Pastorale refers to something of a

pastoral A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music (pastorale) that depicts ...

nature in music, whether in form or in mood. In

Baroque music Baroque music ( or ) refers to the period or dominant style of Western classical music composed from about 1600 to 1750. The Baroque style followed the Renaissance period, and was followed in turn by the Classical period after a short transiti ...

, a pastorale is a movement of a melody in thirds over a drone bass, recalling the Christmas music of ''pifferari'', players of the traditional

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

bagpipe Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, ...

( zampogna) and reed pipe (

piffero The ''piffero'' () or ''piffaro'' is a double-reed musical instrument of the oboe family with a conical bore ( Sachs-Hornbostel category 422.112). It is used to play music in the tradition of the ', an area of mountains and valleys in the north-w ...

). Pastorales are generally in 6/8 or 9/8 or 12/8 metre, at a moderate tempo. They resemble a slowed-down version of a

tarantella () is a group of various southern Italian folk dances originating in the regions of Calabria, Campania and Puglia. It is characterized by a fast upbeat tempo, usually in time (sometimes or ), accompanied by tambourines. It is among the mo ...

, encompassing many of the same rhythms and melodic phrases. Common examples include the last movement of Corelli's ''

Christmas Concerto Concerto grosso in G minor, Op. 6, No. 8 by Arcangelo Corelli, known commonly as the ''Christmas Concerto'', was commissioned by Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni and published posthumously in 1714 as part of Corelli's '' Twelve concerti grossi, Op.&nbs ...

'' (Op.6, No.8), the third movement of

Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widesprea ...

's ''Spring'' concerto from The Four Seasons, the '' Pifa'' movement of Handel's ''

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

'', the first movements of

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wor ...

's ''Pastorale'' (BWV 590) for organ, and the ''Sinfonia'' that opens part II of his

Christmas Oratorio The ''Christmas Oratorio'' (German: ''Weihnachtsoratorium''), , is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season. It is in six parts, each part a cantata intended for performance on one of ...

as an introduction to the angelic announcement to the shepherds. Scarlatti wrote some examples in his keyboard sonatas, and many other composers in the transition between the baroque and classical eras, particularly French (

Marc-Antoine Charpentier Marc-Antoine Charpentier (; 1643 – 24 February 1704) was a French Baroque composer during the reign of Louis XIV. One of his most famous works is the main theme from the prelude of his ''Te Deum'', ''Marche en rondeau''. This theme is still us ...

), used this technique. Rossini famously included a Pastorale section in his ''

William Tell Overture The ''William Tell'' Overture is the overture to the opera '' William Tell'' (original French title ''Guillaume Tell''), whose music was composed by Gioachino Rossini. ''William Tell'' premiered in 1829 and was the last of Rossini's 39 operas, a ...

.'' The Italian pastorale ''

Tu scendi dalle stelle "" (; "From Starry Skies Thou Comest", "From Starry Skies Descending", "You Came a Star from Heaven", "You Come Down from the Stars") is a Christmas carol from Italy, written in 1732 in Nola by Saint Alphonsus Liguori in the musical style of a pas ...

'', sometimes called "Carol of the Bagpipers" (''Canzone d'i zampognari''), is a widely popular Christmas carol by St. Alfonso Liguori, and

Pietro Yon Pietro Alessandro Yon (August 8, 1886 – November 22, 1943) was an Italian-born organist and composer who made his career in the United States. Early life Yon was born in Settimo Vittone, (Piedmont, Italy). His earliest studies in music beg ...

's '' Gesù bambino'' is another. The Swedish poet and performer

Carl Michael Bellman Carl Michael Bellman (; 4 February 1740 – 11 February 1795) was a Swedish songwriter, composer, musician, poet and entertainer. He is a central figure in the Swedish song tradition and remains a powerful influence in Swedish music, as well ...

's song collection ''

Fredman's Epistles ''Fredmans epistlar'' (English: ''Fredman's Epistles'') is List of Fredman's Epistles, a collection of 82 poems set to music by Carl Michael Bellman, a major figure in Sweden, Swedish 18th century song. Though first published in 1790, it was cre ...

'' contain several pastorales, including ''

Liksom en Herdinna, högtids klädd Liksom en Herdinna, högtids klädd ("Like a Shepherdess, festively dressed"), is a song by the Swedish poet and performer Carl Michael Bellman from his 1790 collection, ''Fredman's Epistles'', where it is No. 80. The Epistle is subtitled "Angå ...

'' (Like a Shepherdess, Solemnly Dressed), which begins with a near-

paraphrase A paraphrase () is a restatement of the meaning of a text or passage using other words. The term itself is derived via Latin ', . The act of paraphrasing is also called ''paraphrasis''. History Although paraphrases likely abounded in oral tra ...

of the start of

Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux (; 1 November 1636 – 13 March 1711), often known simply as Boileau (, ), was a French poet and critic. He did much to reform the prevailing form of French poetry, in the same way that Blaise Pascal did to reform the ...

's French guide to the construction of pastoral verse. Britten Austin, Paul. ''The Life and Songs of Carl Michael Bellman: Genius of the Swedish Rococo''. Allhem, Malmö American-Scandinavian Foundation, New York, 1967. . Pages 153–155 Pastorales are still played in the regions of Southern Italy where the zampogna continues to thrive. The pastorale can be played by a solo zampogna player, sometimes also accompanied by the

(also commonly called a ciaramella, pipita, or bifera), which is a primitive key-less, double-reed, oboe-type instrument.

References

{{Authority control Baroque music Classical period (music) Italian folk music