Pastorale
The pastorale is an instrumental piece of rustic, peaceful character that recalls shepherds’ music. It is usually in a time signature with groups of three such as 6/8 or 12/8, at a moderate to calm tempo, and often has long sustained bass notes under the melody.
- Word
- Italian pastorale, “shepherds’, pastoral”
- Time signature
- usually 6/8 or 12/8
- Tempo
- moderate to calm
- Bass
- Pedal point, Drone
Shepherds’ music
The word comes from Italian “pastorale”, “shepherds’, pastoral”, and goes back to Latin “pastoralis”. The pastorale is an instrumental piece in six-eight time, especially for groups of shawms and oboes, and also a small, rustic and idyllic stage piece with songs, a musical pastoral play. As a genre of instrumental music it belongs above all to the Baroque. In the narrower sense it is typical Christmas music; in the wider sense shepherds’ dances belong to it as well.
Its features are generally a compound time signature (beats divided into groups of three) such as 6/8, 9/8 or 12/8, a moderate to calm tempo and a gently rocking yet cheerful character. Long bass notes, that is, a pedal point, often allude to the drone basses of the shepherds’ instruments, the bagpipe or the hurdy-gurdy, but not always and not throughout.
| La Pastorale | Danza Pastorale | |
|---|---|---|
| Composer | Friedrich Burgmüller, op. 100 No. 3 | Antonio Vivaldi, “Spring”, op. 8 No. 1, RV 269 |
| Scoring | piano | violins, viola, organ and cello |
| Time signature | 6/8 | 12/8 |
| Tempo word | Andantino | Allegro |
| Key signature | one sharp | four sharps |
| Bass | chord figure: three eighth notes and a dotted quarter note per bar | viola and bass hold long notes tied over the barlines |
Two pieces, two paths
Both pieces carry the word in the title, and both have groups of three. Otherwise they differ: Burgmüller’s piece is a simple piano piece in 6/8 time with the tempo marking Andantino. Vivaldi’s “Danza Pastorale” is in 12/8 time and headed “Allegro”. This movement is regarded as an artfully stylised shepherds’ dance that takes over drone notes and the triplet rhythm of the Christmas pastorale, but is at an Allegro tempo. It is the third and last movement of the “Spring” concerto.
6/8: groups of three in melody and accompaniment
An original example: in the first two bars the accompaniment plays an eighth-note chord three times, then a chord as a dotted quarter note. This gives two groups of three in every bar. The melody follows the same division: a dotted quarter note, then three eighth notes.
12/8 over a held bass note
An original example: the bass holds C for three bars, the ties joining the notes into a single one. Above it, in the first two bars, there are four groups of three per bar; a 12/8 bar has four groups of three eighth notes each. Bar 3 closes with a single long note. Only the melody moves; the bass stays put.
Piano
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La Pastorale Friedrich Burgmüller, op. 100 No. 3 · piano · 1 page
Above the piece are the title “La Pastorale”, the subtitle “Pastorale” and “Andantino”. 6/8 time, one sharp, p and, in italics, “dolce cantabile”. The right hand plays bars 1 and 2 alone; from bar 3 the left hand accompanies in every bar with three eighth-note chords and a chord as a dotted quarter note. Repeat signs are before bar 3 and after bar 10; from bar 19 the opening returns, and in the last bar pp is marked.
Strings and organ
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Der Frühling: Danza Pastorale Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741), op. 8 No. 1, RV 269 · violins, viola, organ and cello · start of the movement on page 14 of 23
On page 14 “Danza Pastorale” is written above the movement, 12/8 time, four sharps. The solo violin is marked “Allegro”, the two violins below it “Allegro con Sordine”. Viola and bass hold long notes at the start, tied over the barlines; the violins play dotted-eighth figures above them.
How to recognise a pastorale
Count the beats. A bar that divides into groups of three is a first hint, a sustained note in the bass the second. The time signature alone does not decide, however: gigue and tarantella are also in 6/8 time, as the page on six-eight time shows. The title or the addition “pastorale” on the sheet gives you certainty.
Common mistakes
- Taking every 6/8 piece for a pastorale: The time signature is a hint, not proof. Dances such as the gigue are also in 6/8.
- Cutting the long bass note short: It should sound across the barline; the ties in the notation show that the note is not struck again.
- Playing every pastorale slowly: Vivaldi’s movement is marked Allegro; a moderate to calm tempo is typical, but not compulsory.
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Related terms
Six-eight timeTwelve-eight timeDronePedal pointBagpipesSicilianaBaroqueAndantinoDolceCantabileRepeat signCharacter piece
Editor: Maik Krohm · reviewed on 3 October 2026
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