Four Seasons byAntonio Vivaldi
Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, is one of the first known examples of programme music. Programme music is that of a narrative or descriptive kind. Liszt first introduced the term as: a preface added to a piece of instrumental music to direct attention to the poetical idea of the whole or to a particular part.(The Grove Concise Dictionary of Music) Although Vivaldi’s Four Seasons are probably the most well known example of programme music, they were not originally intended to be so. “The Four Seasons” that included the sonnets was sent to Count Venceslas von Morzin of Bohemia around 1724. In the letter that accompanies Vivaldi’s Op.8, he writes: “…I beg you not to be surprised if among these few and feeble concertos, You Illustrious Grace will find the Four Seasons, already long since under the indulgent and generous eye of you grace, but may you believe that I took great pride in publishing them, because they are in any case the same, but enlarged, apart from the Sonnets, with a detailed explanation of everything in them and I am sure they will seem new to you.” (Landon) It is obvious that the sonnets must have been written after the concertos because Vivaldi must not have thought
3. Pincherle, Marc: Vivaldi genius of the baroque This is winter, but such as brings joy. “The Winter” concerto, of course, is in the key of F minor, which is also the key of several sleigh ride pieces by Mozart. Interestingly a very intense winter swept through Venice in 1908-09 and might have been the basis for this concerto. (Everret) In this concerto the orchestra enters one part at a time. The bass enters first to create an image of the frozen Venetian landscape. A little latter trills in the violins express the humans trembling from the cold. The beginning of this piece has a strange dissonance that is not resolved until a shivering spat in the violins. “Horrid wind” is represented by the solo violin. In bars 22ff a fierce section depicts the people shaking from the wind. This is represented by rapidly progressing rhythmic patterns that progress to thirty-second notes (legs shaking, knees rattling). At the same time runs of thirty-second notes in the solo violin continue to depict gusts of wind. In bars 47ff chattering teeth are depicted by double stops in the solo violin. In this movement ritornello is used to reinforce people's reactions to the cold.
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Winter Summer,
Grace Seasons,
Vivaldi’s Seasons,
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Spring Autumn,
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Paul Vivaldi,
Marc Vivaldi,
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Approximate Word count = 2726
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)
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