ABSTRACT
A resource of great significance in Antonio Lucio Vivaldi's music is the integration of elements of the parallel minor within the harmonic orbit of a given major key. Modal mixture, or the interchange of major and minor versions of the same key, is acknowledged as a fundamental resource of classical harmony. This chapter examines the nature of major-minor mixtures in Vivaldi's music, concentrating on his instrumental compositions and, in particular, on the concertos. In Vivaldi's music the interchange of parallel major and minor keys is seen not merely within individual movements but between different movements belonging to the same cycle. The high probability that Joseph Riepel knew Vivaldi's music and the striking resemblance between Vivaldi's usage and Riepel's description provide sufficient grounds for believing that the latter's original concept of schwarze Gredel corroborates practices and devices popularised by the former.
