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concerto grosso

[ kuhn-cher-toh groh-soh; Italian kawn-cher-taw graws-saw ]

noun

, plural con·cer·ti gros·si [k, uh, n-, cher, -tee , groh, -see, kawn-, cher, -tee , graws, -see], con·cer·to gros·sos.
  1. a musical form, common in the Baroque period, in which contrasting sections are played by full orchestra and by a small group of soloists.


concerto grosso

/ ˈɡrɒsəʊ /

noun

  1. a composition for an orchestra and a group of soloists, chiefly of the baroque period
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word History and Origins

Origin of concerto grosso1

1715–25; < Italian: literally, big concert; gross
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Word History and Origins

Origin of concerto grosso1

Italian, literally: big concerto
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Example Sentences

Naturally more of a showcase for the players, though, was Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra, a beloved reimagining of the Baroque concerto grosso for the 20th century.

From there, variations surface with nods to Classical and Baroque forms: a dancerly minuet or rondo, a concerto grosso of angular strings, a wandering ricercare.

On the surface, the piece has the form of a Baroque concerto grosso, but the two forces seem to exist on separate planes, heightening the symphony’s solitary feel.

The symphony seemed recast into a concerto grosso for wind octet and orchestra, the expert Israeli winds gaining in expression by interacting with one another face-to-face without upsetting balances with the rest of the orchestra.

The pieces in which Corelli developed this light-and- shade technique came to be known by the name of the larger group, concerto grosso, and subsequently the generic term ‘concerto’.

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