Ritornello

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In Baroque music, ritornello (Italian; 'little return') describes a recurring passage for orchestra in the first or final movement of a solo concerto or aria (also in works for chorus). In ritornello form, the tutti opens with a theme called the ritornello (refrain). This theme, always played by the tutti, returns in different keys throughout the movement. However, it usually returns in incomplete fragments. It was favoured by composers such as Bach, Vivaldi and Handel and was used frequently in concerti, chamber works and vocal and choral pieces. It's use was most prominent in the solo concerto where it created a ‘tutti-solo-tutti-solo-tutti’ pattern, with the ritornello being the ‘tutti’ section. When the classical music era started, the ritornello form was altered to resemble sonata form, though it later transformed to become rondo form.