Pastorale

Pastorale (from Latin pastor " shepherd " ) refers to a style of music, especially instrumental music. She is in Baroque music a quite common genus - as an independent composition, but more often as a single sentence, such as within a concert.

The term should not be confused with an eponymous opera genre of the 17th and 18th century, which evolved from the idyllic pastoral play of spoken theater. Beethoven's 6th Symphony plays on rural non-musical motifs and was therefore called Pastorale; it is also in any musical context of the baroque pastorale.

The genus has its origins in the Christmas music of Pifferari, Italian shepherds who played music at Christmas time in Rome before pictures of the Madonna. Pastorals are usually written in 12/8-Takt and typically in the key of F major. Characteristic are also organ points, so long bass tones as an allusion to the pastoral instruments bagpipes and hurdy-gurdy. Such sets are called " Pastoral", " Siciliano " or " Pifa " means, with the title Siciliano normally associated with the use of a dotted basic rhythm.

Instrumental pastorals can be found in the works of many Baroque composers. Well-known examples are:

• The final movement of the concerto Op. 6 No. 8 ( G minor ) by Arcangelo Corelli, subtitled fatto per la notte di Natale ( "for the Christmas night ").
• The instrumental introduction to the second part of the Christmas Oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach; Albert Schweitzer already saw here - certainly not without reason - the music of the shepherds with the angels.
• The Pifa ( 12 set) in the oratorio Messiah by George Frideric Handel.
• The final sentence of the Spring concerto from the Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi is not a typical Pastorale, but plays much important.

Next would be to name a concerto movements by Francesco Manfredini and Francesco Geminiani. Johann Sebastian Bach also has a four-movement Pastorale written as a work for organ ( BWV 590 ), but only the first sentence clearly shows the stylistic peculiarities described. To compositions found in the aftermath of the Baroque in the pastoral style, as for example when Sigfrid Karg -Elert (2 Pieces for Violin and Organ, Op 48b) and Max Reger ( Twelve Pieces Op 59).

• Musical genre