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Certainly we do not encounter here a revival of the Baroque form of the ricercar, a formally looser precursor to the strict Baroque fugue. The only principles of the ricercar that inspired Martinů here were freedom of form and imitative contrapuntal technique. The piece is based on variational treatment of a short model. Already in his earlier compositions, Martinů avoided conflicts between two or more contrasting themes because he rejected duality as a formal principle. Continuous alternation of instrumental groups and the solo flute with its cantilena melody in the second movement strengthen the concertato character of the work. The chamber instrumentation (flute, 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 trumpets, 3 violins, 3 cellos, and 2 pianos) and the "perforated" scoring underscore its subtle nature. A unifying element between the first and third movements is lively rhythmic motion, breaking down of the regular division of phrases, and short melodic motives, which are only suggested at the beginning then further elaborated as the music progresses.
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