Expert: Pat G - 11/9/2009

Question
QUESTION: This piece has entranced me since I first heard it close to 11 years ago - it was recorded off online radio. I've tried so many searches I can't count 'em; although those subsequent searches have netted many more nice pieces, I still can't resolve this one. It's AMAZINGLY beautiful and any help you might be able to give would be greatly appreciated.

This is a clip that shows the characteristic stanza and should be of sufficient quality for some kind of identification. Can you assist?

File is at: http://www.sendspace.com/file/vjetvc

ANSWER: Hello, Warren,

I can't tell you exactly what it is, but I can suggest some places for further exploration. This piece greatly resembles The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba from Solomon by George Frideric Handel, in my opinion. It is definitely in the same style with some of the same idioms. You can hear an excerpt of this piece here:
http://www.amazon.com/Arrival-Queen-Sheba-Solomon/dp/B002O4KPI2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UT . You can listen to excerpts of pieces on Amazon, so if you go with my suggestions, it may take awhile to find that specific piece, but you at least have a place to look.

It is played by just a few solo stringed instruments, including a double bass. Since the string quartet didn't come into its own for awhile after that, I'm suggesting it is from a concerto grosso by Handel. The fuller string ensemble doesn't show itself in this excerpt, but perhaps you may recall that it was in part of the piece you didn't send me. Here is more information on the concerto grosso: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concerto_grosso . And of course, it could be a smaller chamber piece without the larger ensemble.

Other people who wrote concerti grossi and similar works were Corelli, Telemann and Vivaldi, but I'm thinking Handel.

The fact that the early composers often quoted each other just complicates things, but I think this is a good lead, and I hope it will get you further than you have been so far. Let me know if you are able to find it.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I'm not sure if my previous follow-up went through (if so, apologies for the dupe). Thank you very much for your response. I've gone through quite a number along the lines you suggest; however, in the hopes that hearing the entire piece (rather than just the excerpt sent previously). Here is all I have. Again, any more clues you might have are GREATLY appreciated.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/qx74ef

Answer
Hi, Warren,

That helps a tremendous amount (though I can't place it yet). This is definitely counterpoint. While Handel did counterpoint, this sounds more like Bach to me. It's not any of the Brandenburg Concertos, is not one of the violin concertos, and isn't from the Art of the Fugue, and I don't know what other pieces for small string ensemble he may have written (no names come to mind, in other words), that is a distinct possibility. Another person you should look at closely is Vivaldi. He wrote a huge body of work, hundreds of compositions, much of it for strings, and a lot of it was concerti grossi and other string ensembles. And he certainly had the contrapuntal skills as well. Bach wrote in the minor key a lot, and this piece is in a major key. It doesn't rule Bach out, but I think the next place I'd look would be Vivaldi.

Again, I hope this helps. Given the fact Vivaldi wrote so much, I wish I had time to go listen a lot, but I simply don't. Otherwise, I would.

This link will tell you a little bit more:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Vivaldi#Works

As a last resort, I have someone I can ask, but I would rather not bother him if we can figure it out.

Thanks again, and for the rating.