A. Vivaldi
Complete Opus 10
Flute Concertos

Antonio Vivaldi, violinist and composer, was born on March 4, 1678, in Venice, Italy and died on July 28,1741 in Vienna, Austria. He was nicknamed “the red priest” because of his red hair and the fact that he had been ordained as a priest at St. Mark’s Chapel in Venice in 1703 (because of poor health, he was excused from active service as a priest in 1704). Of the composers of the Baroque Period (1600-1750) in music, Vivaldi is most remembered for his concertos ‑ he wrote over 500! Most of his concertos were for the violin (The Four Seasons are but 4 of more than 230) but he also wrote concertos for other instruments, such as: viola (6), cello (27), mandolin (2), trumpet, oboe (17), bassoon (37), piccolo (3) and, of course, the flute (16).

Although for almost 200 years after his death, Vivaldi’s music fell into virtual obscurity, his influence on the solo concerto was widespread. His use of three movements (fast, slow, fast) and ritornello form (a refrain, alternating with solo episodes) was copied and developed by his successors. Vivaldi only assigned opus numbers to his published works; in 1733, after opus 12, he stated that he wasn’t going to publish any further because it interfered with the sale of his manuscripts (from which he received more money). The Il Pastor Fido, Op. 13 (“The Faithful Shepherd”) sonatas are considered spurious, constructed from parts of works by Vivaldi, in addition to Joseph Meck (1690-1758) and Giuseppe M. Alberti (1685-1751); the Alberti Bass pattern, used by Vivaldi and other Baroque and Classical composers is named for Domenico Alberti (1710-1740, no relation to Giuseppe), who was the first composer to employ it.

Despite the fact that there are only 12 opus numbers, Vivaldi published more that 100 works, in that each “opus” contains multiple works, usually 12. Opus 10 is a collection of 6 flute concertos published in 1729-30 in Amsterdam ‑ the first flute concertos ever published.

Vivaldi - Complete Opus 10 Flute Concertos: No. 1 ‑ La Tempesta Di Mare (“Storm at Sea”), No. 2 ‑ La Notte (“The Night”), No. 3 ‑ Il Cardellino (“The Goldfinch”), No. 4 ‑ Concerto in G Major, No. 5 ‑ Con Sordino (“With Mute”) & No. 6 ‑ Concerto in G Major

Solo Flute part - 9”X12” - 44 pages - $29.95

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