Gloria (Vivaldi)


wrote at least three settings of the hymn Gloria in excelsis Deo, whose words date probably from the 4th Century and which is an integral part of the Ordinary of the Mass. Two survive: RV 588 and RV 589. A third, RV 590, is mentioned only in the Kreuzherren catalogue and presumed lost. The RV 589 Gloria is a familiar and popular piece among sacred works by Vivaldi. It was probably written at about the same time as the RV 588, possibly in 1715.

''Introduction ''

As with other choral pieces the composer, Vivaldi, wrote many introduzione that were to be performed before the Gloria itself. Four introduzioni exist for these Glorias: Cur Sagittas, Jubilate, o amoeni cori , Longe Mala, Umbrae, Terrores, and Ostro Picta.

Settings

RV 588

The lesser known of the two surviving Glorias, RV 588 was most likely composed during Vivaldi's employment at the Pio Ospedale della Pietà, known for its advanced choral ensemble. The first movement is interwoven with the last aria of RV 639, as explained above. The date of composition between this Gloria and RV 589 is still disputed, but both show compositional inspiration from each other.
RV 588 borrows extensively from a double orchestra-and-choir setting of the same text by Giovanni Maria Ruggieri. Many movements show inspiration from this composition, and two movements are plagiarised from the original Ruggieri setting. The first movement of RV 588 is also an extended version of RV Anh. 23, sans the second coro employed in RV Anh. 23, among other musical modifications. The second movements of both RV 588 and RV 589 both show chromatic patterns and key modulations similar to that of the second movement of RV Anh. 23.

Movements

  1. Gloria in excelsis deo
  2. Et in terra pax
  3. Laudamus te
  4. Gratias agimus tibi
  5. Propter magnam gloria
  6. Domine Deus
  7. Domine, Fili unigenite
  8. Domine Deus, Agnus Dei
  9. Qui tollis peccata mundi
  10. Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris
  11. Quoniam tu solus sanctus
  12. Cum Sancto Spiritu

    RV 589

This is the better known setting of the Gloria, simply known as the Vivaldi "Gloria" due to its outstanding popularity. This piece, along with its mother composition RV 588, was composed at the same time during Vivaldi's employment at the Pieta. Two introduzioni exist as explained in the aforementioned article.
As in RV 588, there exists evidence of influence by RV Anh. 23: the first movement's chorus shares similar key modulations to that of the first movement of RV 588, only modified to fit a duple meter instead of the triple meter of RV 588. Motivic material present in the orchestral parts of either piece are also shared, including octave jumps in the opening motives of the piece. The second movement is significantly more chromatic in RV 589, but nonetheless is texturally similar to the setting present in RV Anh. 23, with the use of repeating rhythmic figures underneath harmonic motion. The "Qui Tollis" movement of RV 589 is rhythmically similar to the first few measures of RV 588. The last movement, "Cum Sancto Spiritu," is essentially an "updated" version of movement present in both RV Anh. 23 and RV 588, except extensively harmonically modified, becoming more chromatic than its predecessors, reflecting a maturity in Vivaldi's output and the emerging style of the late Italian Baroque.

Movements

  1. Gloria
  2. Et in terra pax
  3. Laudamus te
  4. Gratias agimus tibi
  5. Propter magnam gloriam
  6. Domine Deus
  7. Domine, Fili unigenite
  8. Domine Deus, Agnus Dei
  9. Qui tollis peccata mundi
  10. Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris
  11. Quoniam tu solus sanctus
  12. Cum Sancto Spiritu

    RV 590

Little information exists on this lost work other than its instrumentation in the Kreuzherren catalogue. There is no other source of information; not even its possible key can be conjectured. In the Ryom-Verzeichnis catalogue, it is considered lost.

RV Anh. 23

As stated above, this Gloria for two cori was written by Giovanni Maria Ruggieri. This composition, probably for a Venetian church during a festival, is dated September 9, 1708 N.S. This Gloria provided much inspiration for Vivaldi's two settings and for other Glorias by other composers at the time, who may have used it in their settings.

Movements

  1. Gloria in excelsis Deo
  2. Et in terra pax
  3. Laudamus te
  4. Gratias agimus tibi
  5. Propter Magnam Gloriam
  6. Domine Deus
  7. Domine, Fili unigenite
  8. Domine Deus, Agnus Dei
  9. Qui tollis peccata mundi
  10. Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris
  11. Quoniam tu solus sanctus
  12. Cum Sancto Spiritu

    Popularity

The Glorias remained in a relatively unknown status, until RV 589's revival by Alfredo Casella during "Vivaldi Week" in Siena, along with the composer's setting of the Stabat Mater. RV 589 enjoys well-founded popularity, performed at many sacred events, including Christmas. It has been recorded on almost one hundred CDs, sometimes paired with Bach's Magnificat, Vivaldi's own Magnificat settings, or Vivaldi's Beatus Vir. RV 588, however, has had little success and has only been published in few albums. Attempts to create more attention to RV 588 and other sacred Vivaldi works are underway.
As with many other pieces of the Baroque era, RV 589 have been performed in historically-informed instrumentation, even with the use of an all-female choir to simulate choral conditions at the Pietà. There are several different editions, and choirs need to exercise caution when combining different vocal and orchestral editions.
RV 589 has also been used in a number of films. The first movement featured in the 1996 Scott Hicks film Shine about pianist David Helfgott, as well as in the 2011 film The Hunter. An adaptation of the second movement was used with profound effect in the final climactic scenes of the 1985 Andrei Konchalovsky film Runaway Train.

Editions