamus te. An incomplete
ritornello, ritornello4,in C major
starting from measure 74 to measure 80 follows this episode and leads to
the last episode, which begins at measure 80 and cadences at measure 108.
A complete ritornello from measure 108 to measure 125 in G major concludes
the whole movement.
Table 1. Structure of Laudamu
te
|
Section
|
Rit.1
|
Ep.1
|
Rit.2
|
Ep.2
|
Rit.3
|
Ep.3
|
Rit.4
|
Ep.4
|
Rit.5
|
|
Measure
|
A:1-6
B:6-10
C:12-17 |
17-36
|
36-42
(A
of Rit.1)
|
42-62
|
61-66
(A
of Rit.1)
|
66-74
|
74-80
|
80-108
|
108-125
A:108-113
B:113-117
C::117-125 |
|
Key
|
G
|
G---D
|
D---G
|
G- a-e
|
e
|
e---C
|
C
|
C---G
|
G
|
Rit.: Ritornello
Ep.: Episode
Letters in capital indicate
major; in lower case indicate minor.
The text
Laudamus te, as
suggested by Jeffers, is a section of “acclamations in the hymn of praise
originated from the ‘morning prayer’ in the Apostolic Constitution.”
Four
phrases listed below consist of the acclamations.
Laudamus te We praise thee
Benedicimu te We bless thee
Adoramus te We worship thee
Glorificamus te We glorify thee
In most
Vivaldi’s church music, he “succeeded admirably in conveying the general
sense of the text,” and yet, his word setting is said to be “cavalier”
since his attention to the “individual word or phrase” is very limited.This
characteristic of Vivaldi is evident in the movement of Laudamus te.
One can easily feel the vivid rhythmic motion and bright tonality, but
cannot find specific word-painting features through this movement.
Instrumental Ritornello
Five
ritornello presentations occur in this movement.A
typical feature of the ritornello setting can be seen in this movement:
the first and the last ritornello are identical in terms of instrumentation,
phrasing, harmonic structure, motivic development, and key.It
is also typical for motives from the ritornello section to be incorporated
in the episodes. For instance, the opening soprano phrases are identical
to the opening theme of the instrumental ritornello (mm.1-2 and mm.17-21).
In addition to the first episode, the rhythmic pattern of this opening
theme from mot. (a) also appears at measure 43 for the second episode to
continue.At the beginning of the
last episode, although being slightly modified into,
the rhythmic pattern of mot. (a) is used again to acclaim Laudamus te
at measure 81 and measure 82.
In terms
of structure, this opening ritornello section consists of three parts,
A (mm.1-6), B (mm.6-12), and C (mm.12-17).In
addition to mot. (a) as mentioned above, mot.(b)is
also included in the A part of this ritornello.This
A part is later presented in the incomplete ritornellos, which appear in
the rest of this movement. Instrumentally, having been influenced by his
idiomatic writing coming from concerto, Vivaldi intends to write a heavier
texture for the ritornello as opposite to the episodes where the orchestra
part is merely a light accompaniment.
Vocal Episodes
Four vocal episodes are
included in this movement. All of them vary in different ways. Episode
1 in G major begins with an “antiphonal” passage between Sop.I and II from
measure 17 to measure 25 resembling how Gloria was sung in the medieval
Mass. This antiphonal practice is used in other episodes as well with slight
modification. Another example found in the same episode is from measure
27 to 28 where Sop.I and II enter the “Glo-ri-fi-ca” in the same
pitches ( d-c#-b-a-g-f#) with an overlapping of a measure.
In episode 2, the same feature is seen again from measure 48 to measure
50; however, a different pitch level (a whole step higher) is arranged
when the second soprano enters. Similar passage occurs at mm.94-95 in Episode
4. A restatement of this passage happens again at mm.102-103 toward the
end of this episode, and only this time, a voice exchange between Sop.I
and II occurs. This antiphonal manner, being treated either by imitation
or sequence, is considered one of the characteristics that Vivaldi composed
in his orchestral pieces, especially those concertos for violins, which
according to Talbot, Vivaldi “frequently toss a pair of contrapuntally
contrasted motives back and forth over several bars, either at one pitch
or at different pitches in a sequential pattern.”
Harmony
The
tonal framework of this movement is within a typical ritornello design.An
opening ritornello in the tonic G major begins at measure 1 until measure
17.Following the first instrumental
ritornello, an opening vocal episode continues in the tonic of G major
at measure 17 and then moves to the dominant key ending at D major.Ritornello
2 in the key of D major is only a part of the opening ritornello.This
section soon leads to the second vocal episode, where several modulations,
all closely related to each other, (D major—G major—A minor—E minor) take
place.Ritornello 3 is almost identical
to Ritornello 2 except in a different key, E minor.This
E minor passage is followed by a short vocal episode, Episode3. It also
starts from E minor but is modulated to C major toward the end of the phrase
(mm72-74).Ritornello 4, same as
Ritornello 2 and 3 in terms of melodic and rhythmic structure succeeds
to the C major of its previous episode and goes into the last vocal episode,
Episode 4, from C major returning to G major.The
very last section, Ritornello 5 from measure 108-125, which is identical
to the opening instrumental ritornello, takes the G major of its previous
episode and concludes the movement in an imperfect authentic cadence at
measure 125.
