Patriotic Song of the Week
"This Land is Your Land"

MONDAY
Listening Example:  “La Primavera”  Vivaldi 1721

Antonio Vivaldi was an Italian composer, conductor and virtuoso violinist.  He is recognized as one of the greatest Baroque [bah-ROKE] composers, along with Handel and Bach.  Vivaldi is known mainly for composing violin concertos. 

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.

Today’s listening example is from the first movement of Vivaldi's Spring concerto.  The real title of this work is La Primavera, because in Italian, primavera means spring.  (If you eat 'pasta primavera', you are eating pasta with spring vegetables in it.) 

 La Primavera was based on a poem stating:  "spring has come"; "birds sing happy songs"; "murmuring streams flow along"; and, "the sky is covered with a black cloak, with thunder and lightning".  La Primavera was a great favorite during Vivaldi's time, and it is still popular today. You might have heard this music in commercials, TV shows, films, or even ringtones. Today we will hear the main theme, called a ritornello [rih-tore-nell-oh].  It is like a refrain, or chorus, because it keeps reappearing in the music.  It is a lively, bouncy theme announcing "Spring has come".  

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TUESDAY
Listening Example:  "Presto" from "Summer"-The Four Seasons

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".

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".

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.

Today’s listening example is “Presto” from the “Summer” Concerto from Vivaldi's Four Seasons.  This song was meant to make you think about summer storms rolling in.  The sonnet that inspired this movement states, “Alas, his fears were justified.  The Heavens thunder and roar and with hail, cuts the head off the wheat and damages the grain.”  Do you hear the sense of urgency in the fast notes played by the violin?  Does it remind you of a storm rolling in?

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WEDNESDAY
Listening Example:  "Autumn" from "The Four Seasons"

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.  ​

Today’s listening example is “Autumn” from Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons”.  The first section is called “Allegro”: however, Vivaldi liked to add very descriptive titles to his songs, so this section is also called “Peasant Dance & Song.”  Just like the other two movements in this “Four Seasons” concerto, Autumn was written from a sonnet.  The first section reads, “The peasant celebrates with song and dance.  The harvest safely gathered in.”

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THURSDAY
Listening Example:  "Winter" from "The Four Seasons"

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.

Vivaldi's concertos were written for flute, piccolo, cello, bassoon, and even mandolin. His fast movements have tuneful themes with lively rhythms.  His slow movements have beautiful, songlike melodies that sound like they could be in an opera. 

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.

Vivaldi liked to add drama and flair to his music, so he used a little trick called “Crescendo.”  A Crescendo is when the music starts out very soft and then gets louder.  In today’s listening example, “Winter” from the The Four Seasons, you will hear the music crescendo a lot.  Listen for the music to start soft, then get gradually louder.

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FRIDAY
Listening Example:  "Gloria"

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. 

Yesterday, we learned about Vivaldi’s time teaching music at the Pieta in Italy.  Today, we will see a reenactment of one of those concerts.  The music you will hear is by Vivaldi and it is titled “Gloria”.  This is part of a traditional mass service, and any composer who was any good always wrote their own music for mass.