Pastorale refers to something of a

pastoral The pastoral genre of literature, art, or music depicts an idealised form of the shepherd's lifestyle – herding livestock around open areas of land according to the seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. The target au ...

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

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

, a pastorale is a movement of a melody in thirds over a drone bass, recalling the

Christmas music Christmas music comprises a variety of Music genre, genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas and holiday season, Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or in the case of Christmas ...

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, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

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, No ...

(

zampogna Zampogna (, , ) is a generic term for a number of Italian double chantered bagpipes that can be found throughout areas in Latium. The tradition is now mostly associated with Christmas, and the most famous Italian carol, " Tu scendi dalle stelle" ( ...

) 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- ...

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

tarantella Tarantella () is a group of various Southern Italy, southern Italian Italian folk dance, folk dances originating in the regions of Calabria, Campania, Sicilia, and Apulia. It is characterized by a fast Beat (music), upbeat tempo, usually in Ti ...

, encompassing many of the same rhythms and melodic phrases. Common examples include the last movement of Corelli's '' Christmas Concerto'' (Op.6, No.8), the third movement of

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

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

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...

'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 (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...

'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 in a churc ...

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'' ''H.146, Marche en rondeau''. This theme is st ...

, 8 sets, H.479, H.482, H.483, H.484, H.485, H.486, H.492, H.493), used this technique.

Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano p ...

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''), composed by Gioachino Rossini. ''William Tell'' premiered in 1829 and was the last of Rossini's 39 operas, after which he w ...

.'' 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 1744 in Bovino by Saint Alphonsus Liguori in the musical style of a pa ...

'', 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, Italy. He was the last son of three of Antonio Yon ...

's ''

Gesù bambino is an Italian Christmas carol composed by Pietro Yon in 1917. The melody was used by Frederick H. Martens in his English language carol "When Blossoms Flowered 'mid the Snows". The melody and lyrics of the chorus are derived from the chorus of ...

'' 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 wel ...

's song collection ''

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

'' 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, ''Fredmans epistlar, Fredman's Epistles'', where it is No. 80. The Epistle ...

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

paraphrase A paraphrase () or rephrase is the rendering of the same text in different words without losing the meaning of the text itself. More often than not, a paraphrased text can convey its meaning better than the original words. In other words, it is a ...

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

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