Concerto Grosso
A Baroque concerto built on the contrast between a small solo group and the full orchestra
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A concerto grosso is a Baroque concerto type: a small solo group (the concertino, often two violins and continuo) alternates with the full orchestra (the ripieno), and the structure grows from the contrast between two groups of sound. Corelli established the type; Vivaldi and Bach brought it to its height.
Its frame is the ritornello: the orchestra states a theme, the solo group enters, the orchestra returns, and so on. The soloists share the material rather than one player showing off. This differs from a solo concerto, where a single soloist faces the orchestra: here group is weighed against group.
A common misconception reads “grosso” as “grand” in scale. The solo group usually has only three or four players, and the ensemble is not large; “grosso” marks the principle of group concerto as opposed to the solo concerto.
Sources
- 大协奏曲的协奏组、全奏组与利托奈罗结构，参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Concerto grosso"；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.