Samuel Barber - Capricorn Concerto

Facts Capricorn Concerto • A Hand of Bridge • Intermezzo from Vanessa The music itself is something of a departure for Barber, bandying between playful, insistent baroque textures and a more lyrical, more melodically driven composition, though Barber is still Barber, a melodist and a modernist alike. Allegedly each member of the Capricorn household, Barber, Menotti, and Chip, Menotti's adopted son, is represented with their own individual theme, thematically depicting each of their personalities. The first movement flits between two tempi, Allegro (fast) and Andante con moto (walking speed, but with motion), and is cast in a rondo form, with development being the driving force, Barber's spotless compositional technique on full display. The second movement is playful, save for one tranquil passage, favored by a boisterous line for plucked viola, while the final movement, Barber's most direct homage to Bach, features a trumpet fanfare in it's spirited midst.