The Scoring of Baroque Concertos Author:Richard Maunder The concertos of Bach, Handel, Vivaldi and their contemporaries are among the most popular items on concert programmes, and account for large numbers of compact disc sales. It is almost always taken for granted that they are orchestral works: we are thoroughly imbued with the nineteenth-century concept of the concerto as a work whose essence is ... more »the dramatic opposition of a lone soloist and a full orchestra. But is this assumption correct for the baroque period? Might musicians of the time have regarded the concerto more as chamber music, to be played one-to-a-part? In this book a substantial body of evidence is presented, much of it from original performing material, that shows beyond reasonable doubt that baroque concertos were normally played by single strings. Many of Vivaldi's works, for example, were conceived for an ensemble no larger than a solo violin, a string quartet and a harpsichord, and the common use nowadays of a dozen or more strings constitutes a serious misrepresentation of the composer's intentions. The author has looked at a large proportion of surviving baroque concertos, and this book also serves as a new guide to the repertory. In particular, many unjustly neglected masterpieces by lesser known composers are described, which ought certainly to be revived.« less