The ornamentation of four early eighteenth-century Italian oboe concerti found in

Abstract

This study presents new editions of four Baroque oboe concerti with ornaments added to the slow movements. The four concerti by three Italian composers were published in Concerti a Cinque Con Violini, Oboe, Violetta, Violoncello e Basso Continuo, Del Signori G. Valentini, A. Vivaldi, T. Albinoni, F. M. Veracini, G. St. Martin, A. Marcello, G. Rampin, A. Predieri, Libro Primo, No. 432 (Amsterdam: Jeanne Roger, ca. 1714-17). Scores have been created from the Roger print in a computer-generated edition with the original solo line on top, ornaments created in this study for the slow movements written out on the staff below, and followed by four additional staves containing the two violin, viola, and continuo parts from the print. The study focuses on creating ornaments for Concerto I in F major by Giuseppe Sammartini, Concerto II in D minor by Alessandro Marcello, and Concerti III and IV, both in C major, by Giuseppe Valentini. Since no treatises on early eighteenth-century Italian ornamentation are extant, the selection of ornaments for the concerti of the Roger print were guided by the characteristics and technical limitations of a reproduction baroque oboe, as well as music of early eighteenth-century Italian and Italian-influenced composers whose works were published with ornaments. Chapter I introduces the topic, composers, and publisher. The history and technical limitations of the baroque oboe are discussed in Chapter II. Chapter III examines published Italian and Italianate ornamentation. Chapter IV discusses the methods and rationale employed to ornament each of the slow movements of the four concerti. Chapter V summarizes the paper. The appendices include full scores of each of the concerti. The slow movement of each concerto includes both the unornamented and ornamented versions of the solo line.