You are here:

Classical Music/Help me ID this Classical tune

Advertisement

Expert: - 12/9/2009


Question
QUESTION: Hi! First of all great site and I'm really glad there are ppl who share their knowledge and love for classical music. The tune I'm looking for is, I think, Italian and it might be a ballroom music, my guess is baroque. I've made a sample of the beginning of the tune (as much as i remember it, so I'm not sure of its accuracy but I think it can be recognized)and please answer me if you know who is the composer and the name of the composition.
Here's the link: [URL=http://www.zshare.net/audio/694217312131de84/]italian ballroom masters.mp3 - 0.22MB[/URL]I
n cca 2000 I saw a CD named something like Italian ballroom masters (I'm not sure) and I heard the tune there but now I've been looking for it on the web and I can't seem to find such a CD anywhere on the net.
Thank you in advance.

ANSWER: Because of the title of the CD where you heard it, I'm pretty sure it is Vivaldi.  I think it is either a sonata or a concerto grosso.  Go to Amazon and research music by Vivaldi and the keyword =oboe= and see what comes up.  Listen to the clips. It's well-known, but I can't recall exactly which one it is and don't have time during this season to listen to a lot of Vivaldi myself to get the answer for you!
mb

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

QUESTION: I found it. It was Alessandro Marcello's Concerto for oboe in D-minor, Mov.1 (Movs. 2 and 3 are apparently more popular). thanx for the oboe tip.  

Answer
I am delighted you found the piece!  I'll look into getting it for my own collection.  He's not as well known, so I didn't think of him.  Marcello wrote quite a bit of string and vocal music, too.  All of it is really fine.  (I'm currently screeching on a movement for viola da gamba, and I'm sure he'd clobber me over the head for doing such a disservice to his composition if he could hear me!) As we noted, his stuff is in the style of Vivaldi, who was older than he.  I don't know whether he was a student of Vivaldi or not, however.

Thanks so much for writing back.  99% of people do not!
mb

Classical Music

All Answers

Answers by Expert:

Ask Experts

Volunteer

Marbeth

Expertise

I have a PhD in musicology, with expertise in medieval - Renaissance - Baroque - Classical periods, but I'll try to help you with any period.

>>*****IMPORTANT NOTE*****<<: I do not answer questions marked "private." I don't want to type the same thing to someone else later if I typed it to you already! If you mark your request "private," I will send it back to you requesting you to remove the "private" flag. Thanks for your understanding. Remember, I'm a volunteer.

My answers are not toss-offs. If I don't know the answer, I will do my best to find it.

I have many requests to identify a piece of music. If I can't identify it, I will tell you (1) what composer I think it is; (2) what composer or composers I think it is not; (3) what style period, genre, etc. I think it is or is not. And give you any other help I can to help you find the answer.

Please find a clear clip. In the interest of good computer hygiene, I will not download a clip. Nor will I go to a site where I must "register" in order to hear the clip. Please mount the clip on a public site for which you can give me a direct URL. Thanks for your understanding in this. Remember, I'm a volunteer!

Students, I do NOT do homework questions. The purpose of answering questions on assignments is not only to learn the information, but to LEARN HOW TO FIND IT. Re-read chapter. Look in the index. Look in the references given at the end of the chapter or elsewhere in the book. You also probably can find the answer using Google. Don't be lazy. I wouldn't be doing you any favors by doing your homework for you! I already know the answer. You don't. You need to find it. MORE IMPORTANTLY, you need to learn HOW to find it. That's the whole purpose of education, after all!

©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.