C Major Concerto F. VI n 4

Antonio Vivaldi

Antonio Vivaldi, known as “our” red priest, plays a very important in the history of music as well as in the flute historical literature, of the mid Italian ‘700s. He composed more than 300 distinct compositions for the solo instrument, i.e. strings and basso continuo, of which 17 of them have a flute solo. At this point the quantity is only indicative, since some of them have been lost through the years. Vivaldi is a crucial figure, who established himself well in baroque Italy, evidence of this is the C Major Concerto F. VI n 4. This Concerto is the most popular piccolo flute piece, and is highly demanded in auditions and competitions, partly because of the poorness in piccolo repertoire and also for the lack of imagination, when compiling a piccolo flute competition program.

Like all other Vivaldi Concertos, this piece was originally written for the ‘sopranino recorder', hence when one performs it on the piccolo, one has to bare in mind the typical style of the baroque period. Since this is a compulsory piece in auditions and competitions, one has to study it well. Accurate style and musicality are a must in the performance. However albeit all this, it is important to demonstrate, as well one's own and the instrument's good qualities. The usage of high and wide level of dynamics is a good example of this (even though the sopranino recorder didn't have dynamic possibilities, and so dynamic changes are not heard in the piece). In my opinion, it would be a detrimental outcome in an audition, if one doesn't show ones' own dynamic possibilities.

Solo and Tutti passages

In the original ‘sopranino recorder' part, the melodic line is assigned to the 1 st violins, as well as to the sopranino recorder; in other words, when the latter is not busy playing one's solos, it is destined to join the melodic superior line with the violins. In a piccolo flute performance, I find this aesthetically and instrumentally not feasible. The former reason being, that it would result in a monotonous sonority, while the latter's being, that the performance would be too strenuous. The most suitable option would be to play only the first and the last tutti passages. The First tutti passage is important for intonation purposes and the last, is important in order to finish with the ensemble. It is a pity that in the audition, one does not start, from the beginning, but from a few bars before the first solo.

Articulation

This piece is presented without written articulation, thus it is at the performers discretion to choose the appropriate articulations. However the following points should be tackled:

•  Stylistic property: in general it is better to separate large intervals rather then slur them

•  Variety of articulation: it is very boring, to have to listen to 2 semiquavers slurred and 2 tongued all the time. Every type of articulation, gives the passage a distinct character.

•  Coherence in articulating: don't change articulation in every progression

Each one of us has weak points, especially when articulating. In your studies try to eliminate them. If you haven't succeeded yet, don't show them off in the auditions, but use the articulations you are good at. Try to bring out your best qualities.

Dynamics

Try to demonstrate that you have a wide range of dynamics. This is an essential requisite in an orchestra. It is very important to analyze the piece in question, in order to find a series of harmonic and melodic progressions, ascending and descending passages, points of harmonic tension and varies cadence. These points of analyses can guide you well in the appropriate choice of dynamics. One recommendation is to analyze and read, any composition, you are interested to play, from the orchestral score to the piano reduction score. It is important to be a musician not a simple performer.

Imagination:

In his compositions Vivaldi, had the capacity to enhance the solo instrument's capabilities and virtuosity, however in this concerto, this capacity of Vivaldi is not always present. In fact, certain passages from the 1 st and 3 rd movements are relatively poor in terms of musical inventions, thus one has to be creative, when performing, so as not to be boring.