Vivaldi's The Four Seasons are not only among the most popular pieces of classical music today, but they circulated widely in the composer's time, as well, and inspired programmatic pieces by others. The concertos were especially popular in France, where they were played many times in the Concert Spirituel. Spring (La primavera), perhaps the particular favorite of the French, was not only.
A landscape with rivers and figures by Marco Ricci, a contemporary of Vivaldi who shared his bold representations of elemental forces.
🎵 Buy the MP3 album on the Official Halidon Music Store: Stream it on Spotify: iTunes & Apple Music: http. Violinist Giuliano Carmignola and the Venice Baroque Orchestra use a slightly different scoring of Vivaldi's masterpiece, the 1996 Ricordi critical edition, and somehow unveil. One of the main performers/composers of the solo concerto from the Baroque period was Antonio Vivaldi. Vivaldi composed over 350 solo concertos, his main one being The Four Seasons Concerto, composed in 1723. The Four Season Concerto was made up of an orchestra, a group of violas, a solo violin, and a bass continuo. 'Four Seasons' recordings are usually accompanied on a CD by some similar string concertos. The Baroque Music Club CD however has taken the opportunity to offer something different and a complete contrast in sound, with Vivaldi's magnificent Gloria.
Vivaldi's Four Seasons are four violin concertos depicting the seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter. They are some of the most extravagant examples of music that tells a story ('program music') from the baroque period. Here are some key moments to listen out for.
About Vivaldi's Four Seasons
Title:Le quattro stagioni (The Four Seasons), op. 8
Composer: Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741)
Period: Baroque
Composed: c. 1723, Italy
Published: 1725, Amsterdam as part of a set of 12 concertos, Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione (The Contest Between Harmony and Invention)
Genre: Concerto (set of four)
Instrumentation: Solo violin, violins, violas, cellos, double basses, organ or harpsichord
Duration: c. 45 minutes
What to Listen for in Vivaldi's Four Seasons
Timecodes refer to the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra's album Vivaldi: The Four Seasons with Elizabeth Wallfisch as soloist (ABC Classics).
Each concerto has three movements, Fast-Slow-Fast. Vivaldi published the concertos alongside sonnets, possibly written by himself, describing the events of the music in meticulous detail.
Birds in Spring
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The first movement celebrates the start of spring with singing birds, murmuring streams, and soft breezes, which are depicted between returns of the infectiously happy theme.
The theme's first statement is interrupted by a chorus of birds [0:30]. Vivaldi imitates birdsong in five different ways. The solo violin plays trills and a solo first violin responds with a dipping three-note pattern ending in a trill. Then the solo violin changes to short, chirping 'staccato' notes while the first violin plays a downward run. The chorus builds with the second violins playing a rising skipping pattern that becomes faster and more even before becoming a rapid trill. These are clearly not Australian birds.
Summer storms
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The first two movements of Summer depict an experience that will be familiar to all Australians: lying in the suffocating heat waiting for the wind to change. A fierce north wind does eventually arrive. The third movement depicts the ensuing storm with vigorous scrubbing and wild arpeggios.
Drunk peasants in Autumn
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Autumn opens with the songs and dances of peasants as they celebrate the harvest. 'Fired up by Bacchus' liquor' the solo violin breaks from the village dance and ranges virtuosically between its high and low registers [1:10]. The first violin is still in control of itself, if a bit boorish, but Vivaldi specifically marks the string accompaniment to be played 'drunk' [1:32]. The solo violinist finally succumbs to Bacchus [2:33], though interpretations differ in their portrayal of inebriation. The peasants end their revelry in sleep [3:30].
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The slow movement of Autumn depicts 'the season that invites so many, many / Out of their sweetest slumber to fine enjoyment,' but you tell me if these woozy chords don't sound like a hangover.
Winter Chills
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Winter opens with relentless icy daggers that engulf the string orchestra. The solo violin breaks in with the 'harsh breath of a horrid wind,' though the effect again depends upon the performance. The first violins try to keep warm with fast, running notes and wide leaps depicting stamping feet [1:05].
Is Four Seasons Baroque Or Classical
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But winter isn't all icy winds, there is also the cosy feeling of sitting by the fire with the rain dripping outside. Vivaldi has the violins pluck the strings to imitate the sound of raindrops while the solo violin plays a pleasant, contented tune.
| THE FOUR SEASONS: 1: Concerto No.1 in E Major, RV 269, 'SPRING' 2: Concerto No.2 in g minor, RV 315, 'SUMMER' 3: Concerto No.3 in F Major, RV 293, 'AUTUMN' 4: Concerto No.4 in f minor, RV 297, 'WINTER' One of the earliest uses of music was in the accompaniment of theatrical dance and story-telling, so it is natural that composers should from time to time produce what we know as 'program music' – music written to portray events, activities or moods such as pastoral scenes or storms. Music representing the moods of the four seasons has always been popular, and baroque composers such as Werner and Fischer among others produced cycles of concertos representing the fours seasons. But none were to do so in such precise pictorial detail as Antonio Vivaldi in his Four Seasons concertos. As a descriptive basis for his Four Seasons, Vivaldi took four Sonnets, apparently written by himself. Each of the four sonnets is expressed in a concerto, which in turn is divided into three phrases or ideas, reflected in the three movements (fast-slow-fast) of each concerto. The published scores (by Estienne Roger of Amsterdam in 1725) are marked to indicate which musical passages are representative of which verses of the sonnet. It is advisable, at least during the first few hearings, to follow the sonnets and music together, for they are bound up with one another to an extent rarely heard in any other programmatic pieces either of the baroque period or subsequently. |
Four Seasons Baroque Song On Youtube
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| BMC 19 | ANTONIO VIVALDI (1678-1741): The FOUR SEASONS The Modena Chamber Orchestra, Leader, and solo violin, Francesco Calvi Caterina Montanari, harpsichord continuo GLORIA in D, RV 589 Mimi Coertse & Ina Dressel, sopranos / Sonja Draxler, alto Vienna Academy Chorus & State Opera Orchestra Conductor Hermann Scherchen |
This lyrical performance by the Modena Chamber Orchestra under Maestro Calvi reflects every detail of the original sonnets.... the birds of spring, a summer storm, the peasants' revelries when the autumn harvest is completed, the chattering teeth as the winter wind blows. English text of the sonnets is enclosed with the CD. 'Four Seasons' recordings are usually accompanied on a CD by some similar string concertos. The Baroque Music Club CD however has taken the opportunity to offer something different and a complete contrast in sound, with Vivaldi's magnificent Gloria in a wonderful performance full of sensitivity and detailing. Here on one CD is something familiar, something perhaps a little less known. The Gloria will certainly prove a revelation to those unfamiliar with it. Total Time: 74:51. Click the image for full information and music samples. |
