Antonio Vivaldi

This is one of several concertos that Vivaldi wrote for the viola d'amore, a bowed instrument with 14 strings. The performer plays on seven of these, and the other seven are not touched directly but provide sympathetic vibrations.

The orchestral strings put forth several unabashedly happy ideas at the start of the opening Allegro. The viola d'amore replies in kind in some virtuosic solo passages, and a turn to the minor mode temporarily brings some more pensive thoughts to the fore. The subsequent Largo in the minor mode begins with imitative entrances by the orchestral string sections in a mood that is sad and concerned. The soloist expounds this feeling touchingly in the central cantilena by holding forth over a single-line accompaniment, and the orchestral strings sustain the same frame of mind through the coda. The concluding Allegro begins with a cautiously happy outlook expressed in lively melodies from the orchestra and virtuosic passagework from the soloist. A brief turn to the minor mode takes the music on a reflective excursion, and the concerto ends in an emphatically happy frame of mind.