The ripieno (,
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 ...
for "stuffing" or "padding") is the bulk of instrumental parts of a
musical ensemble
A musical ensemble, also known as a music group, musical group, or a band is a group of people who perform Instrumental music, instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist ...
who do not play as soloists, especially 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 ...
. These are the players who would play in sections marked ''
tutti
''Tutti'' is an Italian word literally meaning ''all'' or ''together'' and is used as a musical term, for the whole orchestra as opposed to the soloist. It is applied similarly to choral music, where the whole section or choir is called to sin ...
'', as opposed to soloist sections. An individual member of the ripieno is called a ripienista.
In the
concerto grosso
The concerto grosso (; Italian for ''big concert(o)'', plural ''concerti grossi'' ) is a form of baroque music in which the musical material is passed between a small group of soloists (the '' concertino'') and full orchestra (the '' ripieno'', '' ...
, it refers to the larger of the two ensembles as opposed to the group of soloists called the
''concertino''.
[''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', 2nd Ed. (2001)] In a
ripieno concerto, there are no solo parts. The term can also refer to the main body of an orchestra in early orchestral music, although this use is today often disregarded.
In band music, the term (or its variant spellings ''repiano'' and ''ripiano'') is used similarly to designate the players not at the leading desk, especially the clarinet and cornet players in
military band
A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind instrument, wind and percussion instruments. The conducting, conductor of a ...
s.
The expression ''senza ripieni'' is an instruction to play without the ripienistas; this instruction is frequently found in works by
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 ...
.
The term can also be used to designate a pipe organ
mixture stop.
References
{{Authority control
Italian words and phrases
Musical terminology