Essay: Comparison of Baroque era and Romantic era – “La Folia” melody

Perhaps one of the most disparate comparisons made within classical music is that between the Baroque era and the Romantic era. Different cultural norms guided music down distinct paths in each of these periods. The Baroque period was characterized by the goal of achieving musical “affect,” or producing meaning through music, through a set of conventions and methodical composition. The Romantic period, rather, strayed from any set of rules and focused solely on being able to stimulate cathartic passion and emotion in the audience. To elucidate this contrast, I will discuss the “La Folia” melody, one of the most popular themes in European history. While Corelli’s structured rendition of the Folia melody is suitable for the musical time period, Rachmaninoff adjusts the melody to his personal tastes which are characteristic of late-Romantic period sentiments.
La Folia was a dance from Portugal that originated in the 15th century. There are several conventions that must be obeyed when composing with the “La Folia” tune. It is primarily performed in the key of D minor. The standard chord progression is i – V – i – VII – III – VII – I – V, followed by i – V- i – VII – III – VII – i – V – I in the second line (Food For Thought: Corelli’s La Folia). Each Folia variation is comprised of sixteen measures. Simple yet appealing, this melody is still recognizable today as a classic European motif.
Although French composer Jean-Baptiste Lully is known to have first used the aforementioned chord progression and standardized the melody in 1672, the tune’s popularization is mostly accredited to the Roman composer Arcangelo Corelli through his Violin Sonata Op. 5 No. 12, written in 1700. As a virtuosic violinist himself, Corelli felt compelled to compose pieces that would stretch the violin’s technical capacity, introducing skills such as double-stopping and embellishments. Corelli’s solo violin sonatas consist of a violin accompanied by a basso continuo instrument, usually either a cello or harpsichord. This soprano-bass polarity allowed for a highly contrapuntal nature, which refers to the imitation and simultaneous melodic lines played by both parts. A key component of the sonata is that the movements (or variations, in this case) must have tonal unity, or be of the same key (in this case, D minor). Overall, this piece stays within the parameters of the established chord progression and leaves little room for straying out of the boundaries. This sonata was a milestone in Baroque solo music for several reasons, largely because it is the most popular of Corelli’s series of violin sonatas that would codify the art of the solo sonata. Before Corelli, the identity of the sonata was unclear; composers such as Dominico Gabrielli would fluctuate the tempi within a single movement, and a variety of instruments could be combined to perform a sonata. Corelli set a standard for future musicians to follow, developing a definitive structure for each category of music at the time: sonata, sinfonia, and concertato.
Two centuries later, a composer from further east decided to revive the Folia theme. Sergei Rachmaninoff, a prolific Russian composer, produced his rendition of La Folia in 1931, titled “Variations on a Theme of Corelli.” Rachmaninoff was profound of variations; he composed “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini” for piano and orchestra, and “Variations on a Theme of Chopin” for solo piano. Mostly influenced by early Romantic virtuoso Frederic Chopin and French composer Maurice Ravel, his music can be characterized as late-Romantic, inspired by the concurrent Impressionist movement in France and burgeoning Jazz culture in America.
Contrary to one’s expectations, Rachmaninoff remained fairly loyal to Baroque roots despite his modern-Romanticism tendencies. Most significantly, Rachmaninoff subtly adopts the Baroque staple of counterpoint (Is Rachmaninov a Waste of Time?). Like many of his other works, “Variations on a Theme of Corelli” features the use of heavy chords and inner harmony voices, which result in a profound texture that is characteristic of Rachmaninoff—a pianist with big hands that could easily handle wide chords.) This texture is actually an attribute of the practice of counterpoint: a fundamental principle of the Baroque era, which is characterized by imitation and multiple voices. Corelli displays this abundantly throughout his variations, and one example is in Variation III, where the violin plays a melody based on the D minor scale, and the basso continuo responds in the same pattern in the next measure, except in A major. Rachmaninoff employs counterpoint in Variation VI, where both the right and left hands play parallel chords that don’t necessarily have a melody line, adding layers to what would have been a bland phrase (Rachmaninoff).
