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.
- Baroque Musician Four Seasons
- Vivaldi Four Seasons Baroque Era
- Four Seasons Baroque Music
- Vivaldi Four Seasons Baroque
- Four Seasons Baroque
The Four Seasons Concertmaster Gina DiBello leads the Music of the Baroque Orchestra in Vivaldi’s iconic Four Seasons, an evocative musical journey through the different times of year. The complete concerto performed on original instruments. Please subscribe to our channel https://www.youtube.com/VoicesofMusic/?subconfirmat. In addition to producing the earliest European music familiar to most of us, including Pachelbel’s Canon and Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, the Baroque era also greatly expanded our horizons. 🎵 Buy the MP3 album on the Official Halidon Music Store: Stream it on Spotify: iTunes & Apple Music: http.
The solo concerto of the Baroque era was particular in that it arose from the Baroque era as a replacement of the Concerto Grosso. 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 was based upon a poem that was written by Vivaldi himself, in which it described several seasons within a year. The concerto can be described as having lots of energy, very virtuosic, and the majority being in major modes, except every once in a while minor modes would come into play within the storms of the specific…show more content…
“The violin, by all accounts, originates in Northern Italy during the first half of the 16th century. But the 'inventor' is unknown and will remain open to discussion” (Bartuff). However, some try and credit Andrea Amati of Cremona (c.1511-1566), as he created two violins between 1542 and 1546. Today several different violins have been created throughout history, but the first standardized violin resulted from the Baroque period. “The Baroque violin [had] a shallower angle of the neck, which is usually thicker to support the tension of the strings, although the string tension is lower than on a classical violin” (Bartuff). The sound of this violin is typically characterized as being “quiet with a sweet sharpness” (“The Baroque Violin More Than the Catgut Strings”). As innovation occurred, the classical violin came about and the violin came to have a slenderer neck, higher string tension and was made in different types of wood based on the preference of musicians. As for the sound of the classical violin, the sound can be classified as having a warm sound with rich
A landscape with rivers and figures by Marco Ricci, a contemporary of Vivaldi who shared his bold representations of elemental forces.
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.
Baroque Musician Four Seasons
Birds in Spring
Skip spotify embedFireFox NVDA users - To access the following content, press 'M' to enter the iFrame.
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
Skip spotify embedFireFox NVDA users - To access the following content, press 'M' to enter the iFrame.
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
Skip spotify embedFireFox NVDA users - To access the following content, press 'M' to enter the iFrame.
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].
Skip spotify embedFireFox NVDA users - To access the following content, press 'M' to enter the iFrame.
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
Skip spotify embedVivaldi Four Seasons Baroque Era
FireFox NVDA users - To access the following content, press 'M' to enter the iFrame.
Four Seasons Baroque Music
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].
Vivaldi Four Seasons Baroque
Four Seasons Baroque
Skip spotify embedFireFox NVDA users - To access the following content, press 'M' to enter the iFrame.
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.