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Vivaldi - La Primavera (Spring) - III Danza Pastorale
José Rodríguez Alvira
The third movement, Danza Pastorale, is based on the following text:
Led by the festive sound of rustic bagpipes,
nymphs and shepherds lightly dance
beneath spring’s beautiful canopy.
Follows the structure of this movement (click on the sections to examine them):
Section
Measures
Key
123 - 134
E major
First ritornello.
John Harrison, violín, Robert Turizziani, director. Wichita State University Chamber Players. Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0
134 - 144
E major, A major, B major and C# minor
The first solo section begins in E major. An ascending progression takes us to C# minor passing through A and B major (137-139):
The chromaticism increases in measures 139 to 142:
We simplify the passage to facilitate the analysis:
The harmonic plan of this passage is based on the pattern commonly used in baroque chaconnes:
To which Vivaldi's bass adds chromatic notes:
Bach in his Chaconne for violin, uses the same bass although harmonized differently:
This is Vivaldi's harmonization. We point out the differences with Bach's in red:
Notes:
Vivaldi's harmonization consists of descending triads in parallel movement.
The diminished chords hide the parallel fifths between bass and soprano on the first and third beats in the first measure.
The parallel fifths are more evident in the next measure. Vivaldi continues a parallel descending movement of the chords arriving at a minor dominant that resolves to the iv degree.
The complete section:
John Harrison, violín, Robert Turizziani, director. Wichita State University Chamber Players. Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0
144 - 156
E major
The ritornello returns. This time in the key of C# minor. A progression of fifths ends the section in B major passing through E major:
John Harrison, violín, Robert Turizziani, director. Wichita State University Chamber Players. Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0
156 - 180
B major
We begin in B major. Immediately, a progression of fifths takes us through the keys of E major, A major, and D major before returning to E major in measure 161. We return to B major in measure 175, and the passage ends in that key.
John Harrison, violín, Robert Turizziani, director. Wichita State University Chamber Players. Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0
180 - 193
E major and E minor
The ritornello returns. We begin in E major, but from measure 183, we modulate to E minor. The passage ends with two new harmonizations of the progression from measures 139 to 142:
Here is the harmonization of bar 139 for comparison:
Complete section:
John Harrison, violín, Robert Turizziani, director. Wichita State University Chamber Players. Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0
193 - 201
E minor
This section is in E minor.
John Harrison, violín, Robert Turizziani, director. Wichita State University Chamber Players. Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0
201 - 211
E major
The final ritornello is in E major.
John Harrison, violín, Robert Turizziani, director. Wichita State University Chamber Players. Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0
John Harrison, violín, Robert Turizziani, director. Wichita State University Chamber Players. Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. José Rodríguez Alvira. Published by teoria.com
