Last time we discussed the similarities in the ritornello across time, from Monteverdi to Handel. In this blog post, I would like to speak to some of the differences, which constitute in my opinion an evolution of some sort.
When listening to Handel's Messiah, it is pretty obvious that the oratorio (a descendant of the opera) has become much more organized and standardized, and much more complex since Monteverdi. When we look at these changes as they pertain specifically to the ritornello we can identify two main changes: 1) the closer musical ties between the ritornello and the following song and 2) the increased interaction or exchange between the song and ritornello.Let us go back to our examples from Act II of Orfeo and Part I of the Messiah. We will compare one aria from each: Orfeo's stunning aria "Vi ricorda" in Act II, and the song of Part I, scene 2 in the Messiah: "Ev'ry valley shall be exalted."
In Act II of Orfeo, the ritornello provides little more than an idea of the tempo, the range of notes, and phrasing for the aria Orfeo goes on to sing. It does not give us a clear accurate picture of how Orfeo will sound. It bears much more resemblance to Handel's accompanied recitative than to his arias. In addition, the ritornello follows a very rigid patter in which it repeats once between each verse. Ritornello followed by verse followed by Ritornello and so on. All very predictable.
In the Messiah, on the other hand, the ritornello has become a much more complex affair and has acquired a much more interactive role in the songs. In the first few notes of the ritornello, not only are we provided with the typical tempo and phrasing, we are actually being indicated how the rest of the song will sound like. The notes pretty distinctly play out the music for the phrases "Ev'ry valley shall be exalted" and the distinctive fluctuations of the phrase "the crooked straight;" the arguably catchiest parts of the song.
Even more surprising, however, the ritornello does not have a predictable designated place when it comes in. It comes in all over the place and is repeated in its entirety or in part. Only parts of it are played throughout the song, and the complete ritornello is played again at the very end of the song. The ritornello has taken on an interactive quality and acts almost as an echo, repeating the notes previously song by the singer in "ev'ry valley" at 3:19 and then "shall be exalted" at 3:24. At other times, instead of repeating, it is almost as if the ritornello is interacting with the song almost like a call and response. The vocalist would sing "shall be exalted" and the ritornello would interject with the music for "ev'ry valley" (3:50). And in other places it would anticipate what the vocalist would sing and play it beforehand such as at 3:58 when it anticipates "the crooked straight" phrase. It is almost like a game of tag, when the vocalist and the ritornello chase, interrupt, and at times such as in 4:21, they complement and support one another beautifully. The ritornello in this sense is no longer a passive passage but an interactive musical tool.
In some ways, Handel's ritornello grew in complexity, however, it also lost some its complexity by tying the ritornello very closely to the rest of the song. The fact that the ritornello musically became composed of patches of notes from the song may in fact represent a simplification and a restriction in what it can be musically.
What about the ritornello now? I think we have kept something from both traditions and have developed ways to combine aspects from both.
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