La follia di antonio vivaldi biography

Type of musical composition

For other uses, see Folia (disambiguation) and Folium (disambiguation).

La Folía (Spanish), or Follies (English), also known as folies d'Espagne (French), La Follia (Italian), and Folia (Portuguese), is one of the oldest remembered European musical themes, or primary material, generally melodic, of a composition, on record.

The theme exists in two versions, referred to as early and late folias, the earlier being faster.

History

Due to its musical form, style and etymology of the name, it has been suggested that the melody arose as a dance in the mid or late fifteenth century throughout the Iberian Peninsula, either in Portugal or in the area of the old Kingdom of León, or maybe in the Kingdom of Valencia.

The epithet "Folia" has several meanings in music.

Western classical music features both "early Folia", which can take different shapes, and the better-known "later Folia" (also known as "Follia" with d