Another Baroque concept that Rachmaninoff acknowledges in his variations is the dotted rhythm. This beat gives the sense of “skipping,” and although employed frequently by many other Baroque composers, Corelli most likely used this specially to highlight the reckless nature indicated in the title, The Folly. An instance where Corelli uses the dotted rhythm is Variation XI, where the violin consecutively double-stops intervals of thirds (Corelli). Rachmaninoff follows this model in a majority of his variations, including Variations II, IV, and XIII to name a few (Rachmaninoff).
Nevertheless, while Rachmaninoff respects the conventions set by Corelli, given the cultural standards of the time period, he was granted liberty to toy around with La Folia, seasoning the tune with his own flavor. By the late-Romantic period, the rigidity and scientific approach of music became antiquity, and the focus of music was being able to fuel emotion in the listeners. As each musician added his own customs to the practice of composition, each composer also inherited increased independence to deviate from the norms and create new adaptations. This progression over the centuries is quite prominent when contrasting Corelli’s variations with Rachmaninoff’s variations. The most evident illustration of this development is Rachmaninoff’s slight departure from the original La Folia chord progressions. He adjusted the progressions just enough to complement them with his own color yet still be able to identify the melody. The first example of this deviation is in Variation IV, where he substitutes a iii chord for the second chord in the original tune, a major V. This is a result of the top line playing the melody. Although the pianist is expected to play a C-sharp in the second measure, he unpredictably plays a C-natural, thus adjusting the entire chord to a iii. Another unexpected chord exchange is seen in measure five, where the original VII chord is replaced with a minor v—an adjustment of the bottom note of the inverted triad from G to A. This is a clever example of Rachmaninoff adding his voice to an established melody, also exercised in his Paganini Rhapsody (Rachmaninoff).
In addition, even though both composers incorporated ornamentation, their approaches differ greatly, representing the expectations of each respective musical period. Ornamentation is a key aspect that Rachmaninoff retained from Corelli’s variations, and Baroque character in general. Analogous to Corelli and his desire to showcase the capabilities of the violin, Rachmaninoff boasts the advantages of the multifaceted instrument through strong dynamic contrasts, consecutive chords, and intricate runs. Rachmaninoff’s passion for the piano’s versatility is certainly articulated in this piece through his abundant use of harmonic minor scales, chromatic sequences. However, Corelli’s ornamentation was confined to a single scale or arpeggios. For example, in Variation II of Corelli’s version, the violin is given a D minor triad arpeggio, then A major, D minor, C major, and on for each of the chords in the La Folia progression (Corelli). Rachmaninoff, on the other hand, altered the style of ornamentation throughout the variations. His fourth variation demonstrates sixteenth-note grace notes tagged onto right hand chords, while Variation VIII features chromatic triplets within the eighth notes (Rachmaninoff).
Additionally, Rachmaninoff’s more noticeable use of dynamics contrast gives his variations more dimension. Corelli was limited by the simplicity of the harpsichord, which could not produce both forte and piano dynamics, unlike the piano, which is able to create every dynamic across the spectrum. Furthermore, Rachmaninoff does not feel inhibited by tonal unity, as he explores the key of D-flat major in Variations XIII, XIV, and XV. The warmer D-flat timbre distinguishes itself from the metallic quality of D minor (Rachmaninoff). The combination of these secondary features demonstrates Rachmaninoff’s ability to afford adding a layer of his unique characteristics, even as he respected the conventions set by Corelli.
By examining the different avenues taken to portray the simplistic beauty of the La Folia melody, it is clear that the composers of the Baroque and late Romantic eras had varying intentions and stylistic preferences. The composers’ distinct voices were largely determined by the period of time in which these pieces were written. While Corelli was primarily concerned with methodizing the standards of the solo sonata and arranging a piece that complemented the relationship between the violin and the basso continuo, Rachmaninoff was among the first to take this conventionalized melody and transform it into a modern masterpiece that stretches the confines set by previous composers. Nonetheless, no matter which interpretation is celebrated more, this timeless tune is one that has survived over three centuries and continues to be familiar today.