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Journalism of Courage
In all the arts there is one common situation which continues to enthrall us. Whether it is film or literature, dance or theatre, architecture or painting, we do not tire of witnessing a confrontation between x and y.
It is significant that the greatest works of art could be reduced to a one-line summary about the fight between God vs the devil, good vs evil. So what does this have to do with Western classical music?
Before we go into that, let us take a look at that popular item in Indian classical music, the jugalbandi. If you were examine the relationship of the performers on stage, you would realise that they too are in the x vs y situation. However there is a difference. The performers on stage are not trying to overpower each other. One can safely say that the two performers in a jugalbandi are friendly rivals with one assuming the role of protagonist and the other an antagonist, only to exchange positions in the course of the performance.
Now to answer the first question. There is a western equivalent of the jugalbandi known as the concerto. The word comes from the Italian verb which originally meant `to complete’ but now means `to collaborate’ which describes the jugalbandi/concerto rather well.
The concerto is a competitive collaborative effort between two musical entities. The role of the first partner is played by a soloist in most cases, although there are concerti for two, three and four soloists. In any case the role of the second partner is almost always played by the orchestra.In the Baroque period (1600 to 1725), the difference was not strict; a member of the orchestra was liable to become a soloist a couple of minutes later. The soloist/s is/are known as the concertino while the orchestra is known as the ripieno (which means `full’ in Italian). A piano concerto is one in which the piano is the solo instrument while the orchestra is the second partner. Likewise the violin concerto, flute concerto, guitar concerto etc.
The typical concerto is in three movements or sections: fast, slow, fast. The first movement is always in the sonata form (refer to `What is a Symphony?’ printed on June 19, 1997) and in the speed marked allegro. Thus a concerto can also be described a sonata for solo instrument and orchestra.The theme of the first movement may be introduced by either partner except in the Classical period (1750 to 1825) when it was always the orchestra that introduced the theme and then made way for the soloist.
The second movement could be a simple andante (at a walking pace), an aria (a song), a hymn or a cross between the aria and the hymn called the Romanze. This movement slows down the adrenalin flow only to have it pumping up again as the composer launches into the third movement which is at a furious speed. There is also a sawaal-jawaab section between the soloist and the orchestra which once again is taken at breakneck speed.
But while the jugalbandi is an improvisation on a theme, the concerto allows for very little improvisations as it is a fully-composed piece in accordance with the dictates of the composer. In order to allow the soloist to be free there is a section called the cadenza section in which the orchestra is quiet. Most of the concerto repertoire with the exception of the `Four Seasons’ by Vivaldi is abstract, pure music. Listening to the famous concerti is an excellent gateway to the world of orchestral compositions in Western classical music.