One
interesting feature in terms of harmonic arrangement in this movement is
that Vivaldi frequently employs methods such as sequences and secondary
function chords to either elaborate a simple passage or modulate.An
example found in the opening ritornello section (mm.12-14) shows that.
Horizontally, he makes a chromatic passage by means of sequences (1+1+1),
starting at b-bb-a-ab-g in the violin and supported
by the whole tone scale G—F—Eb—D from the basso continuo,
to get to the V of G at measure 15 preparing for this coming imperfect
authentic cadence.Another example
where using secondary chords in sequence to lead to a new key can be found
is from some melisma passages of the duet. In Glorificmus te of
measure 30 to measure 36, a sequence in mm.31-32 (1+1) helps reinforce
the feeling of the tonality at D major.
Other
than the elaborating treble part, the use of pedal to reinforce the tonality
is also one interesting medium Vivaldi uses frequently in this movement.
The first pedal passage in G (the tonic of G major) is seen in Episode
1 from measure 17 to measure 26 to extend this entrance phrase as a tonic
passage at I of G major. After modulating to D major, the pedal tone shifts
to A (the dominant of D major) to prepare a dominant passage from measure
30 to measure 35 to get to the tonic chord of D major at measure 36 for
an imperfect authentic cadence. The third pedal tone D (tonic of D major)
occurs at measure 43 in Episode 2 lasting for four measures and moves to
a G sharp note to engage in a modulation process to a short A minor area,
where the pedal tone A serves as the tonic of A minor. The very last pedal
tone G (both serving as the dominant of C and pivot to the tonic of G at
m.86) is brought by the opening phrase of Episode 4, where C major appears
from measure 80 to measure 88.
III. Conclusion
Ritornello as a compositional
concept had been widely used early in the eighteenth century by composers
such as Giuseppe Torelli and Henricus Albicastro. The fully developed structure,
however, does not emerge until Vivaldi’s concertos written in around 1710.
His concerto technique has influenced the vocal music writing (mainly for
sacred function) so much that the elements of concerto are rarely absent
from any of his vocal works. Examples can be found in
Laudamus te
as analyzed above.
The alternation of instrumental
ritornello with vocal solo episodes is often heard in Vivaldi’s concerto
setting, where “tutti vs. solo” takes place. Abrupt modulation is also
a unique feature that Vivaldi presents in his overall music writing. Evidence
can be found from the frequent uses of secondary chords, chords of foreign
keys, and sequences in different pitch levels for modulation in Laudamus
te.Another interesting feature
may be associated with concerto style is that a firm bass, which represented
by several pedal passages through ritornellos and episodes in this movement
is important, especially to be supportive for the florid treble line, which
in this movement is heard through the melismatic passages sung by the duet.
Vivaldi’s music language
in general is so distinctive that his vocal works turn out to be “strongly
musical” that the text meaning would be sometimes ignored. Laudamus
te is not an exception. No specific word painting is found in this
movement; however, the efforts Vivaldi makes musically does express the
rejoice of praising, blessing, worshiping, and glorifying, and demonstrate
how great he is as the first master of program music.
Works Cited
Jeffers, Ron. Translations
and Annotations of Choral Rrepertoire. Corvallis, OR.:
Earthsongs,
1988.
Stolba, K. Marie. A History
of the Development of Western Music. Madison, Wisconsin:
Brown
& Benchmark, 1994.
Talbot,
Michael. Antonio Vivaldi.
Edited by Denis, Arnold, The New Grove Italian Baroque Masters: Monteverdi,
Frescobaldi, Cavalli, Corelli, A. Scarlatti, Vivaldi, D. Scarlatti. London:
Macmillan Pub., Ltd., 1980.
____________.The
Sacred Vocal Music of Antonio Vivaldi. Firenze: L.S. Olschki, 1995.
The
New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Edited by Stanley Sadie.
20 volumes. London: Macmillan Pub., Ltd., 2001.
Structural Diagram: Laudamus Te
From Gloria RV 589, A. Vivaldi
|
Section
|
Ritornello1 (Instrumental Section)
|
Episode1 (Vocal Duet Section)
|
|
Measure
|
1-17
|
17-36
|
|
Subsection
& Motives
|
ABC
________½
___________ ½________________
mm.1-6mm.6-10mm.12-17
A
§mot.(a);
mot. (b)
§Seq.
mm.3-5 (1+1+1) to complete a G major descending scale based on I of G.
