La Folia (“Madness”)
Antonio Vivaldi, arr. Sorrell
Born: April 3, 1678, Venice, Italy
Died: July 28, 1748, Vienna, Austria
Year Composed: c. 1703
Length: c. 7 minutes
World Premiere: Unknown
Last ISO Performance: This is the ISO’s first performance of this piece
Instrumentation: basso continuo, strings
“Folia” is a term for one of the oldest European musical ideas. Like the bergamesca, it is a simple musical form that has inspired composers for centuries. Its origin is contested, but scholarship suggests the folia originated on the Iberian Peninsula in the 15th century. The simple form was likely first recorded in Portugal, 1577, in Francisco de Salinas’ treaty De musica libri septem.
Earliest versions of the folia are not one prescribed theme, but a method of improvisation. Later versions of the folia do employ a standardized chord progression. All folias, though, are based in a minor key. Traditional examples are slow, triple meter dances—today’s example is a ¾ Adagio in D minor—and begin with a formulaic musical theme that returns at the end of the work. The middle section of these pieces vary greatly, and generally change both in melody and meter. The inner part of the work aims to sound improvisational and is often virtuosic. In a sense, the folia is the Baroque precursor to today’s 12-bar blues.
Because this musical formula is easy to manipulate, it serves as an excellent compositional canvas. Composers have been utilizing folia for centuries, from Baroque doyen Jean-Baptiste Lully in 1672 to Romantic master Sergei Rachmaninoff in the 1930s. The folia on today’s program is a string ensemble arrangement by Maestro Sorrell after Antonio Vivaldi’s Trio Sonata in D Minor, RV 63. The original trio sonata was published in 1705 and is scored for just two violins and continuo.
La Folia (Madness) is a single movement work that sprouts 20 variations. First establishing the folia theme, the introduction is standard Vivaldi fare. As the work progresses, each variation evolves without altering the famed formula. Rhythmic variants and tempo changes modify the pace of each variation while maintaining the folia both in form and harmonic structure. La Folia serves as a radiant example of Vivaldi’s grasp of counterpoint as well as his ability to transform a melody.