Ritornello

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In Baroque music, Ritornello was the word for a recurring passage for orchestra in the first or final movement of a solo concerto. In ritornello form, the tutti opens with a theme called the ritornello (refrain). This theme, always played by the tutti, returns in different keys throughout the movement. However, it usually returns in incomplete fragments. It was favoured by composers such as Bach, Vivaldi and Handel and was used frequently in concertos, chamber works and vocal and choral pieces, though most prominently in the solo concerto where it created a ‘tutti-solo-tutti-solo-tutti’ pattern, with the ritornello being the ‘tutti’ section. The most prolific Baroque composer in solo concertos was Antonio Vivaldi. When the classical music era started, the ritornello form was altered to resemble sonata form, though it later transformed to become rondo form. The piano replaced the violin as the most frequently used solo instrument.

The final section of the fourteenth century madrigal was also called the ritornello and the ritornello technique was employed by Giovanni Gabrieli in his 16th century motets. The Ritornello form can be found in many Baroque and Classical period music such as J.S. Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3. Other pieces in ritornello form include sonata in F Major by Joseph Haydn (Classical Period Composer).

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