B
§Seq.
mm.7-11 (2+2+1)
C
§Seq.
mm.12-14 (1+1+1)
|
AB
______________½___________________
mm.17-25mm.25-36
A.
§mm.17-21
mot (a)
§Antiphonal
passage between Sop.I and II
§mm.17-25
Pedal passage in I of G major
B
§mm.25-27,
pedal G serves as the IV of D major accompanying Soprano 1’s g-a-b-c#-d
(ascending D major scale from 4 to a D major half cadence.)
§mm.29-36,
two soprano sing in parallel thirds on the pedal of A, which is the V of
D major. This passage ends with an IAC at measure 36 |
|
Cadence
|
m.2 (PC),m.6
(HC),m.17 (IAC)
|
m.25 (IAC),m.27
(HC),m.36 (IAC)
|
|
Key
|
G Major(tonic)
|
G major----D major (dominant
of G)
|
|
Comments
|
§Opening
ritornello1 containing two motives.
§Frequent
usesof sequence and secondary
chords in the opening Ritornello are not usual in Baroque writing; however,
this is what makes Vivaldi’s music language unique.
|
§Mot
(a) is used in the opening of the Sopranos.
§Mot
(c), Sop I and II in parallel thirds first appear at the downbeat of m.25.
This eventually leads to a longer passage, which begins at m.29 to m.36.
|
|
Section
|
Ritornello2 (Instrumental)
|
Episode2 (Vocal Duet)
|
|
Measure
|
36-42
|
42-62
|
|
Subsection &
Motives
|
§Part
A from Rit.1 is used in this incomplete ritornello
|
ABC
____________________½_____________________½__________________
mm.42-46mm.46-54mm.54-62
A
§mm.42-44
: the rhythmic pattern ofmot (a)appears.
§mm.42-45:
mot (c)- the parallel thirds occurs
§pedal
D in this part serves as I of D major at mm.43-44 and pivot to V of G at
the down beat of m.44
B
§m.47
a secondary chord, V/ ii of G major
occurs leading to A minor at m.48
§m48
to the downbeat of m.57: an A minor passage, where toward the end of m.57
an E minor voccurs.
C
§mm..54-62,
an E minor passage enters, where mot (b)is
used antiphonally between Sop.I & II.
|
|
Cadence
|
m.28 (PC),m.42
(HC)
|
m.46(HC)
in G major,m.54 (HC) in A minor,m.62
(IAC)
|
|
Key
|
D major (dominant of G major)
|
D major-------G major--------A
minor----------E minor
|
|
Section
|
Ritornello3 (Instrumental)
|
Episode3 (Vocal Duet)
|
|
Measure
|
61-66
|
66-74
|
|
Subsection &
Motives
|
§a
modification of Part A from Ritornello 1 occurs in E minor.
§The
harmonic progression in the opening isi-V-i
(
instead of using the original
progression
in I-IV-I)
§Also,
no strong cadential point can be felt since the eighth rest is replaced
by two running 16th notes going upward.
§m.
63 where mot (b) is modified from its original downward to upward.
§Seq.
mm.64-65 (1+1)
|
AB
______________________½_______________________
mm.66-70mm.70-74
The
re-entering of Adoramu te and Gloricmus te sounds like an
extension from Episode 2.It is attributed
to features found in :
§the
unstable tonality starting from m.67 to m.70
(V/VII-VII-V7/VII-VI)
§two
sets of triplet figuration occur at m.72
§also,
no long lasting pedal tone is used in this episode
Comments:
§This
episode and its previous ritornello serve a transitional function between
episode 2 and ritornello 4.
|
|
Cadence
|
m.66 (HC)
|
m.70 (DC) in E minor,m.74
(PAC) in C major
|
|
Key
|
E
minor (relative minor of G)
|
E minor-------C major
|
|
Section
|
Ritornello4
|
Episode4
|
Ritornello5
|
|
Measure
|
74-80
|
80-108
|
108-125
|
|
Subsection
& Motives
|
§Part
A from Rit.1 in C major
|
AB
_________________½_________________
mm.80--92mm.92-108
A.
§mm.80-88:
mot (c) parallel 3rd passage supported by pedal G (V of C major)
B.
§mm.94-100:passage
from C part of Episode 2appears
here in Sop. I but the pitch is one whole step lower. Sop II remains the
same, but in this episode, she comes in a measure later.
§mm
103- 108: Spo.I and II exchanges voices.
|
§Identical
to Rit.1
|
|
Cadence
|
m.76 (PC),m.80
(HC)
|
m.88 (HC),m.92
(HC),m.100 (IPC), m.108 (IPC)
-- all in G major
|
m.110 (PC), m.114
(HC), m.125 (IAC)
|
|
Key
|
C major (IV of G
major)
|
C major-------G major
|
G major (return to
tonic of G)
|