Ritornello

A ritornello (Italian; "little return") is a recurring passage in Baroque music for orchestra or chorus. The first or final movement of a solo concerto, concerto grosso, or aria may be in "ritornello form", in which the ritornello is the opening theme, always played by tutti, which returns in whole or in part and in different keys throughout the movement. In this, ritornello form differs from the rondo.