The “Classics at the Museum” concert season ends tomorrow, November 24, at 5 p.m. The partnership between Quadrivium—Associação Artística and the Carlos Machado Museum has covered different musical genres and featured different ensembles with a wide range of guest conductors.
For the last concert, your Sinfonietta de Ponta Delgada, with the titular conductor Amâncio Cabral, embraces the origins of musical construction for string ensembles. It is the program par excellence to inaugurate the Christmas season, with the exponent of the musical baroque in the baroque setting of the Church of the Jesuit College. Orchestral music for strings by the indispensable Johann Sebastian Bach and Antonio Vivaldi.
Baroque music for string orchestra is one of the most emblematic forms of composition from the Baroque period (around 1600-1750). During this era, composers developed complex musical structures rich in ornamentation, taking advantage of the strings’ expressiveness and versatility.
Music is characterized by contrapuntal textures, where several independent melodic lines intertwine. Melodies decorated with trills, mordents, and other ornaments were often improvised by the musicians.
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) is a central figure in Baroque music, particularly music for string orchestra. Known as “Father Redhead” because of his ordination as a priest and red hair, Vivaldi left an impressive legacy, with more than 500 concertos and several orchestral works that continue to influence classical music. A master of the form of the solo concerto and the concerto grosso, both essential formats in Baroque music for string orchestra, he helped consolidate the three-movement model (fast-slow-fast), which became standard in Baroque and later concertos.
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) is one of the greatest composers of Baroque music and the entire history of Western music. His contribution to music for string orchestra is invaluable. Bach combined contrapuntal complexity, profound expressiveness, and technical mastery to create some of the most emblematic works in the Baroque repertoire. It is no exaggeration to say that J.S. Bach elevated music for string orchestra to a level of artistic and technical perfection that remains unsurpassed. His compositions not only epitomize the Baroque style but also continue to serve as a universal inspiration.
This concert is produced by Quadrivium – Associação Artística, with the support of the Directorate-General for the Arts and the Government of the Azores.

in Correio dos Açores-Natalino Vivieiros, director

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks the Luso-American Education Foundation for sponsoring FILAMENTOS.