Concerto Grosso

The concerto grosso is a Baroque orchestral form built on contrast between a small group of soloists, the concertino, and the full string orchestra, the ripieno, which answer, echo and contend with one another across a sequence of movements. Writing in short, sharply profiled phrases, with terraced dynamics, basso continuo support and frequent ritornello returns, the form privileges dialogue and textural opposition over individual virtuoso display. Codified in Rome around the circle of *Arcangelo Corelli*, it became the dominant vehicle for string-orchestra music across Europe in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.