In the Footsteps of Corelli
Technical information on the basic bow stroke of the giga and dynamic variation within it are the subject of two exercises. The sarabanda is contrasted with that of Corelli (Lesson Seventeen) and the student encouraged to realize the figured bass of this and other movements. Rhythm contains emotional information just as harmony does: altering the rhythms of a melody line by Pergolesi and comparing their impact demonstrates this point. Vivaldi uses syncopations, hemiolas, and ambiguities of time signature, and he tussles with the bass to give his corrente rhythmic interest, so maximizing the rhythmic impact is the purpose of Exercise 87. Last, the student is encouraged to read the by now familiar sonata from the original 1709 edition as a preparation to reading seventeenth-century notation in upcoming lessons. As usual, the lesson is packed with detailed observations of the text and technical and musical information.