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His best-known work is a set of four concertos called The Four Seasons, which are titled "Winter", "Spring", "Summer" and "Fall". A concerto is a composition for an instrumental soloist and orchestra. It has three sections which are called movements. The first movement is fast, bold and energetic. The second movement is slow, calm and peaceful. The third movement is fast, lively and sometimes dance-like. Baroque concertos last about 10 minutes.
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Vivaldi was born in Venice and soon followed in his father's footsteps playing the violin. Along with his music studies, he prepared to be a priest in the Catholic church. But at age 25, poor health caused him to leave the ministry. Because of his religious background and his red hair, Vivaldi was known as the "red priest".
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Vivaldi was born in Venice and soon followed in his father's footsteps playing the violin. Along with his music studies, he prepared to be a priest in the Catholic church. But at age 25, poor health caused him to leave the ministry. Because of his religious background and his red hair, Vivaldi was known as the "red priest".
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The Four Seasons concertos are musical imagery of nature. In the 1700's, they were a revolution in music because they represented flowing creeks, singing birds, barking dogs, buzzing mosquitoes, crying shepherds, storms, frozen landscapes and warm winter fires. Each concerto is associated with a sonnet describing what you hear in the music.
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For most of his life, Vivaldi worked at the music school of the Pieta [pea-A-tah], a girls' orphanage in Venice. He taught music and composed for about forty young women attending the school. Every Sunday and holiday the young ladies presented a concert of orchestral and vocal music in the chapel. They were seated up in a gallery and hidden from public view by a lattice screen, thus ensuring their privacy. This all-female group was one of the finest orchestras in Italy. Their concerts were a big attraction for people visiting Venice while touring Europe.
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Vivaldi sometimes took leave of absence from his teaching position at the Pieta music school so he could visit the courts of foreign royalty. That way he could hear what other musicians in Europe were composing. Vivaldi's fans and patrons included members of European royal families. Some of his works were commissioned by King Louis XV of France. Some of his music was played at the king's wedding.
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One of the most important characteristics of Baroque music and artwork is the use of contrasts. In music, these are dynamics (loud and soft), texture (a solo instrument versus the full orchestra, and tone colors (unique sounds produced by instruments). Just like in a painting, these contrasts are what make Vivaldi's works interesting.
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During Vivaldi’s lifetime, he was very popular throughout Europe. But like other composers, after his death, his popularity faded as music styles changed. When the Baroque period ended, his works were largely ignored, and The Four Seasons was unknown during the Classical and Romantic periods.
But in the 20th century, an academic study was begun that led to discovery of hundreds of Vivaldi’s concertos and other works. They are now in the National University Library in Turin, Italy. These discoveries sparked an interest in the composer, and his reputation was revived. Since World War II, Vivaldi’s compositions have enjoyed wide success. They are often performed on original or Baroque style instruments. |
Vivaldi was an innovative composer who influenced others with his program music and playful concertos. In The Four Seasons, he used his creative talents to make music sound like everyday happenings in life. But how does one make music sound cold? We can experience cold and imagine it by looking at illustrations of winter. But how do you hear cold? In his Winter concerto, Vivaldi used his imagination and his knowledge of playing techniques to create musical imagery of cold. Here are his program notes from the Winter concerto, which, in Italian, is called L’inverno [lin-VER-no]:
Shivering, frozen mid the frosty snow in biting, stinging winds; Running to and fro to stamp one's icy feet; Teeth chattering in the bitter chill. |